I don't know what's funnier or more delightful - the fact that the reappraisal of Keanu Reeves' work following his post-John Wick action resurgence led to a renewed appreciation for the Bill & Ted movies and his reborn star power finally led to a third film in the series, or that said third movie is. . . really damn good.
Like. . . it shouldn't be super shocking that the director of Galaxy Quest nailed a comedy three-quel, but how often does anyone nails a comedy three-quel?
For the unfamiliar, the titular Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winters) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) are a pair of rock 'n roll super-fans turned would-be rock star founders of the band Wyld Stallyns (yeah, I know). Told in high school that their music would unite the universe in peace, they've been working to (in the first film) keep from being split up by time travelling to save their grades while under threat of failing history class, and then (in the second film) to cheat death after being killed by evil robot versions of themselves from the future (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is delightfully nuts) all while trying to become the musicians they thought they were meant to be.
Fast forward to 25 years later, and - while Bill and Ted have had some success in their musical career and married the time-displaced princesses Joanna (Jayma Mays) and Elizabeth (Erinn Hayes) - they're no closer to uniting the universe, and seem to have come to a real "Spinal Tap at the Puppet Show" end of the rock star road. When they're informed by a visitor from the future that the clock is running out on them fulfilling their supposed destiny, they decide to jump forward in time and take the finished prophesied song from their future selves after they've finished writing it. Their daughters Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving), who share share their fathers' infectious enthusiasm for life and love of music, embark on their own adventure to assemble a righteous back-up band of great musicians throughout history for when their dads get a-hold of the song.
And. . . that's Act 1. Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, the returning writers of the original films, really pull out all the stops for as many comedic diversions and sci-fi gags as they can get away with - which is a lot. This franchise was sneakily brilliant in how it introduced a fairly high-concept for a comedy in the first film and then took a huge left turn into something completely different for the sequel (where so many comedy sequels simply remake the first film), meaning that by the time we reach a decades-later "legasequel" pretty much everything is on the table. Bill & Ted Face the Music decides to treat said table like a buffet. While it deliberately borrows chunks of its predecessors' structure, it does a lot of remixing the tweaking, playing puckishly with the conventions of time travel films, buddy comedies, and "getting the band back together" romps. If that were all it offered, it would be a decently affable time, but it offers a few thematic twists that not only sit perfectly with the spirit these films have always embodied, but re-frames the arc of the series as a whole into something truly delightful.
The details along the way are an absolute blast, too. The murderer's row of returning actors are clearly having a whale of a time (William Saddler's Bergman-eque Death remains a highlight), and newcomers Lundy-Paine and Weaving balance an infectious dynamic of their own with deliriously spot-on riffs on Winters' and Reeves' mannerisms. Even if they never play these characters again, I want to see more of these actors together, because their charisma is dynamite. Speaking of, maybe the biggest magic trick director Dean Parisot and the two leads pull off is returning to such cartoonishly goofy characters and making them work together again, not only by the physical performances of the actors, but by how they let just a bit of weight and uncertainty settle on their shoulders as they bounce around enthusiastically.
I never expected that I would find much emotion aside from amusement in a Bill & Ted movie, but - like Parisot's Trek satire - the comedy makes room for one or two genuine dramatic beats the the film allows to land with real sincerity. Beyond the surprise that this even exists or the comfort of familiar faces getting up to new shenanigans, this third film really does feel like a lovingly-crafted farewell to friends that you had hopes for, but couldn't help worrying about.
Well, worry no more - Bill & Ted Face the Music is most non-heinous. *enthusiastic air guitar*
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