After nearly 30 years, Wyld Stallions are back as Bill and Ted once again have to save the universe. It’s been about that long since I’ve seen either of the original two films so I decided to binge watch all three of the movies. Let me tell you, it was a blast. We’re not here to talk about Excellent Adventure and/or Bogus Journey so suffice it to say, they’re great and really worth a revisit.
With Bill & Ted Face The Music, the guys are older but are still the Bill and Ted we all love. They’re married to the Princesses (Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays), not without some trouble, and each have a daughter (Played by Samara Weaving & Brigette Lundy-Paine and funnily explained how they changed from the sons in Bogus Journey), who are near clones of their dads.
The guys are hard at work trying to write the song that unites the universe when they receive word from Kelly (Kristen Schaal), who happens to be Rufus’ daughter, that time is running out and that song needs to be done, performed, and saving reality within 77 minutes. This sends our heroes back into time to track down the song from themselves in the future. Meanwhile, they have a killer robot, their own future selves, and their daughters, doing their best to intervene.
What follows is a sweet movie about getting older, responsibilities, even father hood. It’s a bright light in a dark world. Is it perfect? No. Bill and Ted spend most of the film interacting with other versions of themselves while their daughters are traveling the time stream finding historical musicians to help create the song to unite the universe. It does get slightly repetitive but Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter throw themselves so wholeheartedly into their roles that we can’t help but enjoy the time we have with them.
The cast is great. Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine are great as the guy’s very similarly named daughters. They definitely seem to be enjoying themselves. Same with Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays who step in as the third set of actresses portraying the princesses for this franchise. Of course, Keanu and Alex feel right at home.
It’s been 29 years and yet it feels like slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. Watching all three of the films together makes it feel like a complete trilogy. Face The Music is a natural conclusion and it feels part of a whole story despite being so long between films.
I don’t want to spoil too much. There are some nice winks and nods to the previous films and I think even the most die hard of fans will fall under the charms of Bill & Ted Face The Music. I’d suggest just buying the movie outright rather than renting it. It’s $5 more and you can revisit it as much as you like. In this current climate you’re going to want to.
Bill and Ted Face The Music is available on demand and presumably at whatever open theater you can find.
Garon Cockrell is the Founder and Editor of Pop Culture Beast and host of The Pop Culture Beast Show. He founded the site over seven years ago to have a place on the internet to write about the things he loved. Since then, Garon has become a best-selling author (Demonic and Other Tales), an award winning screenwriter (Best Screenplay 2013 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival), and a cast member on the top rated podcast, Never Not Funny.