Customer Reviews

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Widescreen)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

* BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (B&TXA) is a low-budget,
derivative, silly film that shamelessly panders to its teen-age target
audience; it represents nothing new in film-making; and is blatantly
commercial.

I really liked it.

The plot is simple enough. Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reaves)
are two California kids who want to become famous rock stars. There's
only one problem: they can't play their instruments. Well, actually,
there's two problems: they're both complete boneheads, and their
hardnosed history teacher tells them that if they *don't* pass their
oral history report, they *will* flunk out of school. This oral
report involves imagining what historical personages would've thought
of the present day and the local environment. Not too demanding, but
it's still above the ability of these two, and if they flunk, Ted's
sourpuss dad intends to send him off to a military academy in Alaska,
separating the two friends, probably forever.

Fortunately, the society of Earth 700 years from now has a special
interest in them, and an agent (George Carlin) is sent back in a time
machine (shaped like a phone booth -- a normal one, not an
old-fashioned British police box) to help out. So Bill and Ted have
in their hands the best possible tool for conducting hands-on
historical research.

This sounds silly, and it is, and all the unkind things I said above
about this movie are true. That leads to the question: What saves

B&TXA? Simple enough: Bill and Ted. These two guys don't look like
they have the collective mental energy to make a nightlight glow.
They don't actually have to *do* anything to be funny. You laugh at
them even if they're just *standing* there.

Though when push comes to shove, it turns out they can be quite
resourceful. Like a lot of teenagers, they just need to get
motivated. It's hard not to like them, since they're about as
good-natured kids as you're likely to find. Bill has the initiative,
willing to take risks without hesitation because he doesn't have a
clue of what he's getting into. Ted is a born romantic, a sweet-faced
kid who all the girls think is really cute. Any time he sees a
good-looking girl his heart leaps into his throat and stars flicker in
his eyes.

The story, like I said, is silly, but silliness is hardly a critical
term when applied to a comedy -- and it does have its moments, such as
Napoleon at the water slides, and Genghis Kahn ... well, I won't say
any more. It certainly does pander to teenagers: nearly all the
adults are creeps or morons, and the kids turn the tables on them in
the end -- but it also made me feel wistful. I didn't have fun being
a teenager and this film suggests to me in its own bizarre way that it
could've been more fun than it was. The only thing I can seriously
say against B&TXA was that by the time it was over I was glad I didn't
have to listen to "PARTY ON, DUDE!" and "EXCELLENT!" one more time.

BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE isn't the sort of thing that would
win awards, in fact nobody in their right mind would recommend it for
one. Some movies are like expensive dinners; others are like Big
Macs. But as Big Macs go, BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE tastes
good.

Oh, yeah, the usual cautions: No noticeable bad language, overt
sexual activity, or graphic violence (unless you are the sort of
person who feels that the Three Stooges are a bad influence on kids).
And definitely, absolutely not for people who are into serious cinema.
[Minor update of review from 1989 -- GVG]

On one level, this is one of the silliest movies of all time. The humor is juvenile, and the teenage protagonists *seem* almost completely vacant-minded, their only goal to to start a great rock band, despite their complete inability to play their instruments. They end up on the most hilarious journey through time imaginable, with their 1990's San Dimas, CA sensibilities encountering such historic figures as "So-krates," "Joan of Arc," and Sigmund "Frood," all of whom end up wreaking havoc in a So. Calif. shopping mall. Bill and Ted are endearingly mindless, driven by hormones, and Ted remains Keanu Reeves's best role. The film has some of the funniest one-liners you'll want to add to your collection of quotations suitable to many daily occasions, and somehow there's a sweetness, innocence, and weird profundity to the whole adventure. It's also a multigenerational classic. I'm in my 40's, and my teenage children have been fans since elementary school as well and remain so. It's one of those films that whenever I mention it in a college classroom instantly elicits nods, smiles, and complicit laughs.

