So I'm sitting here watching this movie because I feel I have to, less and less trying to keep an open mind nor trying to either remember who I was back when I adored those characters or defend their 'artistic' choices in my own head for an article I was less and less sure I'd be writing because who cares about Bill & Ted really, and then something funny happened. Not... I mean, ... I'm not about to launch into an arc here, I literally mean something funny happened. In the movie. Because so far not much had. Nor interesting, for that matter. But this, as simple and quick and probably not intended as it was, made me belt an out-loud chuckle.
Put a pin in that. Because it happened again. HA! And again. I mean you gotta give it up for a movie that drops the humor hammer on you 1 hour into its 90 minutes runtime. Respect to the headliners for letting it NOT be them who brought it. The thing is (yeah, ok, arc) now I'm actually enjoying this.
Quick recap for those not in the know. The film concerns Bill & Ted, two former teenage slackers who are now... adult. Slackers. Once, 31 years years ago, they were visited by Rufus the time traveler (George Carlin) who taught them that one day a song they write will unite the world, but they won't get there unless they pass their high school History presentation, so he gave them an 'American' Tardis and sent them through history so they could learn it proper. ly. Then 2 years later another future guy had clone robots of them send them to Hell where they met Death (William Sadler) and came back to life to play an 'Excellent' concert in front of 25K people. With Death playing bass.
But now, being middle-aged suburban dads who can't even pack half a seniors bingo hall, they still haven't written the damn song. Their co-dependence is driving away their Princesses wives, their grown daughters are turning into exact clones but with better musical taste, and reality is about to end, in like 75 minutes dude, unless they come up with that song once and for all. As they trip forward through time looking for future-thems who already wrote the song so they can "steal" it, a killer robot is sent after them (again...) in hopes that their nonexistence will prevent all nonexistence.
Truth be told I haven't watched Excellent Adventure in over 15 years, and I only watched sequel Bogus Journey twice; didn't like it nearly as much, but William Sadler solidly planted Death's feet as one of the most hilarious supporting characters of the 1990s, and himself rightly became a fixture of movies from that decade. I probably will not rewatch either for fear they won't hold up, same reason I was weary of watching the very late threequel: the trailer showed me a Bill and a Ted that still go "Woa, Dude!" and somehow 46 year-old me don't find that funny, or charming, or anything positive. And that point alone, as I somewhat reluctantly launched into the film, kept grating at me.
So those 2 keep meeting older and older versions of themselves who are increasingly worse losers, which is more depressing than funny; you're middle-aged and already feel like a failure and keep seeing that it only degenerates the further you go. So by now I'm really not enjoying this film. But then the killer robot makes a mistake: the daughters when through time as well to gather the greatest jammers of all (Mozart, Hendrix, a drumming cavewoman whom God knows how they heard of) but when they come back with their new friends they get accidentally lasered to death. And sent to Hell. And the robot... panics. THAT. Is when the funny starts.
Initially a terminator-type cold-stone killer, this robot suddenly shows he's a robot only on the outside: when he talks and doesn't sound robotic, he sounds like a dweeb. Who feels bad. And whose voice is incredibly similar to the hilarious bald guy on Barry (because HE IS!). And the further he opens his mouth the funnier the film gets, because he does eventually find his targets at which point he tells them his name. Over and over. I mean, his name is really important to him. And it's so friggin hilarious I won't spoil it here. But you start realizing the movie was not missing someone funny, it's someone funny enough for the 2 leads to showcase away from themselves. One of those had just arrived.
And then they break out the Big Gun. Death.
The moment Bill Sadler appears, he friggin steals the whole show. With one simple combination of German accent (kids, go on Wikipedia and look-up Ingmar Bergman if you wanna begin to understand) and body language, he makes me laugh out loud straight away, which I promise you is not easy because I am discreet as Hell and I laugh the way I die, on the inside. By then the whole thing starts to make sense, starts being funny, and dagnabbit starts being interesting. Keanu Reeves, one of the bigger stars on the planet, and his co-star who didn't need the paycheck because he's a respected producer and director, are using the platform that made them famous in order to let others shine. Starting with William Sadler, one of the most underrated actors of all time, and with Samara Weaving, niece of Reeves' Matrix nemesis Hugo Weaving (apparently she got the part of Bill's daughter when Reeves learned who she was).
Keep that in mind folks, because that's the key to the story, and the movie in every aspect, but I won't spoil it any further. Suffice it to say, as soon as the end credits rolled, which emphasize what I just illustrated and is amazing to no end (the boys called on the internet to submit 30-second video clips of themselves rocking out to a music clip from the film, with some of the clips being selected and used in the finished film), I felt like watching it again with the hindsight I now had.
Let's be honest, Bill & Ted Face the Music will not win any sort of award except maybe for best-ageing actors, but as reluctant as I was going into to it, the film gave me anything but what I was expecting. It looks simple of mind, but ends up giving the message we all most need RIGHT NOW. Watch it, you'll get it.
4 out of 5 Neos
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