Orion Pictures
Let’s face the music here — 2020 has been a pretty crappy year for most of us, some even more so than others. And at the time of this writing, things aren’t getting any better as the pandemic continues to rage on as actual doctors and scientists had predicted. The first wave had an immediate effect on Hollywood as theaters were forced to close, throwing movie release schedules into complete turmoil. But as warm weather approached, we saw a resurgence in drive-in movie attendance, and leading the pack on that front was the release of Bill & Ted Face the Music. The film was eagerly anticipated, but it also prompted many to ask if the film was necessary. When you see a continuation of a film franchise that put out its last chapter almost 30 years ago, you have to wonder if it’s a brash cash grab or if there is actually some TLC going into the production. Some succeed, many fail. The Bill & Ted films were never exactly box office smashes with Excellent Adventure coming out of 1989 at Number 31 with just over $40 million, and Bogus Journey finishing 1991 at Number 36 with $38.5 million. But the films did thrive thanks to home video and have become cultural touchstones. But can Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter capture that magic a third time?
The story takes place in the present with Bill & Ted’s band Wyld Stallyns having gone from playing concerts at the Grand Canyon to performing at motel lounges and weddings. It’s to a point that Ted (Reeves) is thinking of throwing in the towel, certain the pair will never come up with the song that will unite the world. Bill (Winter) believes they still have it in them but fate intervenes when Kelly (Kristen Schaal), Rufus’ daughter, arrives from the future to bring them to the Great Leader (Holland Taylor) who has a dire message for them — they need to write that song by 7:17 PM that day or else the world, the universe, time as we know it, will cease to exist. No pressure, dudes. But with such a short window in which to save the world and no idea what the song is, the pair decide to ‘borrow’ the old phone booth Rufus used to travel through time to their future selves to get the song. Except most of their future selves are jerks and not helpful at all. On top of that, they learn that their wives (Erinn Hayes & Jayma Mays) are being whisked through time to find a timeline in which they are happy with Bill & Ted (who don’t seem to grasp that couples are just two people, not two pairs), and their daughters (Samara Weaving & Brigette Lundy-Paine) are also gallivanting through time to assemble a band to play the song with their dads. Things get complicated when the Great Leader decides that Rufus’ directive to Bill & Ted could have different interpretations, including one in which the pair die to save the world, and she sends a killer robot (Anthony Carrigan) after them. And then it gets really complicated when the dudes meet their old frenemy Death (William Sadler) again. Can Bill, Ted, Thea and Billie save the world?
REVIEW
I’m just going to say this up front — I enjoyed the first movie, I don’t remember much about the second one, but Bill & Ted Face the Music is the most joyful movie to come out of a terrible year. I was worried that seeing Keanu and Alex playing 30 year older versions of their characters would be painful, but it wasn’t. And it was also fun to see them interacting with their future selves (which included various makeup and full body suits to make them look and behave differently). It’s really like they never missed a beat, like the friendship the actors developed decades ago is still strong as ever, giving them that same chemistry as Bill & Ted on screen. The casting department really stepped up with Weaving (the niece of Hugo Weaving, The Matrix‘s Agent Smith) and Lundy-Paine as Thea and Billie, both of whom bear a resemblance to their movie fathers and have their body language and mannerisms down pat, but never just as a caricature of them. I would not be averse at this point to seeing Billie & Thea go on their own excellent adventures. It was also great to see William Sadler back as Death, and his reunion with Bill & Ted is quite funny as they reopen old wounds that need to be addressed before they can move on. Offering fine comedic support are Kristen Schaal, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Jillian Bell and Holland Taylor. I think, though, that my favorite character had to be Dennis Caleb McCoy, the killer robot from the future played by Anthony Carrigan, known for the role of Victor Zsasz on Gotham and NoHo Hank on Barry. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I won’t ruin the character for you but Carrigan’s portrayal peels back many surprising layers of the robot. It’s a genius performance and I wanted to see more! The film also benefits greatly by having the original writers and creators of Bill & Ted, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, guiding the story, with Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot at the helm. I just can’t say enough how impressed I was with the film, from the writing to the performances to the music to the eye-popping special effects. It all just works perfectly, and I know I had a smile on my face from the minute the movie started right through to the end (stay all the way through the credits), which packed in some real heart and even left me with a few (happy) tears in my eyes. Bill & Ted Face the Music is THE movie to see if you’re feeling down in the dumps. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt, and it’s truly uplifting … and you don’t really need to have seen the first two to enjoy it. There’s just enough explanation to make the film an enjoyable watch on its own.
VIDEO
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released the Orion Pictures film on Blu-ray (a 4K version is only available through streaming outlets) and it looks terrific. Colors are bright and vibrant, blacks are dark with no video noice apparent, details are sharp, so there’s no real complaint with the video presentation. It’s so clear that some of the green screen sets are obviously just that, but that is just inherent in the original production and doesn’t reflect on WBHE’s video presentation. And it looks great upscaled to 4K, real reference quality video.
AUDIO
It would have been nice to have gotten a film like this with so many visual effects, sound effects and music in a Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos presentation, but the Blu-ray’s DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio gets the job done. The surrounds will get a nice workout in various environments with directional sound effects, and whenever music kicks in it’s nicely balanced with the voices, which are always clearly presented front and center, never obscured by the music. For what it is, WBHE has done a stellar job with both the audio and video presentaion.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- The Official Bill & Ted Face The Music Panel at Comic-Con@Home (43:14) – This is the virtual Comic-Con panel held in the summer of 2020 moderated by fanboy Kevin Smith, who credits Bill & Ted with the creation of his Jay & Silent Bob characters. Appearing on the virtual panel are Reeves, Winter, Sadler, Weaving, Lundy-Paine, Matheson, Solomon and Parisot. Due to the format, not a lot of ground is covered but it’s enjoyable enough. It’s also the only substantial extra on the disk.
- Be Excellent to Each Other (1:22) – A short promo piece with key cast members.
- A Most Triumphant Duo (1:17) – Another puff piece, this time with the writers and director.
- Social Piece (Excellence) (0:49) – A very quick look at the optimism of the franchise.
- Death’s Crib (1:13) – Sadler as Death gives us a quick, humorous tour of his digs in Hell.
OVERVIEW
I really went into Bill & Ted Face the Music expecting it to be mildly amusing, maybe offering a chuckle or two, but fearing it would induce more cringing than joy. I was wrong. Dead wrong, and I’m happy to admit that. I’ll say it again, this is the most joyful movie to come out of a terrible year and it’s one that can be enjoyed by families as well. There’s no real vulgarity to the film, it’s just a fun, heartfelt, lovingly produced piece of entertainment that can brighten any dark day. Bill & Ted always wanted us to ‘be excellent’ to each other, and Bill & Ted Face the Music is a most excellent adventure.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.
Bill & Ted Face the Music has a running time of 1 hour 31 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some language.
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