- Bill S. Preston, Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) are, for lack of a better term, complete dumbasses. They think Joan of Arc was "Noah's wife." They identify Caesar as the "salad dressing dude." With an amusing lack of irony, they claim to be the perfect embodiment of Socrates' (pronounced "So-Crates") precept that "the only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." In fact, the only discernible difference between them and some of the dumbasses I went to school with in the late 80's is that Bill and Ted can travel through time in a phonebooth with George Carlin. Whoa!
- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is the sort of film that is almost immune from serious criticism. On one hand, it's a silly, stupid 80's flick that could have resulted from inserting Sean Penn's character from Fast Times at Ridgemont High into the plot of Back to the Future. On the other hand, it's so damn charming and lighthearted that it's tough to imagine anyone completely hating it. After all, the film gives Abe Lincoln (Robert V. Barron) the opportunity to tell everyone to "be excellent to each other" and Genghis Khan (Al Leong) the chance to tear up a sporting goods store at the mall. Sure, it's one of the least intellectual films I've ever enjoyed, but humanity could do a lot worse than a future that has "more excellent water slides than any other planet we communicate with."
