Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Dir. Stephen Herek
I saw it first at a time in my life that was, let's say, pivotal in learning about who I was as a person and how my actions affected others.
I bought it back when VHS was the dominant home media format and watched it many, many times - I knew every scene by heart.
Alas, it happened that one evening a VHS tape was needed at VERY short notice in order to record from TV something that was even more beloved (i.e., Star Trek: TNG) and the B+TEA tape was the only one available...
Consequently, it received a hasty piece of sellotape over its write-protect tab square hole and got fed into the recorder. You should understand that at that time if a viewer missed an episode of Star Trek from TV, there was no easy way to see it otherwise. If I'd had any other option I'd likely have taken it instead, but I figured that even without the VHS I could replay the entire film in my head from memory.
Ultimately, I ended up with a store-bought Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure VHS box that housed instead two episodes of TNG. It's been too long to say with any certainty, but I think one of the episodes was Phantasms (from Season 7), which is a really great Data story.
Regrading the actual film, it's a tale of best-friends Bill and Ted, or as they prefer to be known, Bill S. Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Keanu Reeves), who go on a time-hopping adventure in order to not fail their high-school history report. It sounds ridiculous when written down, and it is, which is the point, but the real treasure of the film isn't the story.
The duo epitomise the character-defining connection that friends of high-school age can have. They have their own lexicon and outlook on life that adults in their world don't relate to; they share a love of the same Heavy Metal music; they're trying to start a band, so share some of the same hopes and dreams, and when disaster looms they feel the same level of disappointment.
On one hand the time-hopping aspect is a simple device to pin some comedy situations on, but on the other hand it shows how much the duo care for each other and how so-called 'failings' can be turned into positive actions. (In addition to that, the various time periods that are visited are often a fun or respectful nod to the conventions of the genre film in which they're set.)
It's not high art, but the underlying message, encapsulated in a simple five-word phrase that gets repeated three or four times throughout the adventure, is infinitely more clever than its protagonists and is something that, if taken to heart collectively, truly could change the world for the better. In that respect, the film lives up to its name. It's a most excellent teaching aid.
I applied its message to my own life and it helped me be a more respectful and sympathetic person; that's what I meant when I stated that I owe the film for what I feel it gave to me.
The VHS that served its purpose (twice) is long gone, but I eventually re-bought the film, first on DVD and then on Blu-ray (the pictured 25th Anniversary edition). I also now have all of TNG on Blu-ray. Sometimes things have a way of working themselves out, given enough time.
Alas, it happened that one evening a VHS tape was needed at VERY short notice in order to record from TV something that was even more beloved (i.e., Star Trek: TNG) and the B+TEA tape was the only one available...
Consequently, it received a hasty piece of sellotape over its write-protect tab square hole and got fed into the recorder. You should understand that at that time if a viewer missed an episode of Star Trek from TV, there was no easy way to see it otherwise. If I'd had any other option I'd likely have taken it instead, but I figured that even without the VHS I could replay the entire film in my head from memory.
Ultimately, I ended up with a store-bought Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure VHS box that housed instead two episodes of TNG. It's been too long to say with any certainty, but I think one of the episodes was Phantasms (from Season 7), which is a really great Data story.
Regrading the actual film, it's a tale of best-friends Bill and Ted, or as they prefer to be known, Bill S. Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Keanu Reeves), who go on a time-hopping adventure in order to not fail their high-school history report. It sounds ridiculous when written down, and it is, which is the point, but the real treasure of the film isn't the story.
The duo epitomise the character-defining connection that friends of high-school age can have. They have their own lexicon and outlook on life that adults in their world don't relate to; they share a love of the same Heavy Metal music; they're trying to start a band, so share some of the same hopes and dreams, and when disaster looms they feel the same level of disappointment.
On one hand the time-hopping aspect is a simple device to pin some comedy situations on, but on the other hand it shows how much the duo care for each other and how so-called 'failings' can be turned into positive actions. (In addition to that, the various time periods that are visited are often a fun or respectful nod to the conventions of the genre film in which they're set.)
It's not high art, but the underlying message, encapsulated in a simple five-word phrase that gets repeated three or four times throughout the adventure, is infinitely more clever than its protagonists and is something that, if taken to heart collectively, truly could change the world for the better. In that respect, the film lives up to its name. It's a most excellent teaching aid.
I applied its message to my own life and it helped me be a more respectful and sympathetic person; that's what I meant when I stated that I owe the film for what I feel it gave to me.
The VHS that served its purpose (twice) is long gone, but I eventually re-bought the film, first on DVD and then on Blu-ray (the pictured 25th Anniversary edition). I also now have all of TNG on Blu-ray. Sometimes things have a way of working themselves out, given enough time.
- Bill and Ted: instruction for a better life. -
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