What has always set Bill S. Preston and Theodore Logan apart, and made their films easy to return to, is the sense of kindness seen throughout. At no point do Bill or Ted become the butt of the joke thanks to their lackadaisical spaced-out lingo or attitudes. They didn’t resort to attacking or punching down at their teachers in “Excellent Adventure,” and they even befriended Death himself in “Bogus Journey.” It’s worth bringing up because their third and possibly final adventure, “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” is not only an extremely wholesome adventure, but a textbook example of comedy through kindness.
Alex Winter (“The Lost Boys,” “Freaked”) and Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix,” “John Wick”) slide gracefully back into their old shoes as Bill and Ted. The pairs friendship is electric, and the chemistry is as good as it’s ever been. They’re the lifeblood of the film, and, like the last two, their infectious love for each other and general optimism and kindness towards the world at large is infectious.
Bill and Ted’s daughters, Theodora (Thea) and Wilhelmina (Billie), are played by Samara Weaving (“Ready or Not,” “The Babysitter”) and Brigette Lundy-Paine (“Atypical,” “Bombshell”), respectively. They easily match their father’s chemistry and are just as delightful to watch as Bill and Ted Sr. Weaving is definitely more toned down between the two of them, and Lundy-Paine absolutely runs away with every scene they’re in. It’s as if the actor has taken classes entirely on imitating Reeves, but puts a fun, hyperenergetic spin on the performance that prevents it from turning into a mere caricature.
While there are plenty of other support actors here, such as Kristen Schaal (“The Last Man on Earth,” “Gravity Falls”) as Rufus’s daughter Kelly, Anthony Carrigan (“Gotham,” “Barry”) as murderous cyborg Dennis Caleb McCoy, and the glorious return of William Sadler (“Die Hard 2,” “Deep Space Nine”) as Death, none have as much time devoted to them as Bill and Ted Jr./Sr. It leaves them less as characters and more as just vehicles for fun moments and jokes.
Unfortunately, the same goes for Bill and Ted’s princess wives, now played by Erinn Hayes (“It’s a Disaster,” “They Came Together”) and Jayma Mays (“American Made,” “Glee”). There seems to be a plot running in the background that takes them on their own wild adventure that the movie just doesn’t seem too concerned with, reducing them to just popping up on occasion for comedic moments.
There is a weirdly complicated plot going on in “Face the Music,” in a good way. Throughout the film, numerous characters crisscross through time with wild abandon, and it perfectly captures the spirit of the original film. Sure, it’s silly and lighthearted, it has its share of groaners and goofy moments, some spots of plot convenience, and low budget CGI and green screen, but it all feels so endearing.
None of these moments feel sour, because they all feel authentic to the characters and their adventure. It’s a bizarre comparison, but Face the Music often feels like a theatrically released fan film, as it is a perfect recapturing of what made these characters so lovable in the first place. Its hard to fault a movie like this for some poor CGI, given that its clear the choice was made to do that rather than sacrifice some other more important aspect of the film.
That being said, this is still a movie about time traveling slacker 80’s dudes, so even if it’s the best movie it could possibly be, it’ll only be so good. But that’s the incredible thing, more important than the plot or effects, the fact that the characters of Bill and Ted are so perfectly nailed here is the true triumph.
Director Dean Parisot (“Galaxy Quest,” “Monk”) and screenwriters Ed Solomon (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Men in Black”) and Chris Matheson (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “A Goofy Movie”) know exactly where the appeal of these characters lies, and they mine those moments for all their worth. By progressively digging into what could be the worst future for everyone involved, they’ve created a parable for active kindness and living in the now.
It feels so easy nowadays to make a comedy that revolves around one or more people having the piss taken out of them. “Dumb and Dumber” might be funny, but the leads are always being laughed at, never laughed with. That’s where the true success of “Face the Music” lies, it’s a kind film, to its characters, its audience, and it aspires to just make people happy.
The fact that “Bill and Ted Face the Music” is without a doubt the most wholesome film of the year is no small feat. Sure, it’s easy to get hung up on the clear lack of budget in some effects, and the overall cheesiness of the whole affair. But never before has the original spirit of a property or characters been so expertly recreated. It may have been quite a few decades, but Bill and Ted are just as excellent as ever. 4/5
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