Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
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81% of critics liked it
(36 reviews) -
70% of users liked it
(351,443 ratings)
With only a few days before their high-school graduation, it looks like airheaded rock star wannabes Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are doomed to flunk all their finals. The boys' long-suffering teacher (Bernie Casey) gives them one more chance. If they can ace a presentation on the… More With only a few days before their high-school graduation, it looks like airheaded rock star wannabes Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are doomed to flunk all their finals. The boys' long-suffering teacher (Bernie Casey) gives them one more chance. If they can ace a presentation on the topic of how a famous historical personality might react to modern times, they will be allowed to pass. If not, Ted's dad will plunk the boy into military school, thereby breaking up the boys' garage band permanently. Bill and Ted receive unexpected aid from a very unexpected source: Rufus (George Carlin), an Emissary from the Future. It seems that in Rufus's time, Bill and Ted's rock music is the basis of all society-and if their band is aborted, Rufus's world will no longer exist. Thus, Bill and Ted are whisked off in a time machine (actually a telephone booth) to retrieve a few historical characters--including Joan of Arc, Abe Lincoln, Napoleon and Beethoven--as "eyewitnesses" for their crucial oral exam. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure inspired both a sequel (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) and a Saturday morning cartoon series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Stephen Herek
- Written By
- Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Feb 17, 1989 Wide
- Studio
- Orion Pictures Corporation
Critic Reviews
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, Variety
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.
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, Time Out
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.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
A painfully inept comedy.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
More than anything, the picture looks paltry and undernourished. Even the warts on Lincoln's face look slapped on.
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Chris Cabin, Slant Magazine
MGM's A/V transfer of this blissfully silly cult teen comedy is most(ly) triumphant, packaged with a modest sampling of fun extras that speak to the film's humble pleasures.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Cast
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Keanu Reeves
as Ted "Theodore" Logan
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Alex Winter
as Bill S. Preston
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George Carlin
as Rufus
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Bernie Casey
as Mr. Ryan
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Terry Camilleri
as Napoleon
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Dan Shor
as Billy the Kid
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Tony Steedman
as Socrates
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Roi Loomis
as Sigmund Freud
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Jane Wiedlin
as Joan of Arc
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Robert V. Barron
as Abraham Lincoln
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Clifford David
as Ludwig van Beethoven
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Hal Landon Jr.
as Capt. Logan
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Amy Stock-Poynton
as Missy/Mom
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J. Patrick McNamara
as Mr. Preston
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Ron Althoff
as Security Guard
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Diane Franklin
as Princess Joanna
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Marjean Holden
as Student Speaker
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John Karlsen
as Evil Duke
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Kimberley Kates
as Princess Elizabeth
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Al Leong
as Genghis Khan
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Duncan McLeod
as Bartender
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Lisa Rubin
as Girl at Mall
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John "Fee" Waybill
as One of "The Three Most Important People ...
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Clarence Clemons
as One of "The Three Most Important People ...
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Martha Davis
as One of "The Three Most Important People ...
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Chris Matheson
as Ugly Waiter
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Ed Solomon
as Stupid Waiter
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Tom Dugan
as 2nd Neanderthal
- Tony Camilieri
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Frazier Bain
as Deacon
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James Bowbitch
as John the Serf
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John Clure
as Tatooed Cowboy
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Traci Dawn Davis
as Jody
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Jeff S. Goodrich
as Music Store Salesman
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Carol Gossler
as Aerobic Instructor
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Anne Machette
as Buffy
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Dusty O'Dee
as Old West Ugly Dude
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Mark Ogden
as 1st Neanderthal
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Heather Pittman
as Kerry
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Ruth Pittman
as Daphne
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Steve Rotblatt
as Police Psychiatrist
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Steve John Shepherd
as Randolf
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Claudia Templeton
as Aerobic Saleswoman
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Jim Cody Williams
as Bearded Cowboy
- Stanzi Stokes
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Richard Alexander
as Bowling Alley Manager
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William Robbins
as Ox
- Rod Loomis



