Bill & Ted Face the Music
As with the “John Wick” series last year, I caught up quickly with the “Bill & Ted” movies prior to this third entry coming out. What can I say- I’m late to really being a Keanu Reeves fan. Now, I’m a fan for life. And “Bill & Ted” might be my favorite incarnation of him, with “Face the Music” sealing the deal for me.
An actor is only as good as his material. That feels more true with Reeves than it does with a lot of other movies. But if you look at “Parenthood” or “My Own Private Idaho” or “Speed” or the “Matrix” and “John Wick” films, you can see that there’s an empathy and emotional truth to the character that just clicks with you as an audience of the film, and you can see that in Ted in these movies, as well. Of course, the chemistry with Alex Winter as Bill is a huge part of the equation, and if these two were just simply idiots and clueless burnouts, they would be tiresome. But there’s a sweetness and support system they create around one another that makes their ridiculous exploits in “Excellent Adventure,” “Bogus Journey,” and now, “Face the Music,” just plain fun to watch every step of the way. That they have been written by the same team of Chris Matheson & Ed Solomon each time out, and those writers understand the economy of storytelling in high-concept comedy, is a huge benefit.
Music is, next to math, the most universal language mankind has. While math and science allows us to understand the universe better, music allows us to understand each other, and connect in a shared experience. I love that the crux of the “Bill & Ted” movies revolves around them writing a song that will unite the world, bringing about a better world than the one that exists. Not only does it capture something singular to the human experience, but it plays nicely into the wants and desires of Bill and Ted. They, first and foremost, want to be known as this successful band. They aren’t very good, but that makes it all the more noble for them to want to be successful in this task that they are said to have done. It taps into this desire a lot of people have when they are young, to do something meaningful, that they will be remembered for, and that’s something that really connects with me about these movies. The love of music these guys have is my own, and it’s something I’ll really respond to when done well.
In “Face the Music,” the boys are still with Elizabeth and Joanna, the princesses from the first film (and played now by Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays), and the children they had at the end of “Bogus Journey” ended up being daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving). Bill and Ted found some success with the band after the events of the second film, but it went downhill quickly, and they never did figure out that one song for humanity. Now, they seem stuck, and it’s impacting everything. Enter Kelly (Kristen Schaal), their friend Rufus’s daughter; they’re on the clock for that song- they have 77 minutes left before the fabric of the universe gets upended. Time to get back in the phone booth.
I love the different versions of Bill and Ted Winter and Reeves have been given to play throughout this film, and both actors seem to be enjoying the task of playing the original characters, and all of their doppelgangers throughout history. One of the best things about the script is that they didn’t really change who Bill and Ted are from 30 years ago (though they say 25 here), and let the actors try and fit those personas into adulthood. That makes the fundamental growth the characters have to go through in the film- becoming something more than who they’ve been since teenagers, not just for their wives’s sake but their daughters’s- an immensely satisfying journey to go on, something that, again, I really responded well to, because it feels like an emotional transformation I had to go through in my 30s.
I’m not sure that we, as a society, deserve a movie as sweet and soulful and entertaining as “Bill & Ted Face the Music” right now; as movie theatres are re-opening, I cannot say it would be safe to see this in theatres (drive-in, that’s a different story, and the music-heavy soundtrack would actually play great in that setting), but thankfully, they’ve made it available to watch in the comfort of your own home. However you see it, we may not deserve the movie, but we do need it. I dare you to think otherwise by the time the film reaches the end credits.
