{"id":21152,"date":"2020-08-28T13:43:09","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T20:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=21152"},"modified":"2020-08-28T13:43:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T20:43:09","slug":"bill-ted-face-the-music-has-a-few-off-notes-but-still-manages-to-carry-a-tune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=21152","title":{"rendered":"BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC Has a Few Off-Notes, But Still Manages to Carry a Tune"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This film is playing at drive-ins and is also available\nto stream at home from various online outlets. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you grew up in the 1980s, then you\u2019ll know doubt be\nfamiliar with Bill & Ted. These time-traveling characters first graced cinema\nscreens in 1989. A successful (and generally underrated) sequel followed in\n1991 before everyone went their separate ways. Now, over 30 years later, the\nband has reunited for Bill & Ted Face the Music<\/em>. Like many groups\nattempting a comeback, the results are occasionally off-tune. However, the\nlikable leads can\u2019t help but raise a smile and ultimately win one over. This is\na likable flick that will generally please those who remember the original movies\nwith great fondness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For those unfamiliar with the first two movies, they involved\nteens Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and \u201cTed\u201d Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves)\nmeeting visitors from the future who tell them that they are destined to unite\nthe world with a song. But after years of trying, it still hasn\u2019t happened. In\nfact, the two dudes appear ready to give up on music. Suddenly, a time-traveling\nvisitor named Kelly (Kristen Schaal) arrives on their doorstep. Daughter of\ntheir original helper, she informs the pain that they have about 75 minutes left\nto create their epic song or else the universe will begin to unravel. It\u2019s a daunting\ntask, so Bill and Ted travel to the future in the hopes that they can sneak a\nlook at their majestic composition. However, all they find are comical, increasingly\ndisturbing future versions of themselves. In the meantime, their daughters Billie\nLogan (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea Preston (Samara Weaving) try to help\ntheir dads by embarking on their own journey through spacetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Naturally, after 30 years it\u2019s a difficult task to revive\nthese characters. The good news is that the concept itself is a solid one, allowing\nthe opportunity to travel to different eras and interact with bizarre versions\nof themselves and historical figures. The onscreen closeness between Bill and\nTed is still very charming and their general positivity (despite the whole end-of-world\nsituation) is contagious. In fact, it\u2019s especially amusing that their biggest\nconcern throughout seems to be that they may lose the love and respect of their\nspouses and kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are also funny gags from Bill and Ted\u2019s outrageous alter-egos,\nincluding one scenario that details a goofy way in which the heroes must fool two\nvillainous versions of themselves. Naturally, Bill and Ted also have to revisit\na familiar ex-band member and attempt to reconcile all their differences, which\nresults in some amusing bickering between them. Another scene, involving the\npair having an emotional heart-to-heart talk with their older selves, may be\nthe funniest bit in the movie. And there are some good bits involving daughters\nBillie and Thea, who are surprisingly welcome additions. The performers create note-perfect\nnew representations of their fathers and they\u2019re enjoyable to watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One downside about this chapter with its ticking-clock\napocalyptic scenario is that there are numerous characters and less time for\nsilliness. The protagonists, their wives and daughters, returning family and\nband members from the original movies, as well as other new additions are all vying\nfor screen-time. The movie appears to be in a big rush to keep everything moving\nand loses some comedic potential in the process. In the original film, the\nhistorical figures had the opportunity to interact with both the modern world\nand each other, adding more comedic layers and situations. In this outing, everyone\nis goal-oriented and there aren\u2019t as many fun interactions between iconic\nfigures. As the fabric of the universe begins to unravel, we also see people,\nplaces and things appear unexpectedly in different times. It would have been\nnice to slow things down a bit and see a couple of them become involved in the\nproceedings instead of just being a quick background gag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, these problems and the abbreviated approach are likely\ndue to working with a more limited budget than the previous entries had. At\nleast the movie does come together at the close to deliver a strong and joyful\nfinale. Admittedly, this tune doesn\u2019t match the best number from this act.\nHowever, it is a decent follow-up that doesn\u2019t besmirch the good name of its\ncharacters. In the end, the great cast and enthusiasm on display is successful\nenough to make Bill & Ted Face the Music<\/em> an enjoyable show.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note to Viewers: There is also an amusing extra scene following the credits, so be sure to wait until the very end before leaving or shutting the movie off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This film is playing at drive-ins and is also available to stream at home from various online outlets. If you grew up in the 1980s, then you\u2019ll know doubt be familiar with Bill & Ted. These time-traveling characters first graced cinema screens in 1989. A successful (and generally underrated) sequel followed in 1991 before everyone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,984,2721,2722,2723,2724,2728,2729,3535,4660,11533,11897,14429,17579,18035],"class_list":["post-21152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-alex-winter","tag-bill-ted-face-the-music","tag-bill-ted-face-the-music-film-review","tag-bill-ted-face-the-music-movie-review","tag-bill-ted-face-the-music-review","tag-bill-and-ted","tag-bill-and-ted-face-the-music","tag-brigette-lundy-paine","tag-comedy","tag-keanu-reeves","tag-kristen-schaal","tag-musical","tag-samara-weaving","tag-sequel"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}