I LOVE THESE CRAZY GUYS, THEIR (PIPED IN) AIR GUITARS AND THE FUTURISTIC RELIGION THEY UNWITTINGLY ESTABLISH AS A RESULT OF THE MUSIC OF THEIR (VERY UNTALENTED) BAND-- THE WYLD STALLYNS!!! IT REALLY DOESN'T GET ANY FUNNIER THAN THIS!

UNDER PRESSURE OF FAILING HISTORY CLASS, AND HAVING TO ATTEND A MILITARY ACADEMY, BILL AND TED RUN HEADLONG INTO A GUARDIAN ANGEL FROM THE FUTURE, WHILE HANGING OUT AT THE LOCAL CIRCLE K, TRYING TO DECIDE HOW TO PASS THEIR CLASS. FROM THERE, THEY GO ON A MISSION IN A TIME-TRAVELING TELEPHONE BOOTH, WHICH TAKES THEM ALL THROUGH AN AMAZING VARIETY OF "HISTORICAL" TIMES AND PLACES, MEETING UP WITH SOME AWESOME "MEDIEVAL BABES" ALONG THE WAY. (THE "HISTORICAL BABES" END UP BECOMING THE NEXT TWO MEMBERS OF THE BAND WYLD STALLYNS IN THE END!!! HAHAHHA)

ON THEIR EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, THEY PICK UP NAPOLEAN, JOAN OF ARC, SOCRATES (THEY PRONOUCE IT "SO-KRATES"), BEETHOVEN, BILLY THE KID AND A FEW OTHER HILARIOUSLY UNSTUNNED HISTORICAL FIGURES, ALL OF WHOM TAKE THE JOURNEY AS THOUGH IT WAS NOTHING TOO OUT OF THE ORDINARY. (THIS, IN ITSELF, IS FUNNY!)

I WON'T GIVE AWAY THE ENDING, WHICH IS VERY FUN AND MAKES FOR A GREAT SHOW FOR BILL AND TED'S FELLOW-STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, WITH ALL OF THE HISTORICAL CHARACTERS ACTING OUT THEIR PARTS IN AN
"A-WINNING" SCHOOL PRESENTATION. BUT THE REAL FUNNY PART IS THE ADVENTURE ITSELF!!!

GOTTA SEEE THIS ONE!!!

Bill & Ted's's Excellent Adventure is a funny movie that is enjoyable to watch and it was just a really cute movie and reminds me of other good time-travel movies like Time Bandits. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter were really good and I also liked George Carlin and I recommend this movie.

Familiar scene - two dudes in high school, dumb as a rock about anything important, stuck in a bind and suddenly learn a lesson. The sad thing is that the situation depicted here is sadly true in a lot of schools today. My kids loved the movie- thought the guys so stupid as to be hilarious. Dude, it was awesome...(you know). Not much history taught here - Socrates (pronounced by the boy wonders "So-crates") and Joan of French fame (Noah's wife - cute). The rest - Beethoven, Ghengis, Billy the Kid - are all window dressing. Strictly a "forget your troubles" flick but still good for young teens.

bill and ted's excellent adventure is a great movie.
I saw this movie when i was 8 on hbo and then when i was 15 on comedy central and fell in love with it right away.
Bill S. Preston Squire and Ted theodore logan want their band WYLD STALLYNS to become a super band and get a triumphant video.
One thing in their way, lack of talent and they are flunking history.
If ted flunks history his dad will send him to an alaskan military school and seperate bill and ted and alter the future by doing this.
BIll and TED are supposed to make the future great and create world piece and make the world clean and excellent water slides of course.
So, the three most important people in the world decide to send RUFUS, a cool futuristic guide down to san dimas, california in th past 1989 before the splitting of bill and ted can occur and stop it by helping them pass history bu getting an a on their report.
rufus lends them a time machine that looks like a telephone booth.
They dial a number and can go to any point in time they wish and grab historical figures for their oral report presentation.
Great comedy, lots of adventure, sets and special effects pretty good. It's got some romance, with bill and ted meeting two beautiful princess in medevil england.

