233. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure; movie review

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
Cert PG
87 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild language and violence

"I don't think I liked this back in the day because its characters seemed too stupid."
I agreed with Mrs W's summary - it's taken me more than 30 years to love Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Indeed, I was blown away by its re-release.
Why? Well, for starters, it was obvious this time around that Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are hip rather than vacuous.
That is central to them becoming icons for the human race of the future.
Reeves made his early movie career off the back of Ted, rekindling his partnership with Winter in the film's follow-up but also playing a similar character in Parenthood.
He then became one of the most well-known movie stars through the Matrix series while Winter disappeared from the screen and went into production.
Now, as they are about to reunite in a new Bill and Ted adventure, it is fascinating to return to their glorious past when they made history funky.
Yep, they are about to fail their school year because of one vital exam when they receive a visitor from the future (George Carlin) who sends them back in time to learn the real stories in person from the likes of Napoleon (Terry Camilleri) and Joan Of Arc (Jane Wiedlin).
It hadn't occurred to me at the time that the high school strugglers becoming huge enthusiasts for history would have a positive effect on young people.
Or that this was even part of the moviemakers' intentions.
But the fact remains that, while being great fun, Stephen Herek's film encourages learning without being dull or preachy.
I also love how it proves that there is no need for an avalanche of profanities for a film to be cool. Indeed, the only truly edgy element surround's Bill's rather glamorous 'step mum' (Amy Stoch). By today's standards, it is very light.
Bill & Ted work for everyone - family entertainment at its "most triumphant."


Reasons to watch: So energetic and different in its day
Reasons to avoid: Maybe Bill and Ted are a little too stupid

Laughs: Two
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter auditioned for the opposite role to the one's they ended up playing. Reeves claims that he didn’t even know their roles had been switched until after he had been cast.

The final word. Alex Winter: "I was off shooting a music video the weekend it came out, and I literally became super-famous overnight. I’d grown up as a child actor, but that was the only time I experienced it like that. It really hit me months later when I was in Paris – there was a bunch of skateboarding kids, all talking like us.” Louder Sound

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