Bill and Ted Face the Music
Image Credit: Orion Pictures
Simon Dillon,
14th Nov 2020
Tags:
Life
Review
Adventure
Comedy
'Bill and Ted Face the Music' is the latest franchise from my youth to be revived for a dose of mid-life crisis nostalgia.
In this case, the results are fairly decent, with the film generating enough silly laughter to justify its existence, without necessarily having much appeal beyond the cult fanbase.
For reasons too farcical to explain, middle-aged Bill and Ted, and their adoring teenage daughters, end up in a quest to discover the song that will apparently unite mankind in utopian harmony across time and multiple dimensions.
In the first film, 'Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure', our heroes were told by a visitor from the future that the music of their fledgling rock band, “Wyld Styllans” would one day have this effect.
This film involves much time travelling to find great musicians.
Consequently this film involves much time travelling to find great musicians (including Jimi Hendrix and Mozart), more time travel to try and steal the song from Bill and Ted’s increasingly deranged older selves in parallel dimensions, as well as another trip to hell.
Oh, and on their trail is a sort-of Terminator with self-esteem issues.
Whether arguing with their older selves, trying to persuade the Angel of Death to re-join their old band, or entirely missing the point of couples therapy, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) remain as lovably air-headed and irreverent as ever.
Their daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine), and Thea (Samara Weaving), are equally goofy, but far smarter, and prove a fantastic addition.
Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson’s screenplay barely makes sense.
Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson’s screenplay barely makes sense, but it hardly matters given the defiantly uncynical, warm-hearted nature of the film (much like its predecessors, which they also wrote).
By the way, Death (William Sadler) is almost as funny here as he was in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.
Is it as good as the first two? Not really, but how can you dislike a film like this?
Director Dean Parisot (best known for the excellent, hugely underrated Galaxy Quest) perfectly captures the spirit of the originals, and the cast are as engaging as ever.
In short, it’s 90 minutes of well-earned escapism. Be excellent to one another, and party on dude.
