Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is a 1989 sci fi/comedy/adventure about two high school students, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) travelling through time so they can finish their History report on time, or else they will have to repeat the entire school year.

Firstly, I was surprised that I actually really liked the direction by Stephen Herek. It’s too bad he didn’t direct either of the sequels because this is just excellent. Herek obviously took inspiration from directors like Steven Spielberg, with wide shots turning into mid shots and then into extreme close ups. Thankfully, it manages to feel distinctly its own thing, instead of coming off as a Spielberg knock-off.

Something which I never expected was that Bill and Ted (other than the fact that Reeves and Winter are great) don’t have any character arcs. Other films would try to create more conflict between them, but that doesn’t happen here, and it’s actually better for that. They’re best friends so it would feel forced for them to be arguing with each other. The film is also just 90 minutes long, so shoving an extra plot line in would just be a waste of time.

Hilariously, I haven’t seen a live action movie before that is as cartoony as “Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure”. This story could easily become jarring to watch, but by having such a strong colour palette alongside very physical performances this very cartoony story actually manages to work perfectly.

In conclusion, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is one of the funniest and oddly most hopeful films I’ve seen in lockdown. Watching it again just makes me more excited for the upcoming third film. While it is by no means perfect, it is most definitely essential viewing, especially in lockdown.