User Reviews

Two high school friends must pass their final history assignment or face the end of their dreams of forming a rock band.

I saw this movie aged nine on its original release and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think my mind was blown by how cool it made the subject of history seem and how harmlessly likeable the main protagonists were. Unlike me, my parents, who are Baby-Boomer generation, sat through it with me and did not appreciate Bill and Ted's dumb valleys, surfer dude, stoner-like personalities. Much to their distain I rewatched it more than once.

I watched it yesterday, aged forty with my four yearly daughter and appreciate how it might have come across to my mother at the time. However, the key to enjoying it as an adult is not taking it the slightest bit seriously. The dumbness of the main characters is part of what makes them so charming and the concept that a future of civilisation will be based on a Californian teenage sub-culture is a joke you just have to buy into and enjoy.

The basic plot structure is solid and it uses all its silliness in a clever way with the time-travel sci-fi moments. I love the little details like the stolen car-keys and Ted forgetting to wind his watch.

Some jokes hit the mark more now than they did for me as a child, particularly some of the innuendo involving Bill's stepmom and Bill's confirmation to Sigmund Freud of his 'minor oedipal complex'. Ironically, looking back at this time-travel themed movie is like taking a journey back to the 1980s with it's fashion, music and shopping-mall culture.

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are perfect as characters who are essentially two halves of the same brain. George Carlin is to coin a phrase 'excellent' as their guardian angel type friend from the future. Also, the visual effects during the time-travel sequences stand up reasonably well by today's standards.

I took a lot of entertainment from it as child and my daughter stuck with it till the end.

For me it is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

If you weren't around in '89, when this became a surprise cultural phenomenon, well, you kinda had to be there. Looking back with critical eyes, it's a rather thin, desperately low-budget production that doesn't probe beyond the superficial layer and constantly winks and nudges the audience to ensure they know when to laugh. Yet, recognizing all that, I found myself wrapped up in its oddly naive warmth and charismatic magnetism. The jokes and gags are hammy and contrived, but I still snickered. The most memorable lines are clumsy and blunt, but I gladly recited them (surprising myself, as I hadn't seen the film in twenty-plus years). Bill and Ted themselves are the narrowest of stereotypes, basically the male equivalent of Frank Zappa's valley girls, yet I felt a rich tingle of satisfaction when they saved their academic careers. It's one of those films that defies logic, succeeding in spite of itself, and there's something of value in that.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was probably one of the most compelling films I've experienced since I first watched it. It has an idea only an indie director could possibly think of, but it avoids all of the campy expositions which would turn it into some bad "B" film. The story was great, and it was really one of the best depictions of high schools idiots in the history of Hollywood. I mean, you did not see these guys taking tokes or drinking in their spare time, which really vexed some people. They're just stupid for the sake of the story. While the technical aspects weren't special, they worked when they needed it. This film also had one of the best music soundtracks in the history of Hollywood, even if it was from the 1980s. Too many good things to say about this film besides the fact it is a film which doesn't take itself seriously.

June 8, 2002 was an 80's renaissance for me. Playing an emulated ColecoVision on my PC, listening to Huey Lewis, Prince, and Men At Work, watching the A-Team on TNN, and seeing this film from 1989. I still enjoy the decade of feathered mullets, jerri-curled hair, acid-washed jeans, skinny ties, dominant pop music, and terrible fashions. The 90's will never have that to live down (except terrible fashions, but not as bad).

When Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure became the surprise hit of 1989, it made a star of everyone's favorite Lebanese-Canadian-U.S. rock 'n rolling actor, Keanu Reeves, who is one of the top stars at the box office today and one of the few likeable people in Tinseltown. It seems that he still carries a bit of Theodore "Ted" Logan in all his movies.

He and Alex Winter (an indie film dynamo) play Bill and Ted, a couple of 80's California dudes who want to start their own rock band (Wyld Stallyons). However, both are flunking in high school and will be expelled unless they get an A+ in history. To make matters worse, Ted will be sent to the military by his father, therefore squashing their dreams of rock stardom. Enter Rufus (George Carlin), a man from the future who plays Clarence to the boys George (shades of It's A Wonderful Life) who gives them a telephone booth. With it, they decide to use it to collect great historical figures and bring them to San Dimas, California to show them how mankind has evolved.

