Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (PG, 1989)

Slacker teens Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are more intent on landing Eddie Van Halen for their band Wyld Stallions than making it through high school. But if the boys don't get an A+ on their history report, they'll flunk out of school and Ted will be on his way to military school in Alaska. Knowing only that Napoleon is "a short, dead dude," and guessing that Joan of Arc is "Noah's wife," the boys seem to be lost -- until a visitor from the future, Rufus (the perfectly cool George Carlin), appears in a magical phone booth to allow them to experience history first hand. They hatch a plan: Bring historical figures back and let them experience San Dimas -- and then take them to class. The plan goes perfectly, including a run-in at the mall, arrests, and other ensuing silliness.

There are some movies that are irresistible junk food for the brain: they are short, sweet and so entertaining you want to watch them over and over again. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is one of those. It's a bonbon of a film, full of good looking, sweet scenes that make you feel giddy.

The great thing about the film is that it's perfectly paced and perfectly acted. Say what you will about Keanu Reeve's wooden acting skills -- it takes a certain level of brilliance to come up with a character who is both maddeningly dumb and completely lovable. And there are other great scenes. Released on a modern mall, the historical characters act out. Joan of Arc rallies the troupes of an aerobics class. Billy the Kidd turns out to be a bad flirt. And with one tilt of his corndog, Sigmund Freud is proven to be a perv. It's delightfully silly and imminently watchable.

Studio: MGM/UA
Director: Stephen Herek
Cast: Alex Winter, George Carlin, Keanu Reeves
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release: February 17, 1989
DVD release: December 4, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: mild violence and some sexuality