BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC Review
BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC is a movie that was not made for me. Sometimes one’s opinion of a movie is based off that simple designation for better or worse. While, in any other scenario, the idea of two dopey (possibly stoned) music heads traveling through space and time to rock out with historical figures of the world seems like it would be rather rad. But for whatever reason, ever since I first came across BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE after “winning” it in a Pizza Hut related sweepstakes years ago (this is a very delirious memory of mine that I believe to be true to this day), the stakes of Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) have never caught on with me. At best, a chuckle was to be had; at worst, I probably just put on another movie, so when FACE THE MUSIC finally arrived 30ish years after its sequel (BILL & TED’S BOGUS JOURNEY) I met the news with more or less lukewarm passivity.
And let me tell you, if the Bill & Ted franchise has kept anything consistent, it’s the ability to securely fasten me to feelings of slight bemusement mixed with bored listlessness and the third (and probably final) entry in this storied saga falls in line with its ancestors in that regard. To be fair, I never did a rewatch of the first two films before watching this which would have probably helped make this a more invigorating viewing but alas. As it goes, this third entry catches audiences up with what Bill and Ted are up to in their older years, as the dopey former teenagers are now just dopey grown adults who are focused on nothing more than creating the raddest song of all time which will (as they were destined to) unite the world. But as their attempts continue to fall short, the balance of space and time begins to collapse signalling an impending apocalypse that will destroy the world unless the two men can finally fulfill their destiny.
As a result, the two bros find themselves in another time bending caper as they travel forward in time to steal the song that will save the world from their future selves who have already written it while their daughters, Billie and Thea (Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving respectively) go back in time to find and recruit the best musicians of human history to form the best backing band for the best song in the world. Writing that out, it seems all very complex and to writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon’s credit, they make an overly complex time travel affair pretty simple and breezy. Even with the title’s hints of self-reflection, besides a few scenes here and there where Bill and Ted contemplate their decisions in life, the film is just content to zing off a few chuckle worthy jokes and franchise callbacks to satiate those starved Bill & Ted fans out there. To their credit, Winter and Reeves still keep the energy of the characters alive and well even after 30ish years of dormancy as they play aged out optimists with ease. However, besides the additional return of William Sadler’s always enjoyable Death and Anthony Carrigan’s scene stealing performance as an over anxious death cyborg, the rest of the cast must deal with some sidelined characters especially in regards to Weaving and Lundy-Paine’s performance as the equally dopey offspring of our main characters. While the two women match the energy (and mannerisms) of their paternal co-stars, their characters never get the proper time allotted to make them feel like more than gender-swapped versions of Bill and Ted as their B-story hardly gets to deliver on the promises held within scenarios involving the recruitment of the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, and a drumming caveman.
With really just Bill and Ted holding things down in regards to interesting character development (outside of the death cyborg of course), FACE THE MUSIC, despite a lean runtime feels like its going through the motions. Under the workmanlike approach from director Dean Parisot, the film, despite an atmosphere and tone of refreshing optimism and positivity, feels bland and rushed, especially in regards to the final act where the film literally just ends abruptly with little fanfare. For a movie 30ish years in the making, the end result offers a strange and slightly underfunded product as the story rushes along to its conclusion surrounded by lackluster visual effects and production values. I mean, I can forgive the choppy visuals but when the music of the film hardly becomes memorable in a movie about the creation of a song that will unite the world, you can see why one could be disappointed in some of the outcomes of this film.
Nevertheless, as I’ve mentioned before, this film was not made for me and my non-awesome ways and that’s perfectly fine. Indeed, even as I didn’t take to it, I could definitely see this film connecting more with its intended audience as it delivers the thrills of seeing Bill and Ted and Death and time travel reunite one more time. While this dog of a movie never learns any new tricks, the ones it does perform occasionally bring a smile to your face.
2/5
