Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
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| Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure | |
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| Directed by | Stephen Herek |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Scott Kroopf Michael S. Murphey Joel Soisson |
| Written by | Chris Matheson Ed Solomon |
| Starring | Keanu Reeves Alex Winter George Carlin |
| Music by | David Newman |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 17, 1989 |
| Running time | 90 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $40,485,039 (domestic) |
| Followed by | Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) |
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) is an American comedy/science fiction movie in which two slacking Metalheads travel through time in order to assemble a menagerie of historical figures for their high school history presentation.
The movie was released by Nelson Entertainment and Orion Pictures, written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon and directed by Stephen Herek. It stars Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston, Esquire, Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan, and George Carlin as Rufus.
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[edit] Plot
The film opens in the future San Dimas, California, with Rufus (George Carlin) preparing to use a time-traveling phone booth to travel back to 1988 to make sure that Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) remain together as the band "Wyld Stallyns", as their music is the core of the future's Utopian society. Rufus finds that Bill and Ted are on the verge of failing their high school history class, and should Ted fail, his father, police captain Logan (Hal Langdon) will ship him off to an Alaskan military academy, effectively ending the pair's dreams of forming a band. As the two try to write a history report by asking customers at a local Circle K, Rufus introduces himself to them. Though Bill and Ted are skeptical of Rufus' claims, they are convinced when future versions of themselves land nearby and explain the situation to them. Rufus shows Bill and Ted how the time machine works by taking them back to see Napoleon Bonaparte (Terry Camilleri) preparing for battle. Rufus returns to the present and leaves the two with the time machine; after Rufus leaves, they discover that Napoleon was dragged with them back to the present, and get an idea: to pass their history exam, they will go back in time and kidnap other historical figures and have them explain what they think of the San Dimas of the present. Bill and Ted leave Napoleon with Ted's younger brother Deacon while they travel back to the past.
Bill and Ted first collect Billy the Kid (Dan Shor) and Socrates (Tony Steedman) (whom they refer to as /ˈsoʊkreɪts/ "So-Crates"), who are both confused but eager to help the pair. When they travel to medieval Europe, they become smitten with Princesses Elizabeth (Kimberley Kates) and Joanna (Diane Franklin), but fall into trouble with their father the King; they manage to escape with the help of Billy and Socrates and continue traveling through time. Soon, they have collected Sigmund Freud (Rod Loomis), Ludwig van Beethoven (Clifford David), Genghis Khan (Al Leong), Joan of Arc (Jane Wiedlin), and Abraham Lincoln (Robert V. Barron). The passengers encounter brief technical difficulties, and when attempting to return to the present, end up returning on the previous day outside the Circle K with Rufus introducing himself to their past selves. Bill and Ted recount their experience to their past selves, and learn how to properly return to the present from Rufus in order to give their history report on time.
While trying to get the other historical figures accustomed to life in San Dimas by dropping them off at the local shopping mall, Ted learns that Deacon abandoned Napoleon at a bowling alley the night before. Bill and Ted go off to search for him, finding him enjoying himself at a local water park, "Waterloo". When they return to the mall, they find the other historical figures have been arrested by Ted's father due to the chaos they caused. The two try to figure out how to rescue them when they realize they can use the time machine to go back in time and plant elements, such as the cell keys, at the police station for their escape plan. They successfully free the historical figures and make it to the school on time for their report. The report is an outstanding success, and the two pass their course.
In the closure of the film, Rufus joins Bill and Ted as they practice and congratulates them on their report. Rufus brings in Princesses Elizabeth and Joanna, who he rescued from their father, and explains that he's introduced them to the modern century, and that they too are destined to be part of Wyld Stallyns. As the four begin to play a cacophony of music, Rufus admits that "they do get better".
