Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
82%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: 3 nominations
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are just charming, goofy, and silly enough to make this fluffy time-travel Adventure work
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a classic comedy that’s perfect for anyone who loves a good laugh. Sure, it’s not the most intellectually stimulating film out there, but who cares when you have two lovable goofballs traveling through time to meet historical figures? Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are a dynamic duo that will have you rooting for them from start to finish. Plus, the film’s unique lingo is totally bodacious, dude! So, if you’re in the mood for a silly, feel-good movie, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is the way to go.
Production Company(ies)
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Metrocenter Mall – 9801 N. Metro Pkwy W., Phoenix, Arizona, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1989
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, French, German, Greek, ,, Ancient, (to, 1453)
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 1989 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 4, 2001
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Bernie Casey, Amy Stock-Poynton, Terry Camilleri, directed by Stephen Herek, written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Carrie Rickey, Chris Willman, Vincent Canby, Marjorie Baumgarten, Wayne Broadway, MPAA rating PG, time travel, historical figures, Rufus, Bill and Ted’s band, final history presentation, military school, future society, time machine, Napoleon, Socrates, Billy the Kid, Mr Ryan, Missy Preston, sound mix Surround, Stereo, aspect ratio Scope (2.35:1), produced by Scott Kroopf, Michael S Murphey
Worldwide gross: $40,508,994
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $98,711,182
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,027
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,764,578
US/Canada gross: $40,485,039
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $98,652,809
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 762
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,167,651
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $15,029,159
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 786
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $8,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $20,712,562
Production budget ranking: 1,348
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $11,153,715
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $66,844,905
ROI to date (est.): 210%
ROI ranking: 610
Alex Winter – Bill S. Preston, Esq.
George Carlin – Rufus
Bernie Casey – Mr. Ryan
Amy Stock-Poynton – Missy Preston
Terry Camilleri – Napoleon
Director(s)
Stephen Herek
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Scott Kroopf, Michael S. Murphey
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (10)
Though its one-liners elicit the occasional chortle — when Bill and Ted don medieval armor, there’s an obligatory heavy-metal joke — the film doesn’t engage, because its heroes don’t engage with the historical characters.
October 22, 2014 | Rating: 1.5/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Make no mistake, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is not a satire of mindlessness; it’s unabashed glorification of dumbness for dumbness’ sake.
October 22, 2014
Chris Willman
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Reeves, with his beguilingly blank face and loose-limbed, happy-go-lucky physical vocabulary, and Winter, with his golden curls, gleefully good vibes and ‘bodacious’ vocabulary, propel this adventure as long as they can.
May 30, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
This is extremely silly, good natured, superficial stuff; a lot depends on whether you take to Bill and Ted’s unique lingo (which contorts surfers’ expressions) and their gormless behaviour.
June 24, 2006
Colette Maude
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A painfully inept comedy.
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
As these high school goofballs travel back in time to score some heavy dudes like Napoleon, Socrates, and Billy the Kid for their history presentation, they wrote themselves into the teen-movie pantheon.
March 10, 2003
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The films logic, where it exists, is cartoonish, even tautological. There is never a situation the boys cant get out of because their future selves have already devised clues and gadgets to get them out of any pinch.
March 1, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Wayne Broadway
Black Girl Nerds
As a lighthearted, comic fantasy (taking a few notes from “Weird Science”), the film is quite enjoyable.
January 2, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The script by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon is more clever in the small details than in the broad strokes.
August 29, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is tons of fun because it’s sense of ridiculousness never goes too far as to be absurd (a crime of which its sequel is guilty).
April 14, 2021
Jim Rohner
Battleship Pretension
It’s hard not to love unaccomplished would-be heroes who prove to be amazingly resourceful when under the gun, and their timeless little movie is defiantly fun and precious as a result.
September 1, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com
It’s more charming than funny but with all their dumb antics Bill and Ted are quite charming
August 24, 2020
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)…
Plot
In the small town of San Dimas, a few miles away from Los Angeles, there are two nearly brain dead teenage boys going by the names of Bill S, Preston ESQ. and Ted Theodore Logan, they have a dream together of starting their own rock and roll band called the “Wyld Stallyns”. Unfortunately, they are still in high school and on the verge of failing out of their school as well, and if they do not pass their upcoming history report, they will be separated as a result of Ted’s father sending him to military school. But, what Bill and Ted do not know is that they must stay together to save the future. So, a man from the future named Rufus came to help them pass their report. So, both Bill and Ted decided to gather up historical figures which they need for their report. They are hoping that this will help them pass their report so they can stay together.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were made about the film in the Fresh Kernels database.
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