Youth gone wyld

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 minutes

Box Office (in today’s dollars): 76 million (approximately)

Characters: Bill S. Preston Esq., Ted “Theodore” Logan, Rufus, Abraham Lincoln, Billy the Kid, Genghis Kahn, Joan of Arc, Ludwig van Beethoven, Napoleon, Sigmund Freud, Socrates, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Joanna, Missy, Mr. Ian Preston, Captain John Logan, Deacon Logan, Mr. Ryan

Cool Stuff: Time-traveling phone booth

Cool Music: The Wyld Stallyns’ music, of course ... the movie soundtrack is awesomely bad

Cool Quote: “Be excellent to each other.”

While watching this movie I had to keep reminding myself that this is a history movie, not a babe movie. There are a lot of fun characters to talk about ... but let’s start with the title characters Bill and Ted. They are “most triumphant” as members of the soon-to-be world-changing rock band Wyld Stallyns. They just have to pass history class first. With help from Rufus (their time travel expert), they gather up some of history’s greatest figures: Abraham Lincoln, Billy the Kid, Genghis Kahn, Joan of Arc, Ludwig van Beethoven, Napoleon, Sigmund Freud, and Socrates. Oh, and I can’t forget about the princesses ... they will play a major role in the future as well.

It’s no DeLorean, but the time-traveling phone booth is pretty cool. I am not sure how they fit everyone in there at once, but that is the beauty of a time travel movie: anything can happen. The music of Wyld Stallyns is supposed to be amazing, but we don’t get to hear it at its best in the movie ... what we do get is songs from various ’80s bands with titles like “The Boys and Girls Are Doing It”, “I Can’t Break Away”, and “Two Heads Are Better Than One”. Coolest quote was a tough decision. I went with the inspirational “Be excellent to each other” instead of the hilarious “You killed Ted, you medieval dickweed!”

As Bill and Ted were learning about the past to help their futures, I was learning things as well: it can be awkward when your stepmom was a senior when you were a freshman and your best friend asked her to the prom, beware ... strange things are afoot at the Circle K, every teenage boy is thinking about the number 69, always wind your watch, and San Dimas high school football rules!

Next movie to review: Heathers