In 1989, two teenage doofuses from San Dimas were handed a most prodigious destiny: their music would save our bitterly divided world, uniting it once and for all in righteous, heavy-metal harmony. They possessed no actual musical skill and couldn’t guess the difference between Mongol emperor Bob Genghis Khan and Greek philosopher “So-crates.” But what Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) lacked in smarts, they made up for in pure, unconquerable optimism and enthusiasm. One Excellent Adventure and a hellish Bogus Journey later, Bill and Ted stood on the precipice of excellence. Their band, the Wyld Stallyns, had finally become a worldwide sensation. Their destiny, it seemed, would be fulfilled. They would be heroes.
29 years later and we finally find the pair in Bill & Ted Face the Music, the third and final film in their trilogy, and all that momentum has died down. Rather than heroes reveling in world peace, they are now a pair of deflated middle-aged dads playing mostly empty rooms in daylight-streaked hotel bars. No song of theirs ever united the world. With heavy hearts and their marriages on the rocks, the two friends are instead on the verge of pawning their guitars and giving up their rock-god dreams for good – a most non-triumphant fate for the would-be world saviors and most die-hard rock fans in San Dimas.
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The film’s lack of exposition means it quickly catches us up with Bill and Ted, now middle-aged dads whose rock stardom has dried up. Their teenage daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving) – because, yes, Ted and Bill named their daughters after each other – are on the mission this time – they have to go back in time and recruit a most excellent backing band for their dads to write that “world peace song.” The girls are slightly underwhelming, but give viewers some of the funniest lines in a film full of god-tier dialogue and remind us of why Bill and Ted were so lovable in the first place. Throw in a deadly robot with serious emotional issues, appearances by much-loved characters from the original movies, a killer soundtrack, a few surprises…and you’ve got your movie!
Perhaps the biggest flaw, however, is this plot. There’s just too much going on – in addition to the main storyline, Bill and Ted have to find a way to save their marriages to those medieval princesses, and then there’s all the stuff with the plotting and scheming of the Great Leader (Holland Taylor). There’s also Dennis (Anthony Carrigan), a formerly evil robot with aforementioned issues. There’s even more than this…and that’s a LOT to jam in a movie that’s not even 90 minutes. As a result, some scenes and plot elements that should have been given more time to shine get rushed through – classic characters from the first two films, like Death (William Sadler) and Bill’s stepmom Missy (Amy Stotch), for example, get much less screen time than they deserve. Additionally, Kelly (Kristen Schaal), the “new Rufus,” a mentor from the future, feels sorely miscast due to her lack of personality and value to the plot. Overall, the film just feels like it’s in a hurry to carry things out.
But while there are flaws, this film does most of what it needs to do, and gets it right. Winter and Reeves are effortless, capturing the same dudes we knew from so long ago, but adding the rightful weariness that comes with age. There are many callbacks to the original two films, including a tribute to Rufus, played by the late, great George Carlin, that left me more than a little misty-eyed. The humor is never mean-spirited or cruel, and feels like they just wanted to tell a new Bill & Ted story. It never for one second feels like a cynical cash-grab, it’s just a good time on all levels.
Bill & Ted Face the Music is, in some ways, a movie about failure – a tale about carrying the weight of high expectations, falling short, and learning to find purpose elsewhere. It may not be on the same level as the first two films, but it carries a new twist on the classic heart and spirit from those films to satisfy longtime fans, and is good enough to make some new ones. And we’re in a difficult time, one where Bill and Ted’s call to be excellent to each other is only getting more and more important, and the heartwarming message by the end of this film is destined to put a big smile on your face. And for 2020? That’s more than enough.
4/5 STARS