On B List of Movie Reviews

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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 6/03, 4/09, 1/20

Excellent
4/09: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ingeniously combines three things: history, time travel, and idiots.

The concept is unique, but the movie is inconsistently funny. I like Keanu Reeves as Ted but not Alex Winter because of his creepy-looking eyes. If their characters turned out to be potheads, it would explain their airhead behavior.

The Maltese-born actor Terry Camilleri as Napoléon Bonaparte is the best character. The most hilarious moment is when he went bowling and let out a scream of profane words in French. The tie-in with Waterloo and waterslides is a stroke of genius.

All in all, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a charming film that works well at times.

1/20: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a clever movie that combines comedy, time travel, and history with two brain-dead high schoolers topping them off.

Keanu Reeves had gotten a lot of grief for his character that was carried over to Parenthood. At one point, he thought his epitaph would read: "Here lies Keanu Reeves. He played Ted." Fortunately, Keanu Reeves was able to shed off the image by giving solid performances in Point Break, Speed, and The Matrix. Now, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is surprisingly an obscure film in his oeuvre. Regardless, he's perfect as Ted. However, because of his eyes, Alex Winter is still a creepy-looking guy. Either way, they're fine together.

There are clever lines to connect the historical figures with names. In Napoléon Bonaparte's case, it's waterslides for Waterloo. Bill and Ted thought Julius Caesar was the "salad dressing dude." "All we are is dust in the wind, dude" is the shortened version of Socrates' quote: "Our lives are but specks of dust falling through the fingers of time. Like sands of the hourglass, so are the days of our lives." When the English Duke said, "Put them in the Iron Maiden," it excitedly made Bill and Ted think of the heavy metal band. Also, Ted thought Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Brilliant stuff.

All in all, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a well-done 80's high school picture.