[edit] Production
The film was shot in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, mostly in and around Coronado High School in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1987. The school itself is near Oak St. and Scottsdale Road. Much of Coronado went through a renovation between 2005 and 2007 and the auditorium setting for the final-report scene was torn down. However, the intricate mosaic (seen in an opening scene when Bill and Ted arrive at school in a red Mustang) on the outside of the auditorium was saved piece by piece and moved to the new auditorium.[citation needed]
The setting for Waterloo was the Golfland Sunsplash water park at the intersection of Arizona Highway 87 and the US 60 freeway in Mesa. The bowling alley was then a non-franchised locally-owned alley, and is now the AMF Tempe Village Lanes located on Rural Road at US 60 freeway, three miles south of Arizona State University. The mall was Phoenix Metrocenter located on Peoria Avenue at Interstate 17. The mall has since been renovated and no longer looks as it did in the movie. The Circle K store is located at the intersection of Southern and Hardy in Tempe.[1][2]
During the shot of Rufus' hands playing his guitar solo, the actual hands are those of Stevie Salas the composer of all the guitar work featured within the film.[citation needed]
The movie was actually made and planned for release in 1987, but due to the bankruptcy of the film's original distributor, the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, the project was not released theatrically until February 17, 1989. As a partial result of the delay, certain dates in the movie originally scripted as "1987" had to be redubbed as "1988". The copyright date of this movie is 1988 and the same date appears on the DVD cover. It was followed in 1991 by a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Keanu Reeves | Theodore "Ted" Logan |
| Alex Winter | William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. |
| George Carlin | Rufus |
| Terry Camilleri | Napoleon |
| Dan Shor | Billy the Kid |
| Tony Steedman | Socrates |
| Rod Loomis | Sigmund Freud |
| Al Leong | Genghis Khan |
| Jane Wiedlin | Joan of Arc |
| Kimberley Kates | Princess Elizabeth |
| Diane Franklin | Princess Joanna |
| Robert V. Barron | Abraham Lincoln |
| Clifford David | Beethoven |
| Hal Landon | Captain Logan |
| Bernie Casey | Mr. Ryan |
[edit] Origins of Bill & Ted
The characters of Bill & Ted were created and played by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon in improv theater (originally, it was "Bill, Ted & Bob" although the third character was eventually dropped). Matheson and Solomon have described Bill & Ted as an idealized version of their friendship (Bill & Ted = Chris & Ed). In the original improvised pieces, Ted was described as having a stoner pseudo-intellectual older brother. This was changed for the movie, although Bill's stepmother Missy did make the transition from theater to the film.
[edit] Differences from original script
In earlier drafts of the script, Rufus was 28 years old and historical figures Bill & Ted plucked from history included Charlemagne (whom they referred to as "Charlie Mangay"), Babe Ruth, and a non-famous medieval person called "John the Serf". John is listed in the credits.[3]
In the original ending, Bill and Ted delivered their oral report in the classroom, with the historical figures displaying their views on the blackboard.[citation needed]
Originally, the time machine was to be a 1969 Chevrolet van, but the idea was nixed as being too close in concept to the De Lorean used in the Back to the Future trilogy. Instead, the time machine was styled after a 1960s American telephone booth. Its similarity to the time-traveling British police box-shaped TARDIS of the BBC's television programme Doctor Who is reflected in the Cracked parody in which the Doctor threatens to sue Rufus; however, the Bill & Ted telephone booth lacked the huge interior spaces of the Doctor's TARDIS.
[edit] Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was released on cassette by A&M Records in 1989 [1] and on CD on October 25, 1990 [2].
The tracks are as follows:
1. Play With Me - Extreme
2. Boys and Girls Are Doing It - Vital Signs
3. Not So Far Away - Glen Burtnik
4. Dancing with a Gypsy - Tora Tora
5. Father Time - Shark Island
6. I Can't Break Away - Big Pig
7. Dangerous - Shark Island
8. Walk Away - Bricklin
9. In Time - Robbi Robb
10. Two Heads Are Better Than One - Power Tool
As is often the case with movie soundtracks with rock music in them, the songs are arranged in a different order than they are heard in the movie. The sequence of the songs in the movie is as follows:
6. I Can't Break Away - Big Pig
4. Dancing with a Gypsy - Tora Tora
5. Father Time - Shark Island
7. Dangerous - Shark Island
9. In Time - Robbi Robb
10. Two Heads Are Better Than One - Power Tool
2. Boys and Girls Are Doing It - Vital Signs
1. Play With Me - Extreme
8. Walk Away - Bricklin
3. Not So Far Away - Glen Burtnik
10. Two Heads Are Better Than One (reprise) - Power Tool
[edit] Spin-offs
[edit] Sequel
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was released in 1991.
[edit] Television
Two spin-off television series were produced as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures.
