Bill & Ted: Encare a Música

When I saw there was a new B&T movie I thought these old men playing those same characters was bound to be terrible, but then I saw all these film critics saying that the movie actually turned out quite well. I wish I'd seen the movie they saw, because this one was pretty bad.

There are a few good things in Face the Music. The plot is a typically intricate B&T time-loop paradox, as the protagonists travel forward in time in search of their masterpiece while their carbon-copy daughters travel backwards in search of help, leading to a surprisingly clever but completely ridiculous finale. And Brigette Lundy-Paine is wonderful as Billie, perfectly capturing Keanu Reeve's physicality.

On the other hand, during the entire movie there were only 4 or 5 times when I actually laughed. Not belly laughs, just little ones. The movie is simply not funny. I'm not even sure it's *trying* to be funny.

At one point in the movie Dave Groh came up and I asked my girlfriend, "who's Dave Groh." She said for her that question was the funniest thing that happened during the movie.

Face the Music is kind of likable and a little sweet, and the story kept me generally engaged. But it's simply a comedy virtually devoid of humor, so I can't recommend it. But if they make a Billy & Thea sequel I might consider watching if they also get some different writers.

It's "ok".

That's all you really need to know. It's ok, and it does its job. This film was never going to top the first two, becasue they are a product of their time, and you can never re-create that, but Bill & Ted Face The Music is a decent enough send off for the characters.

It is a bit sad though that it is just "ok". The film does have a certain cheapness to its look and feel, and Keanu was sounding a bit tired if I'm honest. It retreads some ground, but not as much as you would think, and there are genuine laughs in here for sure. Dean Parisot's directing is solid, but a bit lacklustre in places, and I think they should have got Peter Hewitt back from Bogus Journey. It's not awful by any means, but I think it lacks a bit of magic (which was probably the 80s/90s).

A special mention must go to Alex Winter who does a great job here. He IS Bill S. Preston, and he has his old mannerisms down to a tee which was very familiar and very comforting.

In a way, the film made me a bit sad. Bogus Journey tied up the story quite well, but there was always a bit of the door open to do more if they wanted, and now that it's done it was a kind of uneventful. 1994-ish would have been a perfect time to do a third film, because as upsetting as it is, Bill and Ted with all their "Wows" and "Dudes", are The past.

However, they are MY past, and from MY generation, so I was very happy to see them once last time, and despite all the nitpciks, I had fun with the film.

All that's left to say is the best message in any film ever:

Be excellent to each other...

... and party on!!!

Maybe coming from a place of bias for having loved the originals as a young 'un, I can't help but respect the team for having another go at such a stupid premise. An A lister like Keanu could have scoffed it off and went back to making Oscar bids, but instead swallowed his pride and returned to the dopey character that kickstarted his career. It properly pays homage to the feel of the originals, bouncing from one illogical time travel scenario to another, never taking itself seriously and roping in a couple celebrity cameos who also seem to be just enjoying the ride. It nods to how absolutely ludicrous the idea of a "song that unites the world" is while still maintaining that earnest 80s belief that rock 'n roll can save your soul.

It's great seeing some of the actors return. You can tell everyone had a blast filming this. That alone in certain moments can bring a smile to your face. Not all of the jokes land, but that's comedy. The finale damn near brought me to tears. I guess 2020 has been a rough year.

The directors tried to reinvent the movie with Bill and Ted's daughters which was a huge mistake. I'd recommend watching the movie but skipping over the scenes without Bill and Ted. This vastly improved things and got me through watching it. I had no interest in the daughters and it was a mistake to put them into the movie as such an integral part of things. What made the first movies great was Bill and Ted. New characters that dominate the scenes just take away from who would see this movie. More Bill and Ted would make this better and completely scrapping the side story of the daughters. The actresses aren't bad that play the daughters but it just isn't something that ties into what made the first two movies great.