Les folles aventures de Bill et Ted

William Sadler's portrayal of the grim reaper is quite possibly one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It is great to see his serious demeanor reduced to frustration and desperation when Bill and Ted challenge him. As the movie progresses he continuously falls on his face, making him seem like just another character as opposed to the image the grim reaper usually represents. One other great thing about this movie, I loved the song "God Gave Rock n' Roll to you" by KISS. This movie was most non non non non triumphant.

I can't tell you how many times I saw the first Bill & Ted movie before ever seeing this sequel...because it was a sequel, so I figured it wouldn't be as good. I was wrong. I first saw it on television; my sister watched it with me. I couldn't stop laughing. She kept shaking her head, saying, "it's not funny, it's stupid" - but she kept laughing, too. How can you not laugh at the sight of Death playing Twister? Or, "You ugly, red, source of all evil!!" I loved the first movie, but I think the second, despite being darker, is funnier, more imaginative, and better written. William Sadler as Death was so, so, funny, so dead on (no pun intended), he deserved an Oscar nomination; this film made him one of my favorite character actors. Alex Winter & Keanu Reeves made Bill & Ted into airheads you root for. They're stupid, sure, but man are they good-hearted! So thumbs up from me; a third Bill & Ted movie would probably be too much, but they did go out in fine style. Catch you later, Bill & Ted!

One of the most underrated movies I've seen in a long time, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is the second hilarious adventure of Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan, aka Wyld Stallyns. There are two ways to look at this film: First, you see dumb dialogue, far fetched plot, juvenile idea. OR.. You see brilliantly downplayed idiots who yet again find themselves in a situation too big for their brains. Throw a Bruce Willis or a Arnold Schwarzeneggar into this plot and it becomes a big blockbuster movie. Bill and Ted go into the story with the same level of sincerity, only it's Bill and Ted. This is a tricky fence to balance on, but when you watch the movie not as a throwaway screwball comedy, but as an adventure featuring two guys who have no business being in an adventure, it becomes so much more.

This movie is very underrated. It's highly imaginative, creative and clever. It's just plain fun and in my opinion this film tops the first one. But the film was forgotten when it first came out, and became even more overlooked as the years passed. "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" also bombed at the box office, whereas the first one was a pretty good hit and very popular.

I think the problem may be that this film was just released a couple years too late. In 1991, Bill and Ted already seemed "so '80s". Even though the '80s were only a couple years ago back at that time, the landscape of the music and style for kids had changed so radically with gangsta rap, hip hop, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, grunge and the Seattle sound. Bill and Ted with their Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses music along with their '80s style seemed so out of place and very outdated in '91, and I think that's one BIG reason the film bombed at the box office. Nobody but surfers were still saying stuff like "excellent!" and "bogus!" in 1991. "Gremlins 2" which also came out in the early '90s suffered a similar fate of being a good film that bombed at the box office because it was too associated with the '80s. The transition from the '80s to the '90s was a much faster change then now with the '90s and '00s. 1991 was nothing like 1988 or 1989, whereas right now, 2002 and last year 2001 still looks/looked like 1995 or 1996.

If only "Excellent Adventure" which was made in 1988, was released THAT YEAR instead of 1989, and "Bogus Journey" was made quickly and released in 1989, then it too would have probably been just as wildly received as the first.

Who says sequels can't be as good as originals? This movie proves that that is not always true. It was well-written, more mature, and just out-and-out funnier than its predecessor. Alex Winter once again showed great comic timing as Bill, although the film was absolutely stolen by William Sadler as Death ("Don't overlook MY butt. I work out every day, and reaping burns a lot of calories"). Some may call it stupid humor, but that's not really the case; the funniest scenes in the movie - such as the Twister scene or "20 Questions" - are original, well-played, and just plain clever. We all know Keanu Reeves has never been known so much for his acting, but he's above his average here, and Winter, Sadler, and George Carlin are all great fun.

Certainly this film can't appeal to everyone. If the idea of, say, Death playing Battleship, Clue, and Twister doesn't seem funny to you, you probably won't like it (although you may want to lighten up a little). If it does, well then you'll probably agree with me on this: Bill & Ted rock!!!