I Watched "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" As a Zoomer to See If It Holds Up

*Plays the air-guitar.*

With the release of Bill and Ted Face the Music in cinemas this week, and all the hype that has preceded it, I couldn’t go into theatres without first travelling back in time for myself, to watch the originals that started the trilogy.

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, released in 1989, is everything you expect from the '80s: classic rock, time travel, dodgy green screen and teen comedy. But does this goofy adventure still hold up 30 years on? With Keanu Reeves at the wheel, I had high hopes.

Here's the trailer if you need a reminder:

What are they all about?

Set in 1989, Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) find themselves set with the insane task of traveling back in time to meet historical heavy weights and bring them back to the present… to complete their history report, of all things.

The eccentric pair aren’t exactly who you’d expect to trust with the entire space-time continuum and all of history. Initially just two silly teens from San Dimas, California, they dream of making it big with their band Wyld Stallyns. Funnily enough the pair are oddly handed a time machine, which is suspiciously also a phone booth (Dr. Who fans are screaming), and with very little instruction set off into the future, and the past.

The twosome aren’t as they seem, with their future already written for them as heroes worshipped in the year 2688, thanks to their music quite literally giving harmony to all peoples, aligning the planets, ending poverty and all wars. The foundation of the future is based off these two boys.

On their journey, the two pick up characters such as Genghis Khan, Billy the Kid, "Noah’s wife" Joan of Arc, Socrates (or So-crates as they dub him) and others, eventually spilling from the seams of the phone booth leaving me wondering how on earth they all fit in there in the first place. After returning to San Dimas and quickly smashing out Bill’s bogus chores, the group of historical figures follow the pair to their high school auditorium and present their final history project to surprisingly convinced classmates and teachers.

The slightly less iconic but ever important sequel Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, from 1991, tells the story of how the pair's music saves the world. But not before the two literally die and have to stop some dude named De Nomolos changing the future to a bleak world without their music, all from the afterlife. After going from their own personal hell, then to heaven and meeting God, the pair and Death (William Sadler) are shifted back into their bodies so that they can defeat De Nomolos and compete in the battle of the bands.

So, how do they hold up?

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a great movie that you can switch your brain off to. It’s easily digestible, entertaining and a little funny in places. This wacky sci-fi/comedy really encapsulates the message of being yourself.

Both Bill and Ted remain true to themselves, their interests and all the little quirks about their personality, never changing for their parents, teachers or even historical figures they meet along the way, reminding audiences to be excellent to each other, and of course, themselves.

Rewatching both movies this week, the only issue I found was the inclusion of a homophobic slur passed off as a joke between the two boys (repeated in both flicks). This in particular put me off big time, but I think it speaks volumes about the insesitivity of language from the '80s and refelects a lot of similar films and TV shows from the time. (You just know I'm talking about Seinfeld.)

As a Zoomer who loves a lot of '80s movies this one hit the mark for me. While they come from a time before I was even born, films from this decade almost feel nostaligic, and despite their dated references and music, I think we will continue to treasure '80s films for a long while, even if its just by contuning to make more sequels and remakes.

Despite that small moment of insensitivity, the films definitely hold up in 2020 and are worth a watch if you need a break from reality. And now that I finally know where the conspiracy Keanu meme is from, I can live in peace.

Both original movies are available to stream on Stan and YouTube.

Header Image: Orion Pictures