Surprisingly, the film holds up today. Bill and Ted are truly likeable boneheads and both Reeves and Winter deliver fine performances. Carlin is funny in his appearances, showing that he doesn't need trash-talk to be entertaining. The dialogue is truly amusing, probably because no one talks like that any more. The only weakness is that it's an 80's film, so if you didn't grow up in that era, you might not understand why there's music playing throughout the film, or why everyone looks and dresses so weird (yes, that's how everyone looked in the 1980's). The DVD version is quite nice, but it only has a trailer as a bonus. Still, a must watch, and much better than all the copycat films (including the horrible Dude, Where's My Car?). Party On!

It's hard to get upset at two very likable dummies who wouldn't hurt a fly. That's Bill and Ted, two Valley-type teens from back in the late '80s who play two really two guys who wind up going on a time-travel trip while trying to help themselves pass a history presentation.

I've always enjoyed time travel stories but they've all been fairly intelligent......not stupid, like this. However, this was still fun to watch. Any time you get to see Billy the Kid, Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, Beethoven, Napoleon, Joan of Arc and others all in the same movie - especially with these two modern-day airheads - is pretty entertaining.

Keanu Reeves was perfect for the role because he sounds stupid no matter role he plays! Alex Winter, I don't know. George Carlin has been goofy for 50 years so anything stupid he says wouldn't surprise me.

This is comedy at its lightest but it's pretty inoffensive, safe viewing for most anyone and if you need a laugh - even from something dumb - this would fill the bill.

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE is one of those charming, harmless comedies which, if you grew up in the 1980s, you probably saw once... or twice... or three or four times.

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are gnarly as the title duo, two high school headbangers (read: morons) whose future, it turns out, is crucial to the wellbeing of the planet! Trouble is, these dudes are about to seriously flunk history, and if that happens, the entire space time continuum could suffer. Enter from the future Rufus, sent back to the '80s to provide our dimwitted heroes with a time-traveling telephone booth. With it, they round up a who's who of historical figures -- Socrates, Billy the Kid, Sigmund Freud, Napoleon and the like -- to highlight an educational presentation that will be their academic saving grace.

Nothing is overly spectacular about BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE. It's neither roll-on-the-floor hilarious nor ingenious nor packed with amazing special effects. But it does deliver quality over quantity, nicely filling out its 90-minute running time with some chuckles and smiles. The first half is particularly strong as the guys venture from the Old West to medieval castles in search of people whose names they can't even pronounce (Beethoven becomes "beeth oven" and so on). Seeing them try to sweet talk Socrates with rock lyrics and lure Genghis Khan with a Twinkie is good for a laugh. The same fish-out-of-water scenario doesn't work quite as well when these figures enter contemporary times, but everybody puts in their best effort forward. And sometimes, that's all you can ask of a film. A kickin' soundtrack adds to the fun.

I didn't come of age in the '80s, so I missed the era when people mindlessly called each other "dude" and said "totally" a lot. But fortunately, I've seen "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", so I have some inkling of that culture. The movie of course focuses on SoCal high school students Ted Logan (Keanu Reeves) and Bill Preston (Alex Winter) who want to start a heavy metal band, but are flunking school. Little do they know that the fate of the universe in 700 years will depend on whether or not they ace their history report. No worries! Rufus (George Carlin) comes from the future and gives the two boys a phone booth, and they go back in time and pick up Socrates (pronounced SO-krayts), Genghis Khan, Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Ludwig van Beethoven, Abraham Lincoln, Billy the Kid and Sigmund Freud. Needless to say, these historical figures are a little befuddled when they arrive in San Dimas, and the people in San Dimas are befuddled by them.

Mostly, the movie is an excuse to have Bill and Ted be the dopey dudes that they are. Whether it's Ted saying that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife (which, it turns out, some people actually believe), or the two boys getting slinky with some medieval princesses, the movie's got something for everyone. It is TOTALLY AWESOME! If you ask me, they should have also picked up Mahatma Gandhi and Alfred Hitchcock.

One more thing: Stephen Herek scored a personal triumph with this movie, as he did with "Critters" and "Mr. Holland's Opus". Too bad that he drug himself down with fare such as "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead", "The Three Musketeers", "Rock Star" and "Life or Something Like It".

The movie was not great, but it was not bad either. I give it a 7/0, because it portrays the historical characters in a entertaining way. (and because Keanu Reeves and George Carlin are in it....)

"Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure" is most definitely just that! This is just an all around FUN movie! The plot is far from anything serious, but deep down there are some good morals and such things to take from this film. "Be Excellent To Each Other" That is some good advice, is it not?

