Story
It has been over 20 years since best buddies William ‘Bill’ Preston (Sam Winter) and Theodore ‘Ted’ Logan (Keanu Reeves) came back from their time-travelling adventures and celebrated success with their rock band, Wyld Stallyns. Now middle-aged and professionally unsuccessful, they’re beginning to realise that they’ve not only failed to ‘unite the world through song’, but that their fruitless endeavours have taken a toll on their marriages.
A messenger from the future – Kelly (Kristen Schaal), daughter of their time-travelling mentor Rufus – appears with an important message. If Bill and Ted don’t write and perform the world’s greatest song by 7:17 pm that night, time and space will collapse, and reality as we know it will end. With just under two hours to save the world, Bill and Ted decide to travel to the future, hoping to take the song from their future selves.
Of course, things aren’t as straightforward as they think, and another excellent time-travelling adventure begins. This time Bill and Ted are joined by their equally goofy and good-natured daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving), who are determined to help their dads save reality.
Themes
Comedy; science-fiction; action; music
Violence
Bill & Ted Face the Music has some violence. For example:
- The future Great Leader sends a robot to kill Bill and Ted.
- The robot has a laser gun that kills people and sends them to Hell.
- The robot lasers Billie and Thea, some musicians, Ted’s father, Bill and Ted and later himself.
- Some inmates beat up the robot, but it doesn’t seem to be harmed.
- Future versions of Bill and Ted threaten the present Bill and Ted with a gun and shoot at them (they miss).
Sexual references
Bill & Ted Face the Music has some sexual references. For example, during a wedding scene, the bride and groom kiss and are obviously attracted to each other.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Bill & Ted Face the Music shows some use of substances. For example, one version of future Ted drinks vodka from a bottle and has developed a drinking problem.
Nudity and sexual activity
None noted.
Product placement
None noted.
Coarse language
Bill & Ted Face the Music has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Bill & Ted Face the Music is the sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991), both starring Keanu Reeves and Sam Winter as two goofy rock music nerds. In this movie they’re middle-aged, but still living by their creed of ‘being excellent to each other’ and following their dream of ‘uniting the world through song’.
Adults who enjoyed the originals and also younger viewers will be entertained and delighted by Bill & Ted Face the Music, which has been long in the making. Full of funny dialogue and hilarious characters portrayed by an excellent cast, this movie zips by. Featured violence, scary characters and themes are mostly slapstick, absurd and exaggerated for laughs. This movie is likely to appeal to a family audience with children aged 10 and over, with parental guidance for children aged 7-10 years.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- You should be ‘excellent to each other’.
- It’s never too late to follow your dreams.
- Persistence, teamwork, and creativity go a long way.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include friendship, determination, teamwork and unity for a greater purpose.
Bill & Ted Face the Music could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the importance of not giving up on hope, on oneself, on your loved ones, and on your dreams.