Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

"Party on, dudes!" "Bogus…" "Triumphant!" That pretty much sums up Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Anyone who hasn't seen this film has no doubt experienced its influence in some way; it paved the way for Wayne's World, and has had some influence on almost every American teen comedy since. The film is best known for its catchphrases and for being Keanu Reeves' breakthrough. Yet the comedy runs far deeper than two dumb teens shouting "Excellent!" and then playing air guitar solos. Bill S. Preston esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted Theodore Logan (Reeves) make up the whole of hopeless rock band Wyld Stallions, and after they are informed by their teacher that a bad mark in their final report will cause them to fail history class, Ted's father tells him that failure will result in him being sent to military school "… in Alaska". During a mid-revision trip to the store, Rufus (George Carlin) visits them with a phone booth capable of time travel and with a message that they must not fail their history report at all costs. After being visited by themselves, the two heroes embark on a trip to collect various figures from history to help them with their report.

The film has aged incredibly well, and while the fashion and music is all very blatantly late 80's, it creates a surprising sense of nostalgia. Bill and Ted are essentially two teenage everymen who are unaware of the effect they have on the world. In this sense the film is very positive; two unassuming kids with no discernible talent completely change the world. However, it's pointless reading too much into this film; essentially it's just a very funny, very silly comedy. The sequel, Bogus Journey, fell down somewhat by perhaps trying to be too clever; Excellent Adventure is never trying to be anything more than what it is; ridiculous fun. The film is one of the most influential on modern pop culture, and if you haven't seen this film, you have to go and see it. For anyone who has (which I presume is the majority), go and see it again and see why it's not just a clever name.

Charles Tomlinson