The comedy in this film is just superb! I've seen this movie more times than I can count with my fingers and every time it gets even better! There are so many lines in this film that you just can't help but repeat, because they're just so funny and well done! There are a number of times that I find myself just cracking up at the scene, situation, or what have you. If you don't laugh at least a little during the course of this film, then I think you've got some problems.

The acting is great. Everybody knocks Keanu Reeves for his acting, but I think he's great. And he does a great job in this film. Alex Winter also plays a great part. The rest of the cast is great too.

Not only is the comedy and the acting great, but there are some REALLY good science fiction sort of idea's in this film. The scene where Bill and Ted meet the future Bill and Ted is just amazingly well done, and such a cool idea. I love that you first see the scene from the perspective of one set of Bill and Ted's, and then later the Bill and Ted that the story follows becomes the other set of Bill and Ted's. Did that make sense? Well, anyway, see the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about. There were a few other really good scenes and ideas throughout the film.

All in all, I would definitely recommend seeing this film, it's not a complex story by any means, and just a whole lot of fun. Try not to take the film too seriously and you'll hopefully enjoy it. I truly hope that you enjoy this film. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Here they are, in their 1988 World Tour! So-Crates Johnson, Bob Genghis Khan, Dave Beeth-oven, Maxine of Arc, Herman the Kid, Dennis Fro-eud, and...Abraham Lincoln.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is lighthearted good fun from the late 80s that despite the fashions and music, hasn't seemed to date itself too much to younger generations that weren't even alive in the 80s. A decade before Keanu Reeves stared in The Matrix, and before he was the FBI agent assigned to bank robbery in the early 90s flick Point Break, he did this film and this is the role I always associate him with, no matter how many more movies he does. The stars of the film are two seemingly brainless but well intentioned high school slackers, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (the aforementioned Keanu Reeves) that dream of making it big with their garage band "Wyld Stallions". One day, they will open for Iron Maiden and perhaps even get Eddie Van Halen on guitars, perhaps one day. But they are in danger of being split up for good if they don't pass their history report. They study but just seem too moronic to hold much information in their heads.

Help arrives from the 27th century from a guy named Rufus, a man who comes down in a telephone booth (Dr. Who reference?) and greats the two friends in front of a Circle K, providing yet another great quote, "strange things are afoot at the Circle K". Rufus explains that the two must absolutely pass their history report and he gives the guys their own time traveling phone booth where they travel the ages and pick up various people of historical importance. Pay no attention to the accuracy of how these historical figures are represented, this film is not to be taken seriously and anyone who nitpicks how Abraham Lincoln or Ghenghis Khan was shown needs not be so wound up. Get a hobby. The fact that they went to the detail of having Socrates and Napolean not understand English was more then enough historical accuracy for me. The guys eventually meet themselves both at the start of the film and then later as the journey progresses. The fun really begins when they dump all the people they picked up in a late 80s shopping mall. I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say that the guys do pass their report, it has to be seen exactly how they do this for it likely is the most original history report ever conceived. This is not a great film but it is fun. And yes I know my title quote was not spoken by either Bill or Ted, but rather by the jock giving his presentation to the class. I loved his speech because it seemed so authentic and real to what a guy like him would say if he were trapped for words during an oral report. Plus it was great to see the rest of Bill and Ted's school, and makes you realize how much more likable our heroes are. 7/10.

It's a shame that the new movie is so mediocre considering this film is a 10/10 and Bogus Journey is almost the same.

This film has everything and stands the test of time perfectly.

Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure was a fun and nostalgic film that had a very releatable and fun characters in it and it was great to see a young Keanu Reeves here and to imagine how a big star he will become in a future.When i say that this movie is nostalgic,i didnt mean towards the me cause i wasnt even in plans when this movie was made and realesed but i can still recognise a fun adventure when i see one,Alex Winter was also good here and he had a great scene presence and chemistry with Keanu and they absolutly made this film,Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure was a fun film to see and i can see why many people from its generation love this movie

I wasn't surprised with what I saw. This takes one gag--insanely idiotic guys--and beats it to death by having them display their ineptness through history. A few 80s movies tried this after 'Back to the Future', none lasted because they didn't understand the context.

Here we have two Biffs and no Doc to run the show. The historical figures themselves aren't interesting because they rely on the stereotypes we have in our minds. 'Kid in King Arthur's Court' also had these problems. There was so much potential here, so why did it fail?

I found the sequel more interesting because it explored the darker philosophical territory of life, death, etc. rather than simple textbook journeys like this. There was also the heavy duality motif that's absent here.

