Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

The third entry in the Bill & Ted franchise had started and stopped for decades, partially because studios thought a reboot with new teenage slackers from San Dimas high school would be better than a continuation given the amount of time that passed since the last film.  Opportunities seemed endless after the 1989 debut film, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, though momentum dissipated after a 1990 animated series lost its flavor with the departure of stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter after season one, a poorly received 1991 video game, and a 1992 live-action spin-off with different actors that fans wouldn’t embrace. When its edgier 1991 sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, failed to connect with a bigger audience than the first film, the jets cooled on the property for the next ten years.

Sometime in the early 2000s, writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, who created the characters in 1983 in their improv comedy group, attempted to revive the franchise with the titular characters as middle-aged men. Still, Keanu Reeves’ manager advised against it as a backward career move, effectively killing it.  In 2007, Frank Mancuso Jr.s production house, 360 Productions, attempted a straight-to-DVD release without the involvement of Solomon, Matheson, or the main actors, written by Gabe Grifoni and Suzanne Francis, but nothing came of it.

A year later, Keanu warmed up on making the third movie after more young people engaged him to talk about how much they love Bill & Ted, even more so than his more lucrative properties. Solomon and Matheson revived their story of Bill & Ted as middle-aged men and made their pitch with Keanu on board.  This time, it was the studios that were wary. They noted that the first two films had little cachet in international markets, where it was barely released, and the audience had aged out. Solomon and Matheson argued that the reputation of Bill & Ted has grown over the many years since their initial theatrical run. They felt that an audience that wasn’t even alive for parts one and two would be there for a third. But they’d have to find a way to make their property relevant to a younger, hipper audience.

Matheson and Solomon worked on the script for years on spec, wanting to make sure everything came off right. They didn’t want to make a film to cash in on nostalgia. They love the characters and didn’t want them to return unless it was on par with the other two films. It would be made with affection by people who love the characters for audiences who feel the same devotion. They also wanted it to be fun for younger audiences who may not have experienced a Bill & Ted film before.

To tantalize the studios, they pitched the concept of introducing a new Bill & Ted in the form of their kids. They initially scripted to Bill & Ted to have sons but changed to these characters to be their daughters because it offered more exciting directions to explore that wasn’t a mere carbon copy. The daughters’ names would be  Thea (aka Theodora Preston) and Billie (aka Wilhelmina Logan), with each dad naming them in honor of their respective best friends. Orion Pictures bought this angle, agreeing to fund a $25 million budget, which they felt was enough to finally push forward with Bill & Ted 3, which they gave the title of Bill & Ted Face the Music.

The story involves the Bill & Ted, now married with one child each, suffering a mid-life crisis, realizing that they never united humankind through their music as foretold. In fact, contrary to the end montage of Bogus Journey depicting their success, Face the Music shows the duo jaded after a career where they are more laughing-stock than the most popular band on Earth. The pressure to fulfill their destiny finds their marriage on the rocks, seeking couples therapy, but one where both couples are involved simultaneously; the duo’s inability to separate their codependency is one of the issues. Someone from the future tells them they need to write the song within the next 77 minutes to achieve global peace and harmony, or the universe will come apart in a cataclysmic event called the Unraveling. Their plan: use the phone booth time machine to travel forward in time to steal the song from their future selves.

Of the original films, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is more beloved because it is more optimistic and upbeat. Bogus Journey didn’t fare as successfully, a bit darker and spoofing more obscure subjects like Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, but has a cult following among fans.  Face the Music recaptures the fun-filled spirit of the original but honors the second film by incorporating the Grim Reaper, played once again by William Sadler.

Galaxy Quest’s Dean Parisot directs, not only due to his experience with fun comedies, but he’s also a trained musician (a cellist) and knows about the uniting power that music provides.  That would be especially key, as the music for the film wasn’t talked about in the script, and they had no set songs before filming. In addition to the typical soundtrack of popular acts, there needed to be one great song from the Wyld Stallyns to deliver by the end of the story. As they didn’t have the final song set, Bill, Ted, and the rest rocked out to “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” by The Beatles.  They inserted their finale song in post-production with a similar tempo (113 beats per minute) and a joyful vibe to fit the movements of the actors. Fans submitted clips of themselves playing music to exhibit during the film’s credit roll ending.

