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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Play trailer Poster for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure PG Released Feb 17, 1989 1h 30m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

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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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Critics Reviews

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Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer 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. Rated: 1.5/4 Oct 22, 2014 Full Review Chris Willman Los Angeles Times Make no mistake, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is not a satire of mindlessness; it's unabashed glorification of dumbness for dumbness' sake. Oct 22, 2014 Full Review Variety Staff 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. May 30, 2007 Full Review Sarah Vincent Sarah G Vincent Views 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. Jun 14, 2024 Full Review Kristin Battestella InSession Film 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. Jul 25, 2023 Full Review Zoë Rose Bryant Loud and Clear Reviews Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure has a supremely silly story that some may deem “dated,” but its classic charms - and Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves' pitch-perfect performances - are still just as entertaining as ever. Rated: 4/5 Sep 1, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rami A Pure '80s comedy at its finest, and I seriously can't get enough of it. Everyone in the movie does an excellent job, including the leads, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/04/25 Full Review M B Intelligent, exciting and well made sci fi adventure with both moral lessons and history lessons! Great detailed and funny script, Tight direction, brilliant casting with an Excellent soundtrack too! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/08/25 Full Review R V. Keanu Reeves brought an earnest, wide-eyed sincerity to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure that transformed what could have been a forgettable teen comedy into a cult classic. As Ted “Theodore” Logan, Reeves made the character more than just a caricature of a SoCal slacker. His chemistry with Alex Winter was effortless, but it was Keanu’s natural charm and lack of irony that gave the film its innocently optimistic tone. What makes Reeves essential to the movie is his complete commitment to the character. Whether traveling through time in a phone booth or high-fiving historical figures, he brought a sense of wonder and joy that kept the movie grounded and fun. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/31/25 Full Review scarlett s this is the greatest movie ever made. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/24/25 Full Review CaptainBoulder T Hilarious movie, made me change my personality for a whole week Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/17/25 Full Review Stephen C Funny in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In memory of George Carlin (May 12th, 1937-June 22nd, 2008)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $39,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/03/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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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