There are some good points like the self-referential Incest Joke. The writers improved on this the second time around, but it's pretty deep stuff for a light movie. Also, there's the irony of Keanu. From airhead to Messiah, that's society in a nutshell.

The music, vocabulary, and production design are throwaways. Fortunately, the writers had another chance with better crew to set things straight--and to Hell, literally, with nostalgia.

I liked sequel self-reference of 'Bogus Journey' to the history-bashing here. From there came 'Wayne's World' and Beavis & Butt-Head, two icons of early 90s culture.

Final Analysis = = Cinematic Dud

Despite the success of such films as "Speed" and "The Matrix" trilogy, to a lot of people, Keanu Reeves will ALWAYS be Ted, the taller, darker half of the Bill & Ted duo. And it would seem that Ted, of all Reeves many characters, is possibly the only one where he really seemed to have put himself into the role and felt like a natural.

One of the great dopey dude slacker classics, the title characters Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (the aforementioned Reeves) are a pair of aspiring musicians, the Wild Stallions, who are in danger of being both separated if Ted can't pull up a good enough grade (which = military school) and flunking history class in general. But since they are destined to be "the 2 Great Ones" who's music will unite the Earth and even alien races together in universal harmony, the most excellent dude Rufus (George Carlin) shows up and gives them a time traveling phone booth to help them pass their history class by bringing back real historical figures like Billy the Kid, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Joan of Ark and what not. Now all they have to do is keep them from getting separated and jailed before they have to pass history! Along the way, Bill & Ted also fall in love with two sexy virgin princesses from the medieval circa.

Yeah it's not great cinema, but it's a fun romp of slacker dude madness thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as the title characters.

Followed by "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey".

A surprisingly characterful chunk of stoner foolishness made on a shoestring in the late eighties - capturing a little something of the time and managing to spawn a belated and much loved franchise. You can see why really - despite the lone homophobic slur it's a film that's full of strange heart which rarely drags. It's essentially a madcap caper, like a "bit" from a weird 60's comedy show, spun out to feature length and infused with cheesy 80's glam rock and the occasional strangely clever joke. Easy to see why it gained the audience it did and much like Winter and Reeves themselves it's just genuinely hard to dislike.

Baby, this movie is most tranquil. I swear, it's the best movie I've ever seen in my life. I eat, sleep, and breath Bill and Ted. They are gorgeous first of all. All guys were in the 80's. They're funny and they're classic - my friends and I have a Bill and Ted party every year. The thing I love most about this movie is the feeling it gives you...........it makes you wanna party! It makes you wanna kiss your boyfriend, hug your sister and pet your dog all at once. While drinking a couple of leatres of Diet Cola. I swear...if someone came up to me on the street and asked me what the best movie in the world is I'd say the Bill and Teds (along with the Spidermans and Ferris Bueller's Day Off)Most triumphant!!!!!!!

If you weren't around in '89, when this became a surprise cultural phenomenon, well, you kinda had to be there. Looking back with critical eyes, it's a rather thin, desperately low-budget production that doesn't probe beyond the superficial layer and constantly winks and nudges the audience to ensure they know when to laugh.

Yet, recognizing all that, I found myself wrapped up in its oddly naive warmth and charismatic magnetism. The jokes and gags are hammy and contrived, but I still snickered. The most memorable lines are clumsy and blunt, but I gladly recited them (surprising myself, as I hadn't seen the film in twenty-plus years). Bill and Ted themselves are the narrowest of stereotypes, basically the male equivalent of Frank Zappa's valley girls, yet I felt a rich tingle of satisfaction when they saved their academic careers. It's one of those films that defies logic, succeeding in spite of itself, and there's something of value in that.

There's not much to say about Bill & Ted that hasn't been already. It's an incredibly charming 80's comedy about two dumb guys who just wanna rock. This movie is what every modern day 80's nostalgia movie is trying to invoke.

The movie concerns on two geeky and stupid teens(Keanu Reeves,Alex Winter).They confront to prepare a historical presentation but their professor(Bernie Casey)decides to give them an opportunity;if they can do an oral exam of how famed historic personages might adapt themselves to modern times,they will be allowed approve their history final .If not Ted will be placed in military academy.Rufus(George Carlin)an emissary from the future comes to help them in his time machine,a telephone booth.They pass through the universe and their lives are enormously important for the future of mankind.They meet get to know some of the history's most famous personality:Sigmund Freud(Rod Loomis),Gengis Khan(Al Leong),Socrates,Abraham Lincoln,Napoleon,Billy the Kid,Joan of Arc and carrying them to St Dimas little town.

