Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

[Drunk Monk]

I revisited this not just because the threequel is imminent but because I'm reappraising my opinion of Keanu.  He used to bug me but after John Wick, he can do no wrong. I remember not being that impressed by this when it came out.  I love Carlin but like so many of his movie roles, he's underused.  It's a dumb buddy film, very dated for so many reasons, but now Keanu really shines. He's truly the best thing about this film, the reason why it works.  It made me a little nostalgic for telephone booths and Farrell's Ice Cream zoos, but not for waterslides - ED knows why DM here is forever traumatized by water slides.  I'll probably check out B&T's Bogus next.  I'm stopping at the cartoon and the TV series tho, even tho the cartoon was voiced by the original cast.  I didn't even remember those existed until I wikied it.

[Drunk Monk]

I do remember not liking Keanu for the longest time. Perhaps a lot of that came from this film. I even grudgingly acknowledged Matrix, Little Buddha and A Scanner Darkly. But then John Wick changed everything for me and Keanu.

I should really watch it again. I'm drawing such a blank. My memory nowadays. At least it keeps things fresh.

Ahhhhh, those memory lapses. It was only a little over a year ago. 

Upon rewatching this once more, I must say it does stand the test of time but only if you...well all of us... lived through those times. It's such a nostalgia trip. It holds up okay, all things considered. The effects are dated but not obnoxiously so. It's like a postcard from our college daze. And it's so preposterous that major leaps of logic can be overlooked for the feel good nature of the movie. It's really all about Keanu who invests so much into the character. 

Mall culture, such a part of our generation, is really a thing of the past. For the past 20 years, I've had lunch at Newpark mall nearly every week, because it's just down the street from TC. There were a few places in the food court where I liked to eat - they all knew my order when I walked up. I enjoyed walking the mall after lunch for my break. Hot Topic, Spencer's, and Box Lunch kept me up on the latest trends. I could pick up a few things I might need from Work World, Sears, JC Penny's, Macy's, Burlington (Sears & JC folded before the pandemic). There's a Disney store and a Japanese collectibles store. A nice AMC opened there a few years ago but I only went a few times - there was a Century complex that opened on the next exit Automall that I went to more often if I planned to see a movie near work. Mostly, Newpark was a comforting place. My folk's home is in walking distance of Vallco so I was raised in that mall. That's probably all gone now. When the quarantine is lifted, I yearn to go back to that mall and see what survived. 

But back to B&TEA, I think I might have fallen asleep in the middle of it when I watched it last year. The beginning and end came back to me as I watched it but a lot of the middle of the movie I forgot once more. I'm going to stick with I slept through that. That's my excuse but it probably was just my failing memory. My short term memory is shot. My brain is full. Too many blows to the head. 

I should really get on to the Bogus Journey. 

Yes to sword fights. Very mediocre, but played for fair comic effect. DOOM recommended if you're craving a nostalgia trip.

Be excellent to each other. Party on dudes!

[Drunk Monk]

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Adventure (1991)

Yeah, kinda bogus. The nostalgic charm so prevalent in the original is replaced by the future, hell and heaven. Hell has some amusing surreal moments but falls short. The grim reaper is a funny character and  has the best lines. I hope his character appears in the threequel. The alien super genius is a goofy troll puppet. That didn’t work for me at all, not did the good bots. Bill & Ted just don’t feel as invested. Nice Star Trek shout out tho. The whole cast reprises their roles and Carlin is even more underused. In the end, it doesn’t come together and pales compared to the original.

There may be an issue with the threequel as B&Ts kids are daughters and their sons are introduced as infants. I suppose Bill could be short for Billie and Ted short for Theodora or something. 

But who knows? Maybe I’ll forget I saw this by the time the threequel comes out, watch it again and like it better, then be reminded of this when I come here to post my review. 

No sword fights. Not DOOM recommended.

[Greg]

Death does reappear in the third chapter.

[Drunk Monk]

I guess I could've just imdbed that. It looks like it is Billie and Thea but they did say Bill & Ted junior at the end of Bogus. Also looks like they've reassembled a lot of the cast except for the princess hotties. And of course, Carlin has passed. 

I'll watch it. I'm craving anything new nowadays, even if it sucks (I watch a lot of old stuff that sucks, as you know, so there you have it)

[Greg]

Using your pirate skills to watch it, no doubt.

I yearn for anything new. I did find out I have HBO max since I have directv and some other weird loopholes, so I'm going to have a chance check out DC's "Doom Patrol"

My Netflix queue is down to about ten films that are at least five years old. And films don't get to Raymond as quickly as they get to the 'Cruz. However the Queen has decided she needs to know what Mad Max is all about so I have that in the queue now.

[Drunk Monk]

NINJA SKILLZ, BRO. 



Films don't get around here in the Cruz lately either. I used to go downtown on a weekly basis, maybe more. I think I've been downtown maybe half a dozen times at most since the pandemic began.

[Greg]

I meant the Netflix turnaround is faster. It takes about a week to get a new DVD once I put it in the mailbox.

[Drunk Monk]

Gotcha. Our mail delivery has been getting a little more regular. We were going stir crazy at the start of the pandemic waiting for our next dvd. We generally drop off seen DVDs at the post office for faster transactions. Stacy has dropped them off at the post office closest to Netflix in SanJo and they turned around the next day.

[Greg]

If this is the song that is supposed to save the future or the world or whatever, I think we are in trouble. I like Weezer. The song is fine. But it's not earth shattering, merely serviceable. It is better than the KISS song.

[thatguy]

From this interview, I gather that Keanu is the character he plays in B&TEA



--tg

[Greg]

I saw that interview. Keanu is just an odd guy.

[Drunk Monk]

All actors are odd. Or at least they act that way.

We should take those questions and make a D00M thread.

[Greg]

The one question that will trip us up is "What number is Stephen thinking of"...

I also caught a bit more of Bill and Ted Face the Music and I'm enjoying it more.

[Drunk Monk]

questionert is live http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=6779

I showed you mine. Show me yours.

I used to hate Keanu. Now I love him. It was a slow turnaround but now I'll watch anything he does. 

Reminds me of how I feel about JCVD.