It's got keanu reeves and ALEX WINTER (marko from the lost boys)in it as the two dopey valley dudes bill and ted.
what more culd u ask for.
This movie is only ten dolars at bestbuy as is the sequel.
so go buy it if u don't already own it.
dont rent it becuase this film on tape as a blockbuster rental has been rented a million times and will eat ur vcr so just put out ten bucks and enjoy it.
u won't be sorry!

It's nice to stair at gorgeous alex winter , bill, the shorter one with the perfect abbs and the blonde curly hair. lol

enjoy!
PARTY ON DUDES!
BE EXCELLENT TO EACHOTHER!
HOW'S IT GOING ROYAL UGLY DUDES!
NO WAAYYYYYY!
EXCELLENT!
CATCH YA LATER DUDES!

Most of the reviews will say "Totally awsome movie dude" or some other 80's term to describe the movie, for this I feel i have to write this review. Number one: this is a movie for the smart kids, Bill and Teds relationship with each other is a symbol of decaying humanity but no matter how bad the world is there is at least one other person that feels your pain. When Bill and Ted have to find Napoleon, they are not only looking for a lost historical figure but also they are searching for their inner selves. Ted being threatend to be sent of to boot camp is quite obviously represenative of the ozone layer being destroyed. So if you think it is just some silly teen movie from the 80's think again. God I love oysters

Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are sweet, fun-loving, but not academically inclined high school students in danger of flunking out if they don't get a passing grade on their history presentation. And flunking out will mean military school! Just when they are becoming discouraged by their paltry knowledge of history, a time traveler named Rufus (George Carlin) arrives from the future to help them out by providing a time machine they can use to travel through history and bring back the makings of an excellent history presentation.

If the plot of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" sounds so silly that it turns you off, you might want to reconsider. I was surprised to find that, for all of its silliness, this is not a dumb movie. I didn't expect much from two air-headed Southern California "valley boys" and a time machine that is straight out of "Doctor Who". But I found this to be a good-natured, occasionally clever comedy that is just a lot of fun. Bill and Ted are earnest, unassuming, thoroughly likable guys who enjoy their excellent adventure through time to the fullest, which encourages the audience to do the same. I appreciated that this film didn't use the usual fish-out-of-water gags in which people from the past act like idiots when confronted with the modern world. That's not to say that the historical figures in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" act realistically. A movie that flits through time in a phone booth isn't trying to be realistic. But none of the characters are stupid or cower at the sight of modern gadgets. The film has a distinctly '80s feel that will give those who remember that era a trip down memory lane. And it even has a nice little message that it doesn't cram down your throat. "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" is unpretentious chuckle-inducing fun. On the DVD, subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish. The only bonus feature is one theatrical trailer.

this is a good movie. as a kid a only saw this like once i would always only see bill and teds bogus jorney. i hardly saw this movie then i saw it like a while ago again on tv, and i didnt really understand what was going when i was a kid but now that i get the stuff there talking about, all i have to say is that this movie rocks!!!!!this movie is funny and kinda a little action with the time traveling. this is still a good film. it gets 4 stars cause theres no dame special features. next year they should do a 15 year anniversery edition.

This film vouchsafed us the megastardom of that great contemporary thespian, K Reeves, esq., so you do have to wonder what poor Alex Winter (William S. Preston to his friends) can have done to irritate the Hollywood Gods. Where Reeves can count Shakespeare comedies and the Matrix Trilogy on his CV, the best Alex Winter can claim seems to be Death Wish III.

In any event, this is a great romp of a film, and it's much funnier that the highbrow critics (Amazon's included) realise. The sequel is even funnier (the Dutch Grim Reaper has to be seen to be believed) but in the first instalment there are enough buried gags about Iron Maidens and Bon Jovi's influence on Beethoven for this to rate very highly on the rewatchability scale.

Party on, Dudes.