Movie Club: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Community Introductions & Off Topic
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WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE LATEST DISCUSSION THREAD OF THE NEW MOVIE CLUB, DESIGNED TO RUN PARALLEL WITH R.O.C.K.S.
A big thanks to everyone that are joining us through all of this.

This week we’re starting back with something that should be familiar, we’re doing Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Remember any ideas for films to discuss are most welcome, and should be made on the Movie Club Introduction thread (the sticky one), and anyone is welcome to add their thoughts about movies already discussed on their respective threads.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that, whilst fans are obviously welcome to passionately discuss and give their views on these movies, please remember to keep things on a friendly footing and respect your fellow posters.
Also, please do not post where or how to find the full movie online. And do not post asking others to PM it to you. You are however allowed to watch the movie in whatever manner you want.

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Great film to discuss! Coincidentally, I recently re-watched Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) several weeks ago on Blu-ray.

I can relate to the film to some extent, since I was in my late teens when the film was released - i.e., roughly the age the two main characters were supposed to be in the movie. I also remember going to high school with burn-outs who not only acted like Bill & Ted, but WERE Bill & Ted - LOL.

Very clever idea re: the time travel aspect, and it was amusing that Bill & Ted, despite being so clueless, were able to still persevere & succeed in the end - LOL.

My favorite scene(s) in the film involved Ted’s younger brother Deacon being forced to hang out with Napoleon Bonaparte - and hating it - LOL. I also enjoyed the scenes when the various historical figures (Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, etc.) ended up being taken to the local mall & caused a lot of havoc - hilarious. (This also dates the film to the late '80’s, since these days mall culture is not nearly as popular as it once was (some of the shopping malls in my area have been torn down - but, that’s another thread) ).

This film has also got to be one of the most quotable movies of all time:

Bill: You ditched Napoleon!
Ted: Deacon, do you realize you have just stranded one of Europe’s greatest leaders in San Dimas?
Deacon:He was a $#%$.

Mr. Ryan: What you’re telling me, essentially, is that Napoleon was a short, dead dude?

Mr. Ryan: It seems to me the only thing you’ve learned is that Caesar is a “salad dressing dude.”

Bill: It is indeed a pleasure to introduce to you a gentleman we picked up in medieval Mongolia in the year 1269.
Ted: Please welcome, the very excellent barbarian…
Ted, Bill: …MR. GENGHIS KHAN!
[All the students applaud wildly for Khan]
Ted: This is a dude who, 700 years ago, totally ravaged China, and who, we were told, 2 hours ago, totally ravaged Oshman’s Sporting Goods.

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This film is okay but was never one I really liked that much.
It has some fun moment but I didn’t like the story line to the movie.
This movie probably served as quite a bit of inspiration for Wayne’s World and Beavis and Butthead.

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I’ve just seen this again for the first time in about fifteen years. And really enjoyed it.

While it’s not something I’d be inclined to watch over and over again, it is immensely fun, and interesting to see a time travel story done from the point of view of the people of “the past” who receive time travel visitors from the future. As far as Bill and Ted themselves are concerned, they’re just a couple of ordinary kids, albeit with big musical dreams. Then along comes a visitor from the future, i.e. Rufus, who explains to them what must be done. They aren’t sure if they should trust him until their future selves show up by accident.

The whole “ordinary person caught up in something big” aspect was of course a recurring motif in many of Hitchcock’s classic movies, Strangers On A Train, North By Northwest, The 39 Steps and many more.

This movie is unashamedly silly and makes it clear from the start that it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. “Even the dirt is clean.” It’s fun from start to finish as they have the idea of getting historical figures for a big presentation for school. It’s crazy but it works. I don’t know if it stands up to close scrutiny but it’s too fun for me to care.

OK, there’s one or two bits that bug me - mainly in the mall sequence. If Bill and Ted had told their historical guests to stay where they were, they might not have got themselves arrested - and also on that front, why did they arrest Beethoven anyway? He wasn’t harming anyone. (The same could be said of Joan of Arc, although maybe she shoved the fitness instructor a bit hard and injured her.)

I like also how they start off pronouncing so many of the historical figures’ names wrongly - “Beeth oven”, “So crates” and “Sigmund Frood” - but finally get them right in time for the presentation. Also, at the start when they’re going round in circles as to how to become successful musicians, but at the end finally work out what point they need to start at, specifically, learning to play!

Rufus’ final line is perfect. “They do get better!”

1 Like
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I liked Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It was a pretty excellent film.

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Also, one thing I forgot to mention. Anyone else think “Wyld Stallyns” is a play on Def Leppard? Possibly also combined in this case with Lynyrd Skynyrd?

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It wouldn’t surprise me. But rock groups with animals in their names were pretty common in the 80’s. Scorpions, Whitesnake, Lion, White Lion and lots more.

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True enough, but all the ones you named were correctly spelt. OK, you could argue that Bill and Ted weren’t very bright, but still…

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Maybe they just thought it would look better graphically and be more interesting than the conventional spelling. There are quite a few bands that also spell their names differently compared to how they should be spelt. .

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That’s why I also mentioned Lynyrd Skynyrd because of the Y’s.