Bill and Ted Face The Music movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Bill & Ted Face The Music ON AMAZON NOW!

RATING: PG-13 (The first 2 movies in this franchise were rated PG.)

LENGTH: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

To really enjoy this most excellent sequel, try to watch the first Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure movie before seeing this. This is supposedly the final installment in the franchise that features two airhead rockers from San Dimas. I loved the first one, thought the second one was okay but was kind of disappointed with this last one. You should know it pains me to say that because I was really looking forward to this movie. It had me at Keanu Reeves.

Directed by Dean Parisot, this goofy comedy lets us revisit our favorite time-traveling teens as middle-aged dads who are still trying to write the epic song that will change the world. Fans will get some satisfaction in the events that unfold, yet others will cringe to see how the franchise ends. Honestly, I had such high hopes that it was probably going to be hard to live up to my expectations. After watching it again a second time, I enjoyed it more.

The last line of the movie is actually really sweet and just might bring a tear to your eye.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

It’s actually a pretty family-friendly film.
You might need to explain to your kids who the musicians are who are brought back through time this time around.
Some profanity, but no F-bombs.
You see some scenes in hell that might be too scary for young kids.
There are some lines spoken in German without translation.
Some people are in dangerous situations.
Some bullying.

THEMES:

“Sometimes things don’t make sense until the end of the story.” – narrator
Choices and their consequences
Music really does bring the world together!
Family
Marriage
Togetherness
Be excellent to each other and party on, dudes!
Destiny
Parenting
Believing in each other

THINGS I LIKED:

As if Keanu Reeves couldn’t get any better…Everyone loves him and I’ve heard so many urban legends of amazingly kind things he has done for others over the years. They were filming this movie in a Louisiana neighborhood when Keanu noticed a sign on the front lawn of one of the houses that said, “You’re breathtaking” so he wandered over to meet the family and take a photo with them. Sweet! Keanu looked so different in this movie, mostly because he shaved his beard. I guess. There was something else odd about his face. Don’t get me wrong. I adore the man, but he looked like he had weird plastic surgery or something. Keanu Reeves is definitely a bigger movie star than Alex Winter, so I was impressed that Keanu didn’t ask for more screen time. Bill and Ted really are an equal team in the movie. Alex Winter is still working in the industry, just behind the scenes in producing and directing.
It was fun to see the different Bill & Ted versions in time. Kudos to the make-up department!
Fan service is done in the perfect amount by inviting back many former cast members.
Death was awesome. Wow, what a sentence that is I just wrote. ha ha William Sadler returns to play his hilarious role as Death.
The actor George Carlin, who played Rufus, actually died in 2008, so they used archive footage from the first film so he could be in this final installment in the franchise. Sweet.
Keep watching during the final credits for some cute music moments. Then, keep watching until the VERY end for another cute scene with Bill and Ted.
Ted’s daughter, played by Brigette Lundy-Paine, acted just like her father played by Keanu Reeves. She had the same mannerisms and facial expressions.
The actress who played the daughter of Bill is Samara Weaving. When Keanu Reeves found out that she was the niece of Hugo Weaving, he wanted her in the movie. Keanu and Hugo Weaving were in The Matrix trilogy together!
There’s a cameo performance by Dave Grohl, the lead vocalist and guitarist of Foo Fighters and former drummer of Nirvana.
A fake interstate was built in the parking lot for the big concert scene at the end of the movie. I always think it’s so fascinating to learn what movie crews have to do in movies.
As soon as you see the Orion Pictures opening at the very beginning of the film, you feel like you’re back in the 80’s.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The couples therapy storyline was a waste of time. We learn that they were princesses and that the actresses playing the princesses have been different in each of the 3 films. Not that Jayma Mays and Erinn Hayes did a bad job, but why not bring back the other actresses to reprise their roles? It’s hard to believe Bill and Ted are even married with kids since they act just like they did as teenagers. They’re still loveable though and they sure tried hard in the story.
There is often no explanation for various things that happen.
Some of the green screen scenes looked lame.
Some of the dialogue and pacing aren’t good.
You see the historical figures gathered, but you don’t really get to learn anything about them.
It ended so abruptly.
Not all of the jokes land. There aren’t any funny lines that stick out in my mind, but the visual gags are what I’ll remember the most.
I felt like Bill and Ted were neutered or something. All of this “woke” Hollywood scriptwriting is so fixated on female empowerment that even the stars of this movie just muddled through their own story while their daughters saved the day. Disappointing. Not every movie has to be about female empowerment.
The editing looked rushed. I get that it’s 2020, but we could have waited just a little longer for the movie if they had wanted to make it better.
Kid cudi?