In Bill & Ted Face the Music, Bill and Ted, portrayed by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves respectively, are back faced with another non heinous emergency. It’s been 25 years since they released their debut album, but they have yet to produce the one song that is supposed to unite the world.
The boys are all grown up; they’ve toured the world, played Wembley Stadium, had kids, and now are playing songs as a wedding band. Ted’s dad is still bugging him to get a job, their wives are trying to get them to not be codependent. Their kids though, Little Billie Logan and Thea Preston, adore their bumbling dads. And, let’s just say the apples don’t fall far from the trees.
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As Bill and Ted are returning home after an unsuccessful couples therapy (as both couples sit on a couch, the dumbfounded counselor states, “You realize this is couples counseling, right?” An optimistic Bill responds, “Yeah! We’re a couple of couples!”), a large egg appears out of the ether. Out steps Kristen Schaal, playing Kelly, the daughter of the late George Carlin’s character Rufus.
She expresses much of the same adoration others presented to Bill and Ted on former journeys to the future. Bill and Ted are celebrities, but Kelly needs them to come and speak to the Great Leader. “Just to talk,” she assures them. The duo face the Great Leader to learn that they are scheduled to perform the song that will unite humanity in only a few hours time. They’ve had almost 30 years to make it happen. If they can’t make it happen, the universe will fall in on itself, tearing apart space and time.
This movie is not only a fabulous sci-fi film, even delving into quantum mechanics and multiverse theory, but it’s a musician’s dream come true. The boys’ daughters, played masterfully by Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving, are eclectic in their tastes. The way they speak about music shows they were raised by the Bill and Ted we know. They’re passionate, intensely interested in what’s happening (they discover their fathers are time traveling again by eavesdropping), and find the good in what others do.
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For people in love with Rick and Morty, this movie would be right up their alley. Playing on the same multiverse concept of the adult swim show, Bill and Ted end up in hilarious scenarios. While definitely a new movie with grown up characters, it gives as much newness as it does throwbacks to the first two films. It satisfies the want for the familiar, while stoking the excitement of a new chapter in the story line.
Regardless of your opinion of the original Bill & Ted and their escapades through time, Bill & Ted Face the Music hits every nail on the head and reminds us of the Wyld Stallyns philosophy. “Be excellent to each other. And Party on, dudes.”
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