Author Topic: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC  (Read 10901 times)

Offline perc2100

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BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« on: June 09, 2020, 11:17:08 AM »
So the trailer and poster finally dropped, about a week after the two lead actors made a surprise appearance to wish the graduates of San Dimas HS a happy graduation while in character: the first we've seen these character since 1991's BOGUS JOURNEY.

The GOOD: these are fun characters, and especially after Keanu Reeves' after spending so long on serious films, or action films it's fun to see him embrace the silly again in a live-action film (he was maybe my favorite part of TOY STORY 4).  I think there are a LOT of interesting turns this film could make: Wyld Stallyns struggling to obtain the highs as spoken about int he future to save the universe; struggling parents; maybe they need to enlist their daughters in how to be cool to the teens; likely stuff we don't know about (seriously: BOGUS JOURNEY was so twisty with its story who KNOWS where this film can go).  The teaser was short and didn't give a lot of details: and there's still no plot synopsis to let us know what the actual story is, so right now the sky's the limit.  All we know for sure if Rufus is not in the picture, at least in George Carlin-form (RIP  O:-) ), BUT we will have Death back so yea that.

The AWKWARD: OK, neither Winters nor (especially) Reeves seem comfortable acting as their 1980's persona.  The two are awkward throughout the teaser trailer, and for me feel boarder-line off-putting almost.  Reeves, to me, almost feels like he's been playing brooding and serious for so long he's struggling finding his legs as Ted again, nearly 30 years since his last performance as the character.  The future shots also look cheap to me, though I understand it would be difficult to to match the garish look of the original, or the larger scope of the sequel on a fairly cheap budget.  FACE THE MUSIC had around a $25 million budget, and show summer 2019 while BOGUS JOURNEY had a $20 million budget and shot in 1990: with inflation, BOGUS JOURNEY had an almost $40 million budget in 2020 dollars

BUT...
* EXCELLENT ADVENTURE was made for $10 million in 1988, which would be just under $22 million in 2020: so made for less than the current film.  And while the future stuff looks obviously low-budget, it doesn't really detract from the film.
* maybe the characters acting awkward is part of the plot?  Like, maybe they feel awkward because they ARE awkward: clinging to their youth, trying to stay relevant while not realizing they're old and have "lost it."  Enter their daughters, who may step in to help them become cool again, able to speak to the younger generations to unite the universe in peace.
IDK: I'm guessing here, but it seems plausible.
* the director & stars TOTALLY have my faith.  I mean, there are two incredibly unique and good films already in this series.  And the director, Dean Parisot, gifted the universe GALAXY QUEST: another movie that feels like it shouldn't work on paper but KILLED (and many Star Trek fans rate this above many actual Star Trek films when ranking the entire series!).  Oh, and film god-amongst-mortals Steven Soderbergh was a producer (neigh, was pretty much the driving force for the film getting financed & made) and that guy contractually can do no wrong: his films are at worst interesting indulges, and at best masterpieces.  We also have the original screenwriters of the series writing the script: meaning, guys who have lived with these characters since page 1/draft 1 of EXCELLENT ADVENTURE and who presumably know these characters better than anyone.
* Samara Weaving plays Bills daughter (named as a play on "Theadore", Thea) and she is one of Hollywood's "best kept secrets" (who needs to be a legit star).  She's elevated everything she's been in throughout her career, and there's no reason to believe she won't do the same here.
*
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* George Carlin's daughter (who will be 57 when this film is released) is in the movie in some capacity.
* Oh, I just realized Anthony Carrigan is in this film (though didn't see him in the trailer).  He is SUBLIME in the HBO series "Barry," and I can't wait to see what he does in FACE HE MUSIC; I hear he plays the 'bad guy,' but who knows what that means given the craziness of this series

So at this point, I'm optimistic.  I have faith in all the main creatives involved, new addition Samara Weaving is an amazing actress, and this has potential to be a goofy, fun comedy: sometimes that's all we need.  Here's hoping this film is a part of our summer activities: either in a theater or streaming
« Last Edit: June 09, 2020, 11:24:20 AM by perc2100 »

Offline darkron9

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2020, 08:53:54 AM »
Great insights into the latest film.  I sure hope I can see it in a theater soon.

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #2 on: Today at 03:58:41 AM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2020, 11:41:24 AM »
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Great insights into the latest film.  I sure hope I can see it in a theater soon.
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Bill and Ted Face the Music takes Wonder Woman 1984‘s old spot of August 14 — a week earlier than its initial August 21 release.

Offline SamTurtledove

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2020, 10:56:42 AM »
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Have you played our new Bill & Ted game, yet? It's free, dude! You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

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Offline SamTurtledove

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2020, 03:12:39 PM »
360 /VR Experience


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Bill and Ted have gone virtual, dudes! Travel the  world of Bill & Ted Face the Music in this immersive new 360/VR experience! Visit our Facebook or YouTube to step into the booth now: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login #BillAndTed3 #FaceTheMusic You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login








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Offline chocolateshake

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2020, 03:18:44 PM »
You had me at VR.

Offline perc2100

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2020, 01:56:20 PM »
BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC is, for better for worse, _exactly_ what you think it is.  It's a fun riff on middle-age crisis as our two hapless heroes travel through time to see alternate versions of themselves as they frantically try to "steal" _THE_ song from their future selves before the universe collapses on itself (or something).  The plot doesn't matter a ton: it's just fun to spend another 90ish minutes with these 80's icons.  New editions to the story, Thea and Billie (the duo's daughters from the now-unhappy princesses) are wonderful!  Bill Sadler is having a ball reprising Death, and the movie is generally a goofy comedy with heart.

