324. Bill & Ted Face The Music; movie review

 

 

BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC

Cert PG

91 mins

BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language, fantasy violence

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

In preparation for Bill & Ted Face The Music, I watched the original and was blown away by how fresh it was.

How did anyone expect it to be equally tasty 30 years on?

Occasionally, we all wish that time had stood still. Especially those of us who hanker after the high energy of youth.

But even in our prime Mrs W and I didn't have the crazy zest of Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves) and Bill Preston (Alex Winter).

Three decades later, watching blokes in their 50s speak as if they are still in their teens doesn't sound disarming - it is just plain weird.

Dean Parisot's movie catches up with our heroes years after the Wyld Stallions have long disappeared from the top of the charts.

They play at weddings and down-at-heel diners but, worse still, they haven't written the song which was supposedly going to unite the world.

So, guess what? They have to travel through time again.

Meanwhile, separately, so do their wives (Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays) and their daughters (Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine).

Bill & Ted are led by the daughter of Rufus (Kristen Schaal) to meet their future selves to discover the secret to their essential song.

Meanwhile, their wives, who came from medieval times in the last film follow them and, consequently,  their marriages are in jeopardy because they don't like what they see.

And their kids go looking for top-class musicians of the past to create the accompaniment to their dads' lyrics.

This must all be done by early evening if the world is to survive.

I loved the original Bill & Ted but this follow-up is a case a flogging a horse which is long dead.

The movie worked in the late 80s but its characters are so trapped in that era it is difficult to imagine them connecting with anyone younger than 40.

The original concept was fresh and energetic but this has nothing new to offer.

It is same old, same old and that is the antithesis of what Bill & Ted are meant to be.

Reasons to watch: The hype surrounding Bill & Ted's return

Reasons to avoid: It is so lame

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3/10

Did you know? The late George Carlin played Rufus in the first two Bill & Ted films and his real-life daughter's name is Kelly. The "Kelly" role is named as a way to recognise and honour Carlin.

The final word. Alex Winter: "Keanu and I had no intention of making a third Bill & Ted movie. The thing that hooked us back was the idea that we could expand on these guys in an interesting way. We’re coming back to them 25-30 years later and they’re not bros who are in a stunted adolescence, they are adults with wives and daughters who they love but things have not worked out exactly the way they thought they would when they were young.” NME

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