Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Another one of those movies I first watched a few years after it came out, and just watched again this week. It is still very funny to me in many places during their adventure. Their reaction to stuff that happens is hilarious sometimes, and just the speech patterns they use is witty. Little things like referring to Joan of Arc as Miss of Arc, for example. Remiscent of the valley girl language in Clueless, not so much what happens Is funny as it is how they respond to it. It is an amusing fun ride. There were a couple of minor letdowns for me this time, ones I don’t recall whether a I felt them the first time I watched it. I thought the fun of the action scaled back when they left Bill and Ted and followed Napoleon around back in San Demas. It just seemed to let the air out of the fun a bit. And the report, which is the reason for the adventure, was okay, but could have been funnier. It almost seemed like a letdown after the main action getting there. But it is all harmless fun and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from watching it for a laugh or three.

Any film thats starts with "Joan of Arc was not Noah's wife" has got to be worth a look! "Ted" (Keanu Reeves) and best mate "Bill" (Alex Winter) have the knowledge at school - who uses "audacious" even now? They are, however, completely unfocused and like any other teenage boys, distracted by just about anything but schoolwork. Faced with flunking their history project though, they have to get their acts together else their band "Wyld Stallyns" (probably a real porn name in California) might be their only hope of a job, or of avoiding military academy! Luckily, they encounter "Rufus" (George Carlin) and his amazing "Tardis"-esque phone box that they discover they can now use to travel through time and actually meet the great and the good from the past - anywhere in the world. Can they manage to convince some of these people to come to 1980s San Dimas and help them present a real story of time? This is good fun, this. There is a great deal of fraternal chemistry between Reeves and a particularly engaging Winter. The escapades are enjoyably episodic in nature, peppered with just enough history and humour to stop the overall effect becoming puerile. The two lads genuinely engage with the audience as their kindly nature and curiosity proves just a little contagious. Of course, they face obstacles - some with a samurai sword, some with a flashing blue light - and no, there isn't a great deal of jeopardy with the plot - but I really quiet enjoyed this well paced, written and delivered characterful fantasy adventure.

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Peter McGinn

CinemaSerf