- Animated series: The first, an animated series, that originally featured the voices of Carlin, Winter, and Reeves, ran for 21 episodes in 1990 and 1991.
- Live action series: A later live-action series, featuring none of the cast from the movie, included Evan Richards as Bill and Christopher Kennedy as Ted, and lasted seven episodes in 1992 on FOX.
| Ep# | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Nail the Conquering Hero | 28 June 1992 |
| 1.2 | As the Dude Turns | 5 July 1992 |
| 1.3 | It's a Totally Wonderful Life | 12 July 1992 |
| 1.4 | Hunka Hunka Bill and Ted | 19 July 1992 |
| 1.5 | Destiny Babes | 27 November 1992 |
| 1.6 | Deja Vu | 2 August 1992 |
| 1.7 | Stand Up Guy | 8 August 1992 |
[edit] Comics
A one-shot comic book adaptation of the sequel was published to coincide with the second film's release. It's popularity led to the series Bill and Ted's Excellent Comic Book by Evan Dorkin and produced by Marvel Comics.
[edit] Video games
There were also Game Boy, NES and Atari Lynx games released, which were very loosely based on the film's plot. A PC title and nearly identical Amiga and Commodore 64 port were made in 1991 by Off the Wall Productions and IntraCorp, Inc. under contract by Capstone Software and followed the original movie very closely.
[edit] Legacy
Bill & Ted was a financial success, grossing $40.4 million domestically on a budget of about $10 million. It has become something of a cult classic, possibly fueled by the subsequent film successes of Keanu Reeves, and has an 81% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes in part of the leads' charm and the story's innocence.
In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure the 50th greatest comedy film of all time. It was also listed as number 24 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".
The phone booth used in this movie was given away in a contest presented by Nintendo Power magazine (in honor of Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure), won by a boy in Mississippi.[6][7]
Since 1992, "Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure" has been performed at the Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood every October during Halloween Horror Nights. The show differs from year to year, with spoofs of various pop culture icons. The main plot involves Bill and Ted being threatened by an evil villain from a popular film of that year, with appearances by a host of villains, heroes, and celebrities. The show usually includes elaborate dance numbers, stunts, and multiple double-entendres for the late night event crowd.[8][9]
The February 23, 2007, episode of Jeopardy! featured a category title "Bills & Teds" which contained questions on famous people named Bill and Ted. A category next to it, titled "Excellent Adventures", was about famous adventures in novels and films.[10]
U.S. rock band The Ataris also recorded a song on their 1999 album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits called "San Dimas High School Football Rules" after a line taken from the movie.
The quote "San Dimas High School football rules!" was also inserted into the album credits of Racecar Is Racecar Backwards by British band Reuben. Adam Sandler also paid homage to the line during the high-school debate scene from Billy Madison.
Bill and Ted are mentioned in the film Chasing Amy during the opening scene when the Really Big Fan says "They're like Bill and Ted meet.......Cheech and Chong!"
Bill and Ted are also mentioned in the Lemon Demon song, "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny".
Bill and Ted are also mentioned in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back when they read an e-mail saying they are like a third rate Bill and Ted.
Billie Joe Armstrong from pop rock band Green Day has been quoted to say, "We wanted to be the Wyld Stallyns."[citation needed]
"Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure" is a song from Liquid Tension Experiment, named because of a promo photographer who, during a photo session, kept calling Mike Portnoy and Tony Levin "Chris" and "Kevin", even after being corrected several times.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Movie -The 80s Rewind «
- ^ In The 80s - Eighties Movie Locations That Really Exist
- ^ Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
- ^ IMDB Episode List
- ^ Episode Guide
- ^ Error Macro (2006-06-02). "The Saturday Scan - Give It Away Now". http://www.errormacro.com/2006/06/the_saturday_scan_give_it_away.php#more. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- ^ Picture of phone booth winner
- ^ Arthur Levine (2006-08-10). "Universal Orlando is Out for Blood". http://themeparks.about.com/od/universalorlando/a/HHN05_2.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- ^ Teresa Plowright (2004-10-15). "Halloween Horror at Universal". http://travelwithkids.about.com/b/a/118999.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- ^ Show #5175 from the J! Archive
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure |
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure at the Internet Movie Database
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures at the Internet Movie Database (animated TV series)
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures at the Internet Movie Database (TV series)
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure at Rotten Tomatoes
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