Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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Yes, I think Keanu Reeves is a somewhat wooden actor – although I love his “Matrix” movies and the “John Wick” series.

Go figure.

But Keanu absolutely captures the spirit of his character in the 1989 spoof, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Along with co-star Alex Winter, Keanu set the pace for all three movies in this wonky sci-fi franchise.

Starting off in a utopian future, we discover that humankind has been influenced by the philosophy and music of two ‘80s teenagers: Theodore “Ted” Logan (Reeves), and William ”Bill” S. Preston, Esq. (Winter). These California doofuses have a wannabe band called Wyld Stallyns.

Their dimwittedness is foretold in the movie’s tagline: “History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can’t spell.”

The premise: Future leaders use a phone booth as a time machine to send a rep named Rufus (George Carlin) back to the boys’ high school days to make sure they pass history, a near-impossible feat that’s necessary to ensure that the future happens properly.

Don’t overthink it.

To help Bill and Ted have a good grasp on historical events, Rufus gives them a tour of the past. Using the phone booth, he transports them back to 1805, where they watch Napoleon Bonaparte lead his troops against Austria. Time gets a little twisted when a cannonball blows Napoleon into the phone booth, traveling back to 1988 with Bill and Ted.

They send Napoleon to do their school report, meanwhile jumping back into the phone booth for more adventures. Their travels include encounters with Billy the Kid and Socrates. After a trip to 2688, where they are revered, the boys decide to go for extra credit in their history class – bringing back Sigmund Freud, Joan of Arc, Ludwig van Beethoven, Genghis Khan, and Abraham Lincoln to address their class.

You can catch a retro showing of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989) at the Tropic Cinema.

You will want to follow up with a viewing of the sequels, “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” (1991) and “Bill and Ted Face the Music” (2020).

But no matter whether you do or not, you will find this Keanu Reeves outing to be, indeed, an excellent adventure.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com