Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

I was flipping through the channels on TV, wondering what to watch or listen to while I packed and this movie just happened to be on. I kept it on because it seemed interesting, in a weird way, and it wasn’t until later that I actually realized what movie it was.

I had heard of Bill and Ted, how could I not, living near Universal? I’ve even seen the Bill and Ted show at Universal involving all of the spoofs of the year. I had never seen the movie… or even really known what it was about. From the show, my opinion of Bill and Ted was that they time traveled and did crazy things. That was just about it. What I discovered in watching the movie though, was that the true time traveling really didn’t come in until the end.

One of the most memorable parts of the film was the character of Death. When Bill and Ted get trapped in hell and they have to overcome Death and beat him at a game to get back to Earth, I just couldn’t stop watching the screen. These airhead guys beat him at battleship, twister, rock paper scissors, and countless other games and board games. It turned Death into a loveable and comedic character instead of the silent menace he was before. This way, when Death ends up helping the two to ‘save their babes’ he becomes a good and classic character.

I also enjoyed the whole time traveling spoof at the end, the victors and the enemy going back and forth through time to try to win against the other. The realization that only the victors could control the time line was nice, it added a fun tension to the comedic moments. I also liked how the movie followed through with the anti climatic moment of Bill and Ted not actually knowing how to play guitar for this big show that they’ve been trying to get to for the whole film.

Overall, the film was crazy and weird but there were plenty of comedic moments that really played through. I can see why it is parodied and survives as an 80s classic.