The picture is a Sci-fi comedy with action, giggles,tongue in check and is pretty entertained.Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter make a completely surrealist and delight duo.The motion picture obtained success in the box-office and in the video rentals and nowadays is well considered as a cult movie.The film is rightly directed by Stephen Herek,previously he directed a hit called ¨Critters¨.It's followed by a cartoon TV(Bill and Ted's excellent adventure,1990) series and a sequel(Bill and Ted's journey,Peter Hewitt,1991) by the same actors, big budget and better FX but the freshness,inspiration and magic had gone. The picture will like to teens comedy fans.

Excellent is right this movie is awesome. Ok so I know Keanu Reeves mostly as Neo and of course John Wick but this was back in 1988 and this is a comedy and it delivers on it. I'm serious I don't understand how I never watched it before with my love of the actor but man he is just hilarious in this role along with his costar Alex Winters again he and Keanu have such great chemistry together. I love the soundtrack some songs sound like it's straight from the Doom games and that's a great thing. For 1988 the CGI actually looks great which is surprising. Overall this is a silly, over the top comedy movie that I think everyone should see.

Two Californian wannabe rock star teens, one played by Keanu Reeves of Matrix fame, are going to flunk their history class. Thankfully, a time traveller from the future, where those 2 same guys are revered as icons, comes back and gives them a time machine in the shape of a phone booth. Our heroes proceed to kidnap famous historical figures for their final expose. This is one of the quintessential 80s movies that was better in my memory than it is now, but still manages to be rather amusing. The main attraction for me this time around was their "most excellent" way of talking, full of slacker-surf lingo of the 80s. Our heroes seem dumb, but they have their hearts in the right place and are somewhat more clever than initially appears. This shows in the complicated words they sometimes use and in how they use the time machine to their advantage in the final part.

The "kidnapping" sequences of the famous historical figures weren't particularly good, nor were those famous people particularly well characterized, at least in the beginning. Most of the sequences with Napoleon were weak and overstayed their welcome. I would have done without him (especially the long waterslide sequence) and also with some lame sequences that really don't work. Not only that but the Napoleon actor obviously didn't really speak French. However, when the famous historical figures start interacting in the present, with the exception of Napoleon, the movie gets way more entertaining. It struck me how the second half was much more fun and inventive than the first, with the exception of Bill and Ted meeting themselves in the first part, that was a great idea. This reminds me that because it tells us outright from the start, you know that things are going to end well. I would have preferred less information so there would be at least some suspense (despite the fact it's a comedy). The special effects aged surprisingly well, even the time travelling parts. In the first half, I thought the movie was somewhat poor with a few snippets of enjoyment, and that perhaps time had altered my perception of it. Thankfully, the better second half, when the famous people get to the present, redeems it and makes it worth watching and not just for nostalgia's sake, although nostalgia does help.

Rating: 6 out of 10 (good)

Not quite sure just why I watched this popular teen comedy-adventure film from the 80's but I was a teenager once myself and I enjoy a good time-travel yarn and with hopes of a "Back to the Future" type entertainment thought I'd give it a shot.

Okay in hindsight, I'd probably have enjoyed it more if I was actually still in or just out of school, but it was enjoyable all the same. The nods to predecessors like the afore-mentioned "Back To The Future" (meeting themselves in time, the lightning bolt exits and entries), Dr Who (even down to using a phone-box as their time-travelling craft) and "Quantum Leap" (with the Rufus character as their Admiral Al mentor and cajoler) are obvious and of course it plugs into the same nerdy humour which made the "Wayne's World" movies equally successful.

I enjoyed the first half hour more when the dynamic duo's catch-phrases and mannerisms were fresh but lost interest in the rest feeling that there could have been better interplay among their historical kidnapees. One or two of the jokes made me smile (Freud quizzing an interrogating cop on his feelings for his mother and Bill owning up to a mildly Oedipal complex over his sexy step-mom) and the two leads obviously have fun outgorm-ing each other.

I could have done without the so-dated 80's pomp rock soundtrack, even as I felt that the movie was crying out for an Eddie Van Halen cameo appearance, but I can't judge this too harshly. Okay, so maybe "Time Bandits" did it better, but this was pleasant lightweight inoffensive fun and a lot less vulgar than most of the teen-market aimed output from latter-day Hollywood.