Bill & Ted Face the Music – Film Review
by Fran Winston

Director: Dean Parisot
Writers: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Kristen Schaal

Nearly thirty years after their last big-screen outing the most bodacious duo in cinematic history are back. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprise their roles as the wannabe rock stars who believe that their music can change the world. Or, in the case of this movie, save reality and the very fabric of time and space.

Yet again the intrepid twosome find themselves transported to the future where they are told that they are supposed to play a song that will unite all of time and humanity. However, if they don’t perform the track the world will implode. Unfortunately, they have no idea what the song is and with time rapidly running out before their apparent performance they decide to travel to talk to their future selves in the hopes of getting a copy of the opus.

Their efforts are compounded by trouble in both their marriages as their wives are feeling neglected. Meanwhile, their daughters Thea (Weaving) and Billie (Lundy-Paine) are doing some time travel of their own, trying to create the greatest band ever to back their dads which involves visiting some of the all-time musical greats.

This very much follows the formula of previous Bill & Ted offerings which will no doubt delight fans. The previous movies have become huge cult classics but are very much like marmite – you either love them or hate them. While Bill and Ted still very much live in their own most excellent world the fact they now have wives and children adds another dimension (although not much maturity) to the characters. Yes, the plot is silly, but so were the plots of their previous offerings. Despite this, the movies have always had a charm about them and this is no exception. In trying to pay homage to all the elements of the previous movies it can be a bit hit and miss in places but its fast pace and the likeability of the protagonists compensate for this.

Both Winter and Reeves slip back into the characters as if they only played them yesterday. Although they look somewhat older within about five minutes of their goofy banter you completely forget about that. The rest of the cast – some returning and some new to the franchise – completely embrace the concept and they all appear to be having great fun. Weaving and Lundy-Paine do a great job as the offspring of Bill and Ted and absolutely channel them. It’s not inconceivable that they might carry the franchise forward if Reeves and Winter don’t fancy another outing. Also, look out for a couple of fantastic cameos.

This isn’t quite “excellent” but it will raise several laughs along the duos time travel journey. Fans of the first two movies will love this and new viewers will surely be won over. A lot of fun and just the sort of silly humour that we need in these serious times.