For those who didn’t live through the decade, like myself, it’s an odd realization that Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure was released after the 80s teen comedy scene was already petering out, because it fits right in with the likes of Back to the Future, Weird Science, Better Off Dead, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. And it’s a film that shouldn’t…I don’t know, work? Two Valley guys travel through time in a phone booth and steal celebrities throughout history for a school project? If I pitched that to you, you’d kick me out most expeditiously and find a doctor to prescribe me Olanzapine. Thankfully, the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group took a chance. Nevermind that they went bankrupt before the movie was released.

Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) are on the verge of failing their History class most egregiously, and if they do, the two will be separated forever when Ted is shipped off to military school. This isn’t just bad for Bill and Ted, it’s bad for the future. In the year 2688, a council living in a perfect world founded on the music and philosophy of the Great Ones (Bill and Ted), decide to send their best man, Rufus, with a telephone booth that works as a time machine to help them with their project. Bill and Ted are at a local Circle K, racking their brains on what they’re going to do, when Rufus shows up. At first, they wonder if they can trust this man from the future, but then future Bill and Ted pop in with a booth-ful of historical figures on their way to their presentation and confirm that Rufus is a good dude. Reassured, present Bill and Ted take their empty phonebooth and begin to poach for their project. They pick up Billy the Kid, So-crates, Sigmund Frood, Beeth-oven, Noah’s wife, Joan, Genghis Khan, and Abraham Lincoln (there’s a joke about dodging a bullet somewhere in here). They arrive just in time to give the most triumphant presentation San Dimas High School has ever seen.

My love for Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is admittedly strongly influenced by nostalgia. It was the first time I saw a movie about time travel and the first time I heard Valley speak – both things that had a large presence in other films of the decade, but because of when I viewed them, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure feels like the blueprint rather than the curtain call. The premise is so ridiculous. When they go to ancient Greece to pick up Socrates, there’s an obvious language barrier, and so when encouraged to share their own philosophy, they point to themselves, grab a handful of sand and let be carried off by the wind while quoting Kansas. The mall scene is considered a favorite among fans of the movie, even if it is a little dated. Since there’s a little bit of time before their presentation, Bill and Ted bring the historical characters to the San Dimas mall and obvious hijinks ensue. Sigmund Freud tries to hit on women in the food court, Joan of Arc takes over a jazzercise class, Beethoven tries his hands at an extensive electronic keyboard, Genghis Khan rides a skateboard out of a sporting good store, and so on. It’s funny and charming in a way, and it’s a testament to how imaginative an idea the film really is. Thank goodness the producers convinced the screenwriters to remove the part where Bill and Ted bring back Hitler.

Bonus Review: This Is Spinal Tap

This is another one of those times where the two films I review could be interchangeable. This Is Spinal Tap is just as deserving of being in the Top 100 as Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. In fact, I can openly admit, it’s the funnier of the two by a mile. Bill and Ted may have more heart and be more likeable, but Spinal Tap…well, let’s just say they deserve the movie they got. This Is Spinal Tap was the jumping off point for two important careers. Rob Reiner, who directed this as his first film, went on to make The Sure Thing, and then a string of five back-to-back hits: Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, and A Few Good Men – all great movies for very different reasons. Christopher Guest would go on to write, direct and star in Waiting for Guffman, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind (his costars from Spinal Tap, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, join him again as a folk music trio, The Folksmen), and For Your Consideration. Like This Is Spinal Tap, these other films feature very basic premises and a large amount of improvisation.

Filmed as a documentary, Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner channeling his best Scorsese a la The Last Waltz) follows the band Spinal Tap as they prepare for a nationwide tour to promote their newest album, Smell the Glove. Spinal Tap was originally a folk group called The Originals. They changed their name to the New Originals when they found out there was another group called The Originals. Then they were an early rock ‘n’ roll group, the Thamesmen. Their only hit was “Gimme Some Money”. They finally found some success after changing their name to Spinal Tap and releasing their hippie rock song, “Listen to the Flower People”. The next logical step was to pursue heavy metal. As their tour begins, things go from bad to worse. They lose another drummer to spontaneous combustion, they have to book smaller venues due to poor ticket sales, they’re late to a show because they can’t find the stage, one of their pods malfunctions and so one of them is unable to perform the entire show, when they order a large, grand Stonehenge for the backdrop of their show, someone writes the dimensions incorrectly and so the Stonehenge they receive is incredibly tiny, they get second billing to a puppet show, relationships interfere with the band’s dynamic, oh, and the album bombs. Things seem hopeless, and the members consider throwing in the towel, but then they find out they’re a surprise hit in Japan. They pack their bags and move their tour across the Pacific.

This Is Spinal Tap is situationally funny, sure, but it’s also incredibly quotable and true to life, especially for musicians. It’s become common vernacular in the music world to “turn it up to 11” when you want to get loud (guitarist Nigel shows off his custom amps, proud that they go up to 11 instead of the usual 10 on volume, and when questioned why he didn’t just make 10 a louder volume, he responds with, “But these go to eleven”). Many rock bands have admitted to pulling a “Spinal Tap” by blowing through drummers like candy. Even more rock bands have admitted to seeing themselves in Spinal Tap – particularly getting lost backstage. Members of Twisted Sister, Alice in Chains, Ozzy Osbourne, Talking Heads, Nirvana, Aerosmith, U2, Dokken, The Misfits, Metallica and Led Zeppelin have all praised This Is Spinal Tap and acknowledged comparisons between the fictional Spinal Tap and their own bands. If you’re into rock music or just in to a good satire, This Is Spinal Tap…well, we’ll just say it goes to 11.