The world has seemed a little less bodacious since the last time we got to spend time with Theodore Logan and William S. Preston, Esq., perhaps better known to you as Bill and Ted. These characters originated by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters last appeared on the big screen in one Bogus Journey in 1991, which left our titular duo in a solid place as rock gods and saviors of the world who were living the good life with their princesses. We had followed these characters through time, and to hell and back, yet fans still wanted more. It may have taken nearly thirty years, but the powers that be have made the totally righteous choice to brings these two back into our lives exactly when they are most needed. In Bill & Ted Face the Music, we learn that the prophesied song that was supposed to unite the world never actually got written by the Wyld Stallyns. In fact, the band hit a bit of a snag creatively which led to plummeting popularity and a split with the Grim Reaper (William Sadler). Much to the chagrin over everyone around them, Bill and Ted have never stopped trying to write the song that will unite the world.
Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are at an odd point in their lives. They are ever the optimists that we know and love, but their focus on the band and dependency on each other have started to take its toll on their family life. They both are still living happy lives with their princesses; Bill is married to Princess Joanna (Jayma Mays, Glee), and Ted is married to Princess Elizabeth (Erinn Hayes, Children’s Hospital). Both wives ultimately love and support their husbands, but it has been nearly thirty years and the ladies need a change. They want full lives with their husbands and they do their best to express that to them in the gentlest way possible. At the same time, their lack of songwriting prowess has caused a more macro problem in the form of the impending demise of the world. They are paid a visit by Kelly (Kristen Schaal, Bob’s Burgers), the daughter of their deceased time-travelling guide Rufus (George Carlin). Kelly takes them to the future where they are told by The Great Leader (Holland Taylor) that they have only a few hours to write the song that will unite the world or reality will collapse.
Face the Music is a film that takes everything that we loved about the original films and honors them in this one. Similar to the way in which the duo interacted with evil robot versions of themselves in Bogus Journey, Bill and Ted decide they have to travel to the future in hopes of finding a version of themselves that have already written the song. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters still completely nail these roles after all of these years. Bill and Ted may be older, but they retain a believable amount of the lovable innocence that make them such interesting characters. In a world that is often saddled with negativity, these two bring a ray of positivity that is fun to bask in. The actors also seem to have a lot of fun playing future versions of themselves, which offers a Christmas Carol-esque glimpse at how things will go downhill if they do not change. As the pair get an increasingly dour look at how their lives will turn out, they are also having to contend with a time-travelling, emotionally insecure robot named Dennis (Anthony Carrigan, Barry), who has been set up as a contingency plan to kill them to unite the world in a different way.
While it might be enough to focus on these two once again after all this time, the movie makes the wise choice to expand the story in the form of daughters for our heroes. In what could not be a more touching signifier of their lifelong friendship, Ted’s daughter is named Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine, Atypical), and Bill’s daughter is named Thea (Samara Weaving, Ready or Not). These two really take after their dads in the personality department; their love of music and desire to help their dads write the song lead them on a time-travelling journey of their own back through history to collect famous musicians to form the best band the world has ever known. Billie and Thea are such fun characters that do not only exist to mimc their dads. They may have a lot of the base mannerisms, but you can tell that they are a bit more clever than their dads were at that point in their lives. Their time-hopping scratches the same itch that Excellent Adventure did when it was first released as the blending of personalities such as Jimi Hendrix and Mozart provide a lot of laughs. If this universe were to continue beyond this film, the franchise would be in good hands following Billie and Thea.
Face the Music has long been anticipated by fans, and it largely hits all of the right chords that you might want it to. The film is lovingly goofy a lot of the time, but it always has its heart in the right place. Our titular characters never seem out of place in the modern world, and any of the dated beliefs that were spouted in previous films are left in the past. This film is accessible to new audiences, but it will present as a love letter to longtime fans. Face the Music brings back as many familiar faces as it can, and it even pays loving tribute to those who we have lost in the interim such as George Carlin. The fact that the team had enough respect to name Rufus’ daughter Kelly, which is the name of Carlin’s real-life daughter, is a really touching sentiment. The return of William Sadler as The Grim Reaper is also one of the highlights of the film, as his status as a bitter ex-band member is mined for a lot of laughs. Face the Music is not some revelation in the cinematic landscape, but it is a true joy to watch in its brisk 90-minute runtime. If you are looking for a feel-good film with a lot of laughs and a lot of heart, this adventure with Bill and Ted will hit the spot.
Video Quality
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Bill & Ted Face the Music to Blu-Ray with a really lovely 1080p video presentation. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design from the advanced concepts of the future to the pits of hell, along with the fabrics of clothing, provide crystal clear textural details. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs nice splashes of bold colors within the production design, which makes for a very striking image. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky with no discernible digital noise. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups, especially. in the stark white face of the Grim Reaper. It would have been most excellent to get this on 4K UHD Blu-Ray like they did overseas, but this Blu-Ray is still a top-tier representation of this movie.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that recreates these fantastic places and time periods beautifully. There is very little in the way of action sequences, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. When the characters are visiting Hell, there is some really nice ambient details that flesh out the setting. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. This is a film that is steeped in the importance of music and how it brings people together, and the ending concert sequence really shines on this disc. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. The time-travelling sound effects, including the phone booth landing, engages the low end of the track in a a forceful manner. The audio track is an excellent sounding presentation for this feature in all respects.
Special Features
- The Official Bill & Ted Face The Music Panel at Comic-Con@Home: The 43-minute Kevin Smith-hosted panel featuring director Dean Parisot, screenwriters Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, and actors Keanu Reeves, Alex Winters, William Sadler, Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine. The virtual aspect of the panel makes things a bit awkward at times, but overall this is a really fun and informative look at the film that fans will love digging into. Since this was hosted before the film’s release, the participants do not get into anything that would spoil the film, but they still provide a lot of interesting insights.
- Be Excellent To Each Other: A minute-long promotional overview of the film that touches on the basic plot of the film and some of the new and returning faces. There are a few very brief thoughts from some of the actors on how much fun they had on the film.
- A Most Triumphant Duo: A minute-long piece talk about the enduring legacy of Bill and Ted and the new generation in this film.
- Social Piece (Excellence): A minute-long look at the optimistic and inspiring tone of the film.
- Death’s Crib: A minute-long look at the Grim Reaper’s place in Hell which is the most enjoyable of these shorter supplements.
Final Thoughts
Bill & Ted Face The Music is a hilarious and worthy follow-up to a series that has been missing in our lives for nearly thirty years. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters do not miss a beat when it comes to inhabiting these characters once again. Plus, the addition of their daughters to the franchise proves to be a real blast. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray with fantastic A/V presentation and some enjoyable, if not a bit sparse, special features. This film should prove to be a real joy for longtime fans and newcomers alike. Highly Recommended
Bill & Ted Face The Music is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