The underlying score also proved a challenge for Mark Isham to compose. The COVID outbreak paused post-production for two weeks as they determined how to continue without worrying about the spread. They worked remotely, editing and scoring. Typically, they compose the film score with an in-house orchestra. As nothing in the United States would accommodate so many musicians indoors for days, the producers and composer Isham decided to record remotely an orchestra located in Budapest, Hungary. Strings performed their pieces one day, then brass the next, then woodwinds were recorded individually from the musicians’ homes.

The film takes some time to get its pacing, as there are new characters to introduce and 30 years of character history to get up to speed. The couples therapy subplot is a significant contributor to the early lags, though it does effectively provide an extra dimension to the characters and their need to mature. The older Bill & Ted time travel to talk to themselves at various stages of their lives, though their future selves aren’t always cooperative. They are eternal optimists, which makes their attitudes toward even the direst of situations fun. The two leads, who remain good friends in real life, still have seemingly effortless chemistry that makes them likable and enjoyable to follow doing just about anything.

Brigette Lundy-Paine credibly mimics Ted’s vocal delivery and mannerisms as Billie. At the same time, Samara Weaving is less descriptive than her father Bill as Thea, but Keanu granted her the part after discovering she is the daughter of his Matrix co-star, Hugo Weaving. Each father named his daughter after their friend, so that may be confusing to some. Time will tell if the series will continue with the daughters, and, if so, whether they can provide the same chemistry of Reeves and Winter.

For the nemeses, other than future Bill & Ted themselves, William Sadler returns in his most famous role as the Grim Reaper and gets a producer credit for his efforts. The musical star round-up throughout history includes Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Mozart, and even Kid Cudi receives an invite. There’s a Terminator-like assassin from the future, played by Anthony Carrigan, out to snuff the heroes in a scheme to stop the Unraveling. The robot is improbably named Dennis Caleb McCoy. He, like the Grim Reaper, initially seems menacing before becoming another lovably goofy character to replace Death for future entries likely, should they be made. After the passing of George Carlin in 2008, Bill & Ted deal with the daughter of his character Rufus, Kelly, which happens to be the name of Carlin’s real-life daughter (the real Kelly Carlin appears in a cameo).

It is essential to have a firm recall of prior Bill & Ted films. There are references to phrases and gags that you won’t appreciate without intimate knowledge of these films. Missy Preston-Logan, who served as, alternately, Bill and Ted’s former stepmother, is getting married yet again. The plot borrows that of both of the previous films, having to gather great musicians throughout history reminiscent of Excellent Adventure and then taking things to the Afterlife, a la Bogus Journey.

Although relatively inexpensive for a modern film, they do a lot with a little to make it an eye-popping experience. Dean Parisot enjoyed working with concept artist Bill George on Galaxy Quest and secured his services to design the different realms and worlds, including Hell, the future, and Death’s House. Greenscreen effects abound from visual effects artist Nancy St. John, who did work for notable films like Babe and Gladiator.  The rubber muscle suits worn by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter to simulate hard-bodied inmates are outstanding. It wasn’t an easy scene, with temperatures in New Orleans climbing toward 100 degrees with high humidity. Alex Winter nearly passed out from the heat on a couple of occasions.

In this era, it’s nice to see something that exudes a message of love and unity, plus some choice laughs along the way.  Warmth and good vibes are a welcome respite during times of isolation and the bleakness of what’s going on in the world. Despite being the first PG-13 film in the series, it’s still wholesome fun for longtime fans, and as likably daffy as its two main characters.

• Due to coronavirus concerns in 2020, Face the Music skipped a wide theatrical release, available only on Video on Demand and select theaters.
• There’s an extra scene after the credits.

Qwipster’s rating: B

MPAA Rated: PG-13 for some language
Run time: 91 min.

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter,  Kristen Schaal, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Samara Weaving, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, William Sadler, Anthony Carrigan, Jillian Bell, Kid Cudi, DazMann Still, Jeremiah Craft, Holland Taylor, Hal Landon Jr., Beck Bennett, Amy Stoch
Cameos: Dave Grohl, Ed Solomon, Chris Matheson, Weird Al Yankovic, Guillermo Rodriguez, Nathan Head
Director: Dean Parisot
Screenplay: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon