Bill & Ted Face the Music

Some fantasy comedies are sure to become cult movies for a whole generation of viewers fed on MTV music videos, comic books and genre films. Such is the case with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), two supercharged films written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon.

In the first movie, Bill and Ted met Rufus, a person from the year 2688, who, to help them pass a history exam, suggested that they travel back in time using a telephone booth and meet historical figures in order to better understand important historical events. This time travel mixed with rock music required an iconic duo of actors Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves.

In the second movie, a bad guy, Chuck De Nomolos, sends robots in the effigy of Bill & Ted into the past to kill Bill and Ted and build a future based on his ideals. Bill & Ted are thus killed and must face death (the Grim Reaper played by William Sadler). However, they manage to beat death several times and thus can find unexpected allies to face these robots and confront them during a Homeric battle of rock bands. At the same time, they manage to get back their girlfriends they are engaged to. We were waiting for a third installment to close this film saga and despite fans who kept asking for a third installment, we had to wait more than twenty-nine years to finally enjoy the excellent Bill & Ted Face the Music without moderation.

We can easily feel that the screenwriters of the two previous films Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon and the two main actors Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves not only wanted to keep the same festive state of mind of the two previous films but above all to bring their characters back to life. Keanu Reeve, who was the bassist of the Californian rock band Dogstar for about ten years, is a music lover and his return in one of his mythical roles like Neo in the Matrix saga and John Wick more recently in the cult saga with the homonymous title is not a pu rhasard. We feel that this film was made possible thanks to his renewed popularity. By interpreting his character through different spatial and temporal times, our pleasure is all the stronger.

The rather sketchy plot means that Bill and Ted will have to travel back in time to fulfill their rock and roll destiny and save the world. Indeed, a visitor from the future approaches them several years after the glory that propelled them to the forefront of the stage has passed and they both gave birth to a daughter (Billie Logan and Thea Preston) and have fallen into total anonymity. She tells them that the earth is in its final hours before the end of all life on earth and that the only chance to save the planet is to create a 78-minute song. Always ready to do as little as possible and still living for their music, they decide to steal this song from themselves without suspecting that their travels will once again change the whole course of history. Only their daughters Billie Logan and Thea Preston seem to have understood that, as was the case in the previous episode, they must create a new musical group (nothing will be said about the members of this one).

What a pleasure also to be back with Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, second roles just as successful starting with the actresses Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine but also William Sadler who takes again his role of death and benefits from good dialogues and some successful scenes.

Between musical scenes, punchy dialogues and successful special effects, Bill & Ted Face the Music regains all the strength of the first two parts. Bill & Ted have taken like the spectators of the age but they keep the same energy even if they have reversed their girlfriend and can't find a job other than being a musician. To find the perfect tone to give to this film, we couldn't find better directors than Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest (1999), Braqueurs amateurs (Fun with Dick and Jane) (2005), Red 2 (2013)). Bill & Ted Face the Music keeps all its promises and stands out as one of the best VOD releases in the United States even though we certainly preferred to discover this film in the cinema.

Bill & Ted Face the Music
Directed by Dean Parisot
Produced by Scott Kroopf, Steven Soderbergh
Written by Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
Starring Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Scott Mescudi, Kristen Schaal, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Jillian Bell, Holland Taylor
Music by Mark Isham
Cinematography: Shelly Johnson
Edited by Don Zimmerman
Production companies: Orion Pictures, Hammerstone Studios, Dial 9, Dugan Entertainment, TinRes Entertainment, Endeavor Content
Distributed by United Artists Releasing (United States), Warner Bros. Pictures (United Kingdom), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (International)
Release date: August 21, 2020 (United States)

Viewed on August 26, 2020 (screener press)

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