Bill & Ted Face The Music (2020)

Runtime 1 hour 31 minutes

Capsule Review, minimal spoilers:

Some 20 years since their last adventure, Bill S Preston Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) have yet to unite the world, as has been prophesied. Something’s wrong, and it’s coming to a head. So starts Bill & Ted Face The Music.

This film has been in the making for over 20 years, in one form or another. The pressure to fulfill everyone’s expectations is extremely high, and this film delivers, to a degree. The same elements are here, but most of it seems rather perfunctory. That, perhaps is the problem I find with the film. It’s more of a rehash of moments from the previous two movies, with not much more to add. There are one or two things in this sequel that save it from being just acceptable, though. Check the Standard Review below for a little more detail.

Do yourselves a favor, wait on this one. Right now, everyone’s hungry for something new, and Face The Music doesn’t quite fit the bill. I opted to purchase it for $24.99 instead of the 30 day rental fee of $19.99, but to me, it wasn’t worth it at either cost.

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Standard Review, some spoilers:

So, Bill & Ted are at it again. They haven’t really made it in the music business, and are languishing as a local act, for the most part. Their wives, Elizabeth (Erinn Hayes) and Joanna (Jayma Mays) are feeling ignored. There’s a good scene that develops between them all, and it brought a smile to my face. No one, besides them, actually believes any of the crazy stories about time travel, and their supposed destiny, but instead, everyone wishes they’d give it up and take some responsibilities in their lives. Well, not everyone.

Rufus’ Daughter, Kelly (Kristen Schaal) is sent to back to let them know that time’s running out on that song. They’re brought to the future to be warned. In the process, they’re almost stranded, but steal a time machine, and take off to go in search of the song..

Meanwhile, remember at the end of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, they show up at the concert with their two offspring Little Bill & Little Ted? Did you know the names were short for Billie & Theodora? Well, you do now. Their daughters, played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine happen to observe their fathers being taken, and realize they have to help. They are essentially teenage versions of Bill & Ted , but a lot smarter.

The two of them are what save this film, in my opinion. They manage to repeat the same behaviors as their fathers, and get the same things done, but with different methods. I’ll avoid spoilers here, but the ‘parodies’ of their fathers is pretty uncanny.

The story makes sense right up until it doesn’t, at the end. It’s almost as if someone who wrote Star Trek technobabble stepped in on the script writing session for a few minutes just to insert an idea. I’m sure if I went back and rewatched the scene, it’d make more sense, but honestly, I couldn’t be bothered. I know ‘what’ they did, just didn’t catch the ‘why’.

As I mentioned, I didn’t think it was worth the money I spent to see it. It was a passable, lite comedy, so I can’t say I didn’t like it. I’d just wait a little time, so that it drops into some streaming service as part of the monthly fee instead of paying for it outright.