Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is goofy, good-natured, and ridiculous. It's a movie about a simple-minded pair but the writing is clever. The characters are memorable, the script quotable, and overall, it's so easy-going it's difficult not to like even before we dig into what makes it great.
Bill S. Preston (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) are would-be musicians, the founding and sole members of “Wyld Stallyn” (Pronounced “Wild Stallion”). The boys receive grave news from their history teacher: if they don’t get an A+ on their upcoming report, they’ll fail the class. Ted will be sent to military school. Wyld Stallyn will be dead. Enter Rufus (George Carlin) a man from 2688. To ensure the future's safety, he provides them with a time machine - the perfect tool to piece together a triumphant report.
Immediately, you know not to take the film seriously. We’re told that humanity will, in the future, exist in a state of perpetual happiness due to the inspiration they derived from the Wyld Stallyn. That's tough to believe. Almost as tough as the broad caricatures of Billy the Kidd (Dan Shor), Napoleon (Terry Camilleri), and the rest. The Abraham Lincoln we see (portrayed by Robert V. Barron) isn’t the least bit convincing. Of course not. It’s a lot funnier that way.
Bill & Ted and Wayne's World started a trend in the '90s. Two metalhead slackers with lousy grades embarking on a fantastic adventure. Sounds a lot like Meet the Deedles, Bio-Dome, and others. The imitators were doomed from the start. They featured unlikeable protagonists. What’s different about Bill & Ted? A number of things, first and foremost being that they’re friends, and actually quite intelligent. There is no contrived falling out, not an inkling of animosity between the two. They’re enthusiastic buddies through-and-through. They want to have a great time, and they’re inviting you to come along with them. It’s true that their book smarts may be lacking, but when it comes to the time machine business, it doesn't take them long to figure out how to run circles around everyone else. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is one of the few time travel movies in which the rules established remain consistent and the heroes understand, and take advantage of the true power given by time travel. Often the film will do anything for a laugh but the goofiness is a hardbound cover on a book that’s well written.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure does not ask you to go on a journey with two people you’d never want to associate with. In real life, you’d have a great time with Bill & Ted, either laughing along with them or at them (just a little bit). Their tight bond of friendship makes them instantly endearing. The adventure they embark upon is delightful. A myriad of quotable lines, memorable moments, and big laughs make Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure a minor comedy classic. (On DVD, March 17, 2017)