X
- 1989
- PG
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
- 1989
- PG
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
Summary Bill Preston and Ted Logan are two totally excellent dudes facing one most heinous history exam. With the help of Rufus an ultra-cool messenger in a time traveling phone booth, the triumphant twosome bag a bevy of historical heavy weights like the "Bodacious Philosopher Socrates, "One Very Excellent Barbarian" Genghis Khan, the "Short De...
Directed By: Stephen Herek
Written By: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
- 1989
- PG
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
- 1989
- PG
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
50
8.3
Where to Watch
Summary Bill Preston and Ted Logan are two totally excellent dudes facing one most heinous history exam. With the help of Rufus an ultra-cool messenger in a time traveling phone booth, the triumphant twosome bag a bevy of historical heavy weights like the "Bodacious Philosopher Socrates, "One Very Excellent Barbarian" Genghis Khan, the "Short De...
Directed By: Stephen Herek
Written By: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
50
25% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
56% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
19% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
50
25% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
56% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
19% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Delightfull time-travel comedy.
Also, it is almost squeaky clean. It's rated PG, but without about four seconds of toilet humor and five seconds of bra ogling, Bill and Ted might have faced an insurmountable challenge: the dreaded G rating. [20 Feb 1989, p.D06]
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 178 User Ratings
8.3
81% Positive
145 Ratings
145 Ratings
14% Mixed
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
4% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 178 User Ratings
8.3
81% Positive
145 Ratings
145 Ratings
14% Mixed
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
4% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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No matter how silly this movie can become, it is still a hilarious and engaging comedy, and an utter delight from start to finish. The screenplay was intelligent, original, uproariously funny and witty. I also loved the film's plot, about Bill and Ted going back in time to make sure they don't fail their history exam. I will admit I don't care for Keanu Reeves that much, but as Bill and Ted he and Alex Winter turned in honest, appealing and likable performances. The soundtrack is hip and cool too. The film is full of wonderful characters and scenes, the Tudor scene was indeed fun, but any scene with Napolean and Beethoven are guaranteed to end you up in hysterics. The adventure is fast-paced, imaginative and never has an unengaging moment. All in all, a hugely enjoyable film. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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An insanely effective no-brainer of a film, sparkling with a simple charm and energy rarely witnessed this side of illegal substances.
Bill and Ted differ from Spiccoli, their “stoner” predecessor, only in that there are no drug references here to account for their allegedly jocular lack of ambition or interest in education or self-improvement.
Has an intangibly charming goofiness about it that is somehow endearing: here is a movie about teenagers that contains no excessive profanity, no drug references, and no explicit sexual activity.
Painfully dumb. [21 Feb 1989, p.5D]
Reeves and Winter have great chemistry that really elevates the movie, Carlin is fantastic as always despite his small role. It's comedic at times but doesn't really do much to take advantage of the premise (which really kind of a knock-off of Doctor Who/Back To The Future). It's a decent movie, I could totally get why it has a cult following but I don't think it's as good as they make it out to be.
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A mixed adventure. The obvious problem with the movie today is that it is very dated from the visual effects to the almost-nineties music (this is 1989). It's still funny, though, and Reeves and Winter are great in it.
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Since the very beginnings of film, "buddy" comedies have always been very popular. From Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello to Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar, audiences love to see what kind of trouble these guys can get into. After 25 years and with talks of a second sequel on the way, I finally decided to see what Bill & Ted were all about. I was always scared off by the PG rating, I mean George Carlin in a PG rated film, come on! The first part of the film was pretty much what I expected it to be, as the two failing history dudes, fly around the world looking for historical figures. Things turn from ordinary to extraordinary when the group finally returns to 1989 and decide to go the mall of all places. This is where the film really finds itself and becomes more than just your typical buddy story. The interactions with people and the reactions on both sides are absolutely priceless and is what changed my opinion of this film. Keanu Reeves stars in one of his earliest roles, and manages to show that at some point in his life, he did have a personality and could tell a joke. His partner Alex Winter didn't really do much before or since, and while he wasn't great, he did have chemistry with Reeves, which always helps a movie progress. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure wasn't so excellent, but it was different and manages to hold your attention. I still think this film would have been much better if it were R rated and a lot more edgy, but for what it was, it wasn't bad at all.
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Production Company
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG),
De Laurentiis Film Partners,
Giada International,
Interscope Communications,
Nelson Entertainment,
Soisson/Murphey Productions,
William F. White International
Release Date Feb 17, 1989
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating PG
Tagline History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can't spell...
Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 2 Nominations
Fantasporto
• 1 Nomination