Looking back at my thoughts/speculations based on the trailer, I think I was on the right track!  It's hard to avoid how cheap the film looks at times with its green screen backgrounds and whatnot: between the future, and other...areas/moments in the film that were impossible to generate practically, the movie looks like it had a minuscule budget.  While I'm a harsh critic at times, this didn't distract me too much from the overall film: similar to how the future of the original film looks kind of blatant super-cheap (note: because it kinda was) but it doesn't matter that much.  There are, of course, some pretty large leaps of logic, but again: in the end, it doesn't matter.  The overall fun of the movie, and the joy of seeing the two leads slip back into their roles after 3 decades & change was a lot of fun.

I think the narrative is a bit jumbled at times as well.  Bill & Ted jump to different 'futures' of themselves, and are warned that they're screwing things up: their wives (the princesses from the original film, albeit recast for FACE THE MUSIC), who are seemingly unhappy having their affection shared with the two platonic soul mates, somehow get a bit mixed up in the time traveling shenanigans.  There's also a side plot that involves the duo's two daughters.  I was excited coming into the film for Samara Weaving, as I truly believe she's a hit movie away from becoming a big star (if you haven't seen READY OR NOT, or  GUNS AKIMBO, I _highly_ recommend; and of course she's great in 3 BILLBOARDS, where she expertly holds her own against an off-the-hook great, Oscar-winning cast).  Here, though, she seemed a little lost at times.  Brigette Lundy-Paine, as Ted's daughter, seems much more at home with the goofy So CA mentality/mannerisms and fit right at home against Bill & Ted.  I don't really know much of her work, so she was a little bit of a revelation for me.
Kristen Schaal was also wonderful as Rufus (George Carlin)'s daughter Kelly.  She had ginormous shoes to fill, and wisely stuck to making her own character instead of trying to ape Carlin (who does have a very small 'cameo' as a hologram).  She's a great anchor between the So CA doofiness of the leads, the future craziness, and the kind of nebulousness of the overall plot crisis (of time itself unraveling within the universe, sucking people from other times away from their 'time' and into ours).  I think she likely had the toughest role, and she nails it in a fairly understated way.  I've been a fan of hers since the "Flight of the Conchords" TV show days, and she continues to impress me!
Another fun newcomer is Anthony Carrigan (who steals MANY scenes in the HBO series "Barry" as NoHo Hank, the Chechen gangster), nearly unrecognizable in a role I kinda don't want to spoil.  I recognized him from some of his speech mannerisms, and I'll just say that he took what could've easily been a one-dimensional character and gave him such bizarre depth that is almost confoundingly funny.  His sense of humor is my jam, so others may not agree.

Other old favorites make appearances, from Ted's Police boss dad, to step-mom extraordinaire Missy (Bill step-mom in EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, Ted's step-mom in BOGUS JOURNEY, and now Ted's little brother's new wife).  Storywise the film takes its lead from both of its predecessors, with the daughters bouncing back in time to pick up backing musicians to help their dads while Bill and Ted bounce around the future.  There's a time-crunch that adds immediacy to the proceedings as well, something that feels like a must (IMO BACK TO THE FUTURE PART 2 really suffers for this reason at times: something wisely rectified in PART 3).

Again, this is a solid comedy.  Comedies typically do not produce real good sequels, and while BOGUS JOURNEY broke that trend, FACE THE MUSIC doubles it up by being a good sequel 30+ years later.  This definitely feels like a touch of a 'midlife crisis' movie on the one end, but well-balanced with the daughters trying to help their dads be the rock stars they believe they're destined to be.  All of the future 'doubles' of Bill & Ted are fun in their own ways.  The cheap look doesn't detract much from a fun, feel-good time.

A welcome distraction for where we are in the real world...

Offline darkron9

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #7 on: August 31, 2020, 08:15:04 AM »
Thank you for this review.

I've had this movie on my list and was desperately hoping that the governor of my state would let the theaters open again.  I'm a big fan of the large screen and enhanced sound system.  Alas, the theaters are still closed and being a senior citizen, I really appreciated the early morning viewing as well as the recliner seating and the senior discounts at my favorite theater.

Still hoping to see B&T:FTM in a theater, but at least I know what to expect should I end up streaming it to my dinky 26" screen.

Offline darkron9

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Re: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2020, 08:14:14 AM »
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BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC is, for better for worse, _exactly_ what you think it is.  It's a fun riff on middle-age crisis as our two hapless heroes travel through time to see alternate versions of themselves as they frantically try to "steal" _THE_ song from their future selves before the universe collapses on itself (or something).  The plot doesn't matter a ton: it's just fun to spend another 90ish minutes with these 80's icons.  New editions to the story, Thea and Billie (the duo's daughters from the now-unhappy princesses) are wonderful!  Bill Sadler is having a ball reprising Death, and the movie is generally a goofy comedy with heart...

...A welcome distraction for where we are in the real world...

With my Amazon credits, I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy this movie.  The price for me at least had dropped down to $8, about what I used to pay to watch movies at the early morning matinees at my favorite theater.

The movie is exactly what you said it was.  Great fun and well worth the price of admission.  I've gotten so used the Keanu Reeves playing action hero parts that it was fun to see him back as Ted. 

Thanks guys!