Bill and Ted Face the Music Review
On the surface, Face the Music is a goofy, meta sequel to a cult movie series that overall hasn't aged all too well. Under all that is an existential tale of two dudes in their 50s dealing with possible divorces, estranged friendships and family, while the fabric of time, space, and reality start to break down. There's a lot more at stake this time around.
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return to their iconic head banging, surfer dude roles and it's clear that these two still share a lot of affection for each other on and off camera. Though the individual characterizations of Bill and Ted's characters are virtually indistinguishable since Bogus Journey, Face the Music addresses and reckon with their inseparable codependency early on in the movie. They go to couple's counselling but they think that that meant they were both going to couple's counselling together with both their wives at the same time and in the same room. They're mad at different versions of themselves at different points in time but never mad at each other no matter what timeline. There's even a beautiful post credits scene that encapsulates their timeless friendship together but that's for you to enjoy.
New standouts include Kristen Schaal as Rufus' daughter who carries on the torch of the late great George Carlin as a guide and as an exposition device for the time travelling shenanigans to come. She's a welcome addition in any project she's in and is a delight to see here. We also have Bill and Ted's daughters Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving who go on their own journey to save their dads. They don't really have character arcs of their own unfortunately, but they embody their dads for their current generation and act as support for their dad's arc. I don't really have much to say about them individually since, like their dads in Bogus Journey, and in the franchise as a whole, they're virtually the same character but instead of having two of them per movie, there are now basically four characters who are all just basically Bill/Ted. William Sadler returns as Death and out of everyone in the cast, I think he's the one that's the most fun to watch and the one who's having the most fun with the role. Though Death is generally a very broken character to have in any story, he paradoxically is able to add to the movie's depth, which is something I never thought I'd say about a Bill and Ted movie.
Face the Music is probably the best and most fulfilling of the trilogy. It's as funny and as ridiculous as the other movies in the series but manages to have more heart than the other two. It also manages to develop its characters a bit further more than its predecessor and it has a really beautiful message at the end for music lovers and best friends alike. Bill and Ted Face the Music is a solid watch from start to finish even for those who are new to the series. If this is the last Bill and Ted movie with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, it's a most triumphant send off for both of them.