‘Bill and Ted Face the Music’ is pure fun
September 30, 2020
“Bill and Ted Face the Music” is another soft reboot of a comedy series from 25 years ago. This film joins many other films that fall into that category such as “Blues Brothers 2000,” “Clerks 2,” “Dumb and Dumber To,” “Ghostbuters (2016)”, “Zoolander 2,” “Super Troopers 2.” The list goes on, but the difference between those films and this third “Bill and Ted” movie is that “Bill and Ted Face the Music” was not painful to watch.
Once told they’d save the universe during a time-traveling adventure, Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) find themselves as middle-aged dads still trying to crank out a hit song and fulfill their destiny.
It felt so good to watch a movie again that has low aspirations and I mean that in the most positive way. It’s so tiring nowadays to watch a film with larger-than-life stakes, “saving cinema” and revolting action scenes that go on for forty-five minutes that some poor visual effects artists had to work on for months.
“Bill & Ted Face the Music,” though very flawed, feels so genuine in just providing you with a good time. Ninety minutes, you’re in and out and it’s exactly the type of movie we need right now; two completely optimistic characters try to unite time and space through positivity and music.
This third “Bill & Ted” movie feels like the writers combined “Excellent Adventure” and “Bogus Journey” to deliver a slightly watered-down version of the two, but it’s quality entertainment even though the plot makes no sense. A film like “Bill & Ted” gets a pass for having a plot that makes no sense because it’s a “Bill & Ted” movie, but something like “TENET” doesn’t.
Similar to the first two “Bill & Ted” films, there isn’t much to say other than it was pretty funny because when it comes to comedies, they’re either funny or they’re not and that’s the review without just spoiling jokes. However, one aspect I could not get over was how awkward Keanu Reeves felt. Not only was it odd because he is now awesome, action-hero Keanu Reeves, but because Keanu Reeves looks like he’s struggling to smile and deliver lines in the film. Ted smiles all the time in the first two films and Reeves feels like he’s lost the ability to play Ted again.
Alex Winter though is still wonderful. He feels appropriate for the age these characters are now, but Bill and Ted’s two daughters assist in lifting up the lack of youthful energy. Those two go on an “Excellent Adventure”-esc adventure where they assemble a band of famous musical figures from the past like Mozart and Jimi Hendrix.
So I got my “Excellent Adventure” fix fulfilled because that is my favorite of the three due to the fish-out-of-water humor that film was full of. While the daughters do that, Bill and Ted go on a “Bogus Journey”-esc adventure where they go further into the future to steal “the song that will unite time and space” from their future selves only to realize that their future selves are pathetic nobodies. Then they eventually meet up with Death again so William Salder returns, who was always a wonderful presence.
The newest character that everyone seems to be discussing was Dennis the robot. I figured they would take the steam out of his character early on, but what surprised me was how similar he was to Death in “Bogus Journey.” Dennis was appropriate for the world of a “Bill and Ted” film, and though funny, his character is just Death from ‘Bogus Journey.’
The worst part of the entire film was anything to do with Bill and Ted’s wives. Once again, the princesses are shoved into the background and completely forgotten about, which has to be the longest-running joke ever. In the context of the film, that is funny, but it really is a subplot that is hardly addressed.
This film is so pure and has such low intentions that it feels out of its time, but it was a soft reboot I welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed. Compared to most other comedy films that get a sequel ten-plus years later, “Bill & Ted Face the Music” was surprisingly pleasant and entertaining.