2020 Reviews – Bill & Ted Face the Music

Before Zack and Miri made a porno, before Mike and David needed wedding dates, and before Michelle and Romy attended their high-school reunion, Bill and Ted went on an excellent adventure and a bogus journey. Since then, Keanu Reeves has blown up to be an acting megastar and Alex Winter, well, hasn’t. But, in the name of being excellent to each other, and partying on, there’s always time to get the band back together; in this case, quite literally. I think this is an unpopular opinion, but I always preferred the Bogus Journey over the Excellent Adventure – I think the first Bill and Ted is the better movie, but I remember I was super young when I saw the sequel, and was blown away that you were allowed to make fun of death, heaven and hell like that; something about it has always stuck with me.

Dean Parisot directs Bill & Ted Face the Music. 25 years have passed since their last journey and Bill and Ted still haven’t written their destined song that will unite the world – really, I’m surprised because I thought the world has been pretty united of late 😏. As the band, Wild Stallions, Bill Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves) are experimenting with every instrument under the sun, but they aren’t getting anywhere. The only people who still believe in them are their devoted daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving). The future comes a-knocking again, picking up Bill and Ted and relaying the alarming message, that if they don’t perform their song in less than 24 hours, then time will collapse in on itself. The dudes visit their future selves, hoping to get the song, but Billie and Thea have the idea to travel into the past, picking up famous musicians to help out their Dads. Meanwhile, there’s a third time-machine floating around with the Mums, the princesses in the original films, now played by Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays; we’re lucky there’s never a time-travel collision.

Ok, I have a problem with the premise, but I’ll get to that later. What’s most important is the movie in front of us. Bill and Ted are back, and Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves seem to be making the most of reliving their famed antics and having fun playing dress-ups. I was worried this movie might suck eggs, but it’s actually pretty rad; it moves at a brisk energetic pace, and only a few times falls into the trap of replaying nostalgic hit moments from the past in lieu of providing new material. I love the joke on Bill and Ted in counselling, where Bill and Ted can’t stop referring to themselves as ‘us’ or ‘we’; that’s who they’ve always been and I guess they never grew out of that. I also love how Ted’s father (Hal Langdon Jr.) has an expanded presence in this film, finally getting in on Bill and Ted’s mind-melting mishaps. Even bringing back Death (William Sadler), who is such a classic character, is dicey, but he is great again and I had nothing to worry about. The movie adds futuristic robot Dennis Caleb McCoy (Anthony Carrigan) to the mix, to fill the space of adorable sidekick for a little while, but there’s only one Grim Reaper, man! But, the absolute masterstroke and best parts of this movie come from the daughters. Brigette Lundy-Paine is doing an excellent impersonation of Ted, whilst Samara Weaving brings an upbeat daftness that is quirky and sweet. The two collectively pay tribute and advance the spirit of Bill & Ted, and I came away wishing that their time on screen was the main plot.

And here’s where I hate the premise; I thought Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey left Bill & Ted as heroes, but years later, it seems like they’re still struggling to get by. Boo! I think we could have had much of the same movie, if Bill & Ted Face the Music had shown that Bill and Ted had enjoyed a fantastic career, but were always coy about how they travelled to the future and came back with the legendary song that saved the world. The older Bill and Ted have become sloppy, and their new music does not garner the criticism it deserves because everyone is intoxicated by their fame. Except their daughters, who have grown up on the best music, like they are in the film. Rufus’ daughter Kelly (Kristen Schaal) visits Billie and Thea to warn them they need to help their Dads or timelines are going to continue to converge in on themselves. This is when the girls go on their bogus-excellent adventure-journey to gather talent to help inspire the original song. Perhaps, because time is jumbling, they go to the 1700s to pick up Mozart and he is no longer there. Maybe they get killed in the past, and meet a younger Death, much more energetic about his job. Perhaps they go into to a future timeline where their fathers never wrote the song, and where the world is worse than ever, with some hilarious Bill & Ted interpretations. In the end, the girls help their Dads write the song, so they can give it to their past selves… This keeps the ending of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey intact, whilst still providing stakes for the girls to save the day.

I realise how much easier it is to pick holes in a new film and leave the legacy untouched. But it’s not like Han Solo was frozen in carbonite and needed rescuing; I’ve been happiest believing Bill & Ted had saved the day all those years ago. To make the daughters the driving force of the movie would fit with the recent trend of Hollywood feminising existing stories, but I think it fits the Bill and Ted cannon too. But I understand that this is a Bill and Ted movie, and shoving the girls down our throats may not have made them as appealing as they are here. Or if Winter and Reeves had smaller roles, maybe they wouldn’t have both bothered to return. As the movie goes, I love the family-orientated ending we receive anyway, and this movie maintains a joyous tone. But you know the old expression; behind every great man, there are great time-travelling daughters.

All this talk about what we got and what could have been must also take into account that we could have got a lazy uneventful cash-grab of a sequel. Bill and Ted Face the Music isn’t that. If you ever had a great time with the most non-heinous of duos, then this movie will safely serve you another round. The wisest among us warn to be careful what you wish for, but this movie completes the Bill & Ted trilogy, made well with loving hands. Have fun.

3.5