Bill and Ted Face the Music Review

This is an article “Bill and Ted Face the Music” by Marc Primo

Release date: August 28, 2020

Director: Dean Parisot

Language: English

Production companies: Orion Pictures, Endeavor Content, Hammerstone Studios

Producers: Scott Kroopf, Alex Lebovici, David Haring, Steve Ponce, Ed Solomon, Alex Winter

SPOILER ALERT-- After a most excellent adventure in 1989 and a bogus journey in 1991, the air guitar-strumming dudes are back as dads trying to write the song that will save the universe. And no time is as appropriate as today for a 3rd installment of Bill and Ted’s out-of-this-world escapades, when a pandemic is wreaking havoc on many peoples’ lives, as well as the box office.

But the producers of Bill and Ted Face the Music are confident that the sweet send-off to one of the most iconic modern duos in film will be received well by both old and new fans. And yes, new fans in the demographic of Bill and Ted’s children who start off the film’s narrative with a recap of their past capers.

For the first film, high school slackers William “Bill” S. Preston, Esq (Alex Winters) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) travel through time for their history presentation. The sequel then saw them rising to the top as Wyld Stallyns though creating a utopian future society which leads us to this last film where both face the music, or in other words, aging and the death of being cool.

Now trying to keep their middle-age lives as husbands and dads in order while living with the fact that Wyld Stallyns have fallen from grace and become a big joke, Bill and Ted are struggling to keep sense of their collective existence. So much so that even their wives, Joanna (Jayma Mays) and Elizabeth, (Erinn Hayes) are getting worried over how the two act as if they can’t do anything else without depending on each other. However, the shtick that made them icons somehow rubbed off on their daughters Billie (Brigette Lundy-Payne) and Thea (Samara Weaving), serving more as sources of the killer soundtrack (including the song that saves the world which was to be specifically played in C major, 113 bpm across all timelines) that goes perfectly with the whole ride.

Returning franchise screenwriters Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon still play with the idea of how dim-witted Bill and Ted are, constantly implying that the surfer attitude is still very present even after three decades. And the axle on which this 3rd installment spins around gives viewers the premise that both have to work together one last time to save their future family relationships even if that means eventually jamming together for one final time.

Director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) understands the duo’s dynamics well, veering away from Bill and Ted’s old personas and allowing them to go through the passage of time in a mellow yet familiar manner. As many would expect, Billie and Thea are passed the torch, though fall short in giving the same effect to audiences as Winters and Reeves did during their heydays as Wyld Stallyns.

While not entirely at par with the first two films, Bill and Ted Face the Music effectively reincarnates the nostalgia of the ‘Whoa, Dude’ culture, and shows how Winter and Reeves can still be as cohesive after thirty years. It’s a paean to the glory days of Bill and Ted more than anything else, allowing true blue fans to bid goodbye with a much deserved and long-awaited conclusion. Fresh viewers won’t struggle much in following this last adventure thanks to the opening recap that gave old ones a good dose of memories. Somehow, despite all the fluff and nonsense, we are still gifted with the realization that all good things must come to an end and realizing that as how Bill and Ted did allows us to grow within our destined timelines.

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