Whether by chance or some strange quirk in the space-time continuum, the first two major Hollywood movies to be released in the post-pandemic season both involve time travel. It’s as though the universe is mocking us about the time we lost in 2020.
But a premise involving time travel is the only thing that Tenet and Bill & Ted Face The Music (B&TFTM) have in common. In reality, (this one at least, and not any of the multiple ones presented in the movies) the two movies have almost nothing in common. In fact, you could say they exist on extreme opposite ends of the spectrum.
One is an intellectual mind-bending blockbuster, the other a mindless stoner comedy. One needs you to work your brain more than usual, the other requires you to leave it at the door. Tenet will fill your mind with infinite theories and possibilities, but B&TFTM will empty it right out.
Anyway, since it’s been 29 years since their last movie (1991’s Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey), Bill and Ted (played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves respectively) have obviously grown up a great deal (and it really shows on their faces).
The two dudes are now washed-up middle-aged men with little to no purpose in life, that is, until they get a visit from Kelly (Kristen Schaal), the daughter of their old pal from the future, Rufus.
She then brings them to the future, where the Great Leader (Holland Taylor) tells them that they have just 78 minutes to write a song that will unite the world in song and harmony and save the entire universe. Only one problem: they have absolutely no idea what song that is or how to write it.
So, our intrepid duo decided in the most delightfully Bill and Ted way that the only way to obtain the song is to time travel to a future where they HAVE written the song and steal it from themselves.
At the same time, their daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving) decide to help their fathers out by going back into the past to form a band made up of the greatest musicians in history that will back Bill and Ted up when they play the song.
Like I said, it’s the sort of story that really does require you to leave your brain at the door. In fact, the most challenging part about the entire movie is getting used to the fact that Ted, the stoned, laid-back, simple-minded dude jerking his body all over the place, is played by the actor who also plays Neo and John Wick.
If for some reason you have never seen the first two Bill & Ted movies (the first one being 1989’s Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure), then you’re in luck, because you don’t really need to know what happened then to know what’s going on here. Well, it would definitely improve your enjoyment of the movie if you were aware of Bill & Ted’s past relationships with the likes of Death, Station and Rufus, and are able to recognise the numerous cameos and Easter eggs in the movie, but it’s not essential.
While Schaal, Lundy-Paine and Weaving are welcome additions to the already wonderfully eccentric cast of characters, the one that shines the most is Anthony Carrigan as an insecure killer robot from the future named Dennis Caleb McCoy (don’t ask).
Ultimately, this movie is still all about Bill and Ted, and I’m happy to say that Winter and Reeves deliver a thoroughly enjoyable performance as the two hapless musicians. In fact, if not for the fact that they look so much older now, it feels like they never left us at all. And ultimately, that is all we ask for in a Bill and Ted movie – a most excellent comedy that will rock our world.
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Summary:
Most excellent, dudes.
