Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

PG

1989

1h 30m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are high school buddies starting a band. However, they are about to fail their history class, which means Ted would be sent to military school. They receive help from Rufus (George Carlin), a traveler from a future where their band is the foundation for a perfect society. With the use of Rufus' time machine, Bill and Ted travel to various points in history, returning with important figures to help them complete their final history presentation.

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Critics Consensus

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are just charming, goofy, and silly enough to make this fluffy time-travel Adventure work.

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Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

10/22/2014

1.5/4

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.

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Chris Willman

Los Angeles Times

10/22/2014

Make no mistake, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is not a satire of mindlessness; it's unabashed glorification of dumbness for dumbness' sake.

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Variety Staff

Variety

05/30/2007

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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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jan 1

2.5/4

The script by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon is more clever in the small details than in the broad strokes.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

06/14/2024

The film seems to suggest that our traditional view of greatness in the contemporary US is virtually impossible, but it also democratizes what greatness can look like in a society like ours by elevating friendship, decency and good naturedness.

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Kristin Battestella

InSession Film

07/25/2023

Sharp dialogue and air guitar exclamations provide chuckle worthy moments that have seeped into the cultural lexicon almost because of the terrible fashions, simplistic eighties effects, and the bizarre vision of a future utopia.

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Michael J.

@MilesJoesph069 Jan 29

The facts I originally gave this 4 stars is a crime. This is a 10/10

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Mark C.

@mrpiggy1992 Jan 27

Love the hilarious chemistry of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters ❤️❤️

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Shawan L

@ShawanLLibang Jan 16

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a burst of joyful, well‑intentioned chaos. It’s a warm, goofy time‑travel comedy that never pretends to be anything more than fun, yet still manages to be clever and endlessly charming. Reeves and Winter shine as two irresistibly optimistic slackers, and the film’s playful spirit, quirky historical detours, and unapologetic silliness make it a perennial feel‑good watch. You finish it with a big smile.

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Charlie

@KIDCRITIC Dec 26

Watched Bill and Ted's excellent adventure this year. This movie was EXCELLENT, I mean Two kids both Failing history then a man on a mission from the future comes back in time to save them from colliding alternate dimensions and meeting some of the most historical figures in history. The quality of this movie was great. Both the storytelling and acting was just Excellent. I just thought when they are just getting every historical figure from history and are Luring them into the telephone booth. Overall my final thoughts are I will give this excellent 80's classic 4.5 out of 5 Stars. My favorite scene was when they are in class and they say excellent and then bogus while they are flirting with the princess. I would so recommend this movie and you should always Party on while watching it.

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Gregory S

@Gregory566 Nov 30

This movie has no business being as great as it is. Its absolutely fantastic.

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 20

One my favorite movies ever!!!!! It's one of those rare feel good comedies that fills you up with so much joy, even long after you've seen it. My favorite line? "HEAVY METAL!!!!!!!!" If your an absolute fan, watch the other two (which I wasn't too fond of). If it wasn't your favorite, then get a better life.

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Stephen Herek

Director

Keanu Reeves

Ted Logan

Alex Winter

Bill S. Preston, Esq.

George Carlin

Rufus

Bernie Casey

Mr. Ryan

Amy Stock-Poynton

Missy Preston

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Official Clip - You Killed Ted!

2:37

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Synopsis

Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are high school buddies starting a band. However, they are about to fail their history class, which means Ted would be sent to military school. They receive help from Rufus (George Carlin), a traveler from a future where their band is the foundation for a perfect society. With the use of Rufus' time machine, Bill and Ted travel to various points in history, returning with important figures to help them complete their final history presentation.

Director: Stephen Herek
Producer: Scott Kroopf, Michael S. Murphey, Joel Soisson
Screenwriter: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
Production Co: De Laurentiis, Interscope Communications, Nelson Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $39.1M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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