Stream It or Skip It: ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ on Hulu, A Sequel That Recreates the Joyous, Dumb Humor of the Original

Over 30 years after the cult-classic sci-fi comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure came out in 1989, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have returned for a third Bill & Ted movie: Bill & Ted Face the Music, which released in theaters last summer but is now available to stream on Hulu. Though they may look a little older—OK, a lot older—they still sound the same, with the “Whoa dudes,” and the “How’s it goings?” Original writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon—who have been working on the script for nearly a decade—returned, while Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest, Fun with Dick and Jane) directs. Though the effects are slightly better, the campy, rock ‘n’ roll attitude still remains. 

BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: When we last saw Bill Preston, Esq. (Winter) and Ted Logan (Reeves), they were performing the rock concert of a lifetime with Death on the bass and “Little Bill” and “Little Ted” strapped to their backs. Now the year is 2020, Little Bill and Little Ted are all grown up, and played by Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving respectively.  As the film points out, this perceived gender-swap is not technically a ret-con—no one said “Little Bill” and “Little Ted” weren’t short for Billie and Theodora.

While Billie and Theodora idolize their dads, the rest of the world is not so impressed. Ted’s father—played by Hal Landon Jr., reprising his role from the first two films—begs them to get real jobs. Their wives—played by newcomers Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays, who are 10 years younger than the original actors, prompting me to wonder whether time-traveling babes from the Middle Ages are also immortal—take them to couples therapy. And, despite the fact that their music was supposed to unite the universe, they still suck at guitar. Only now instead of over-eager amateurs, they’re washed-up has-beens playing open mic nights.

Enter Kelly (Kristen Schaal), a time-traveler who introduces herself as the daughter of Rufus, the character famously portrayed by George Carlin in the first two films. (Carlin makes a brief, posthumous appearance via hologram.) Kelly takes Bill and Ted to the future to meet her mom, The Great Leader (an under-utilized Holland Taylor), who tells them that they have failed to write the song that will unite the world and that the world/universe is going to end if they don’t do so in the next 77 minutes and 25 seconds. Their daughters, hearing this, decide to help their dads by collecting famous musicians throughout history. Like father, like daughter.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Bill & Ted is hardly the first ’80s or ’90s cult classic to get a 21st-century sequel with middle-aged actors. Dumb and Dumber To, Zoolander 2, Bad Boys For Life… the list goes on. You know what it is!

Performance Worth Watching: As much as I love Keanu, I have to give this one to his on-screen daughter, actor Brigette Lundy-Paine. Paine—who came out as non-binary in 2019, and uses they/them pronouns—absolutely nails their Ted impression, from their inflection when they say “serious,” to the way they shake their head when they laugh. Not to be like, totally sacrilicious dude, but I think Lunday-Paine might do a better Ted than Reeves.

Memorable Dialogue: Kudos to the writers for getting Emmy award-winning actor Holland Taylor to utter the line, “You played the Elk’s Lodge in Barso, California for 40 people, most of whom were there only because it was $2 taco night, whatever the hell that means,” and kudos to Taylor for delivering it perfectly. I want that as a ringtone.

Sex and Skin: Erm, there’s a scene where Bill and Ted visit themselves in the future and discover they are now super-scary, super jacked prisoners with chest tattoos. Does that count?

Our Take: I know some assumed Bill & Ted Face the Music was bound to be a stinker, thanks in part to strict screener and embargo guidelines, and the nature of these 20-to-30-years-later type sequels. Yet I had a perfectly enjoyable time with Bill & Ted 3. I’m no Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure die-hard, so take this with a grain of salt, but I appreciate zany, joyous celebrations of stupidity as much as the next person. Face the Music makes a good-faith effort to recreate that tone, and mostly succeeds.

The effects, production design, and budget are most improved from the first two films which, weirdly, detracts from the experience. The last thing I want while watching Bill & Ted is a soundtrack that echoes a Marvel movie. Thankfully, no such upgrades have been made to the plot and humor. Bill & Ted Face the Music is as joyously dumb as ever. Matheson and Solomon technically spent a decade on it, but the script feels like it was written over one particularly righteous, weed-powered night. That is exactly what I want while watching Bill & Ted. I laughed a lot, from Reeves and Winter doing their best-worst British accents, to Jesus and the apostles rocking out at the last supper. Don’t even think to question the time-travel rules—as with the first two movies, it’s whatever is most convenient for the jokes and the plot.

It is a little odd to see Reeves and Winter in their 50s and doing their totally unchanged Bill & Ted shtick, and their performances don’t feel as natural as a result. The makeup department, perhaps deliberately, didn’t help them out—Reeves looked a thousand times better in his recent appearance in the Netflix rom-com, Always Be My Maybe. But you get used to it. Once again, the pandemic has deprived us of the joy of watching a comedy at the movies. I have no doubt that Bill and Ted Face the Music would have been an uproariously good time in a packed theater, especially for fans who will enjoy being serviced by the winks and call-backs to the first two movies. Celebrity cameos and rock concerts taking place in infinite time hit different when you’re alone in your living room. And yet, I had a good time anyhow.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Bill and Ted Face the Music will never be as excellent as the original, but there’s no need to write it off as bogus. It’s still boisterous, earnest fun.

Where to watch Bill & Ted Face the Music