Films You Should Have Seen #2

It's time again for me to enlighten some of you who have missed out on some  fantastic cinematic gems for whatever reason, on their virtues and why you should stop whatever you are doing and watch it right now, (unless you are preforming surgery of course). 

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Year: 1989
Directed by: Stephen Herek
Starring: Alex Winters, Keanu Reeves, George Carlin, Amy Stock-Poynton, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor
IMDB Plot Summary:  In the small town of San Dimas, a few miles away from Los Angeles, there are two nearly brain dead teenage boys going by the names of Bill S, Preston ESQ. and Ted Theodore Logan, they have a dream together of starting their own rock and roll band called the "Wyld Stallyns". Unfortunately, they are still in high school and on the verge of failing out of their school as well, and if they do not pass their upcoming history report, they will be separated as a result of Ted's father sending him to military school. So, a man from the future named Rufus came to help them pass their report. So, both Bill and Ted decided to gather up historical figures which they need for their report. They are hoping that this will help them pass their report so they can stay together. (Written by John Wiggins) NB. I have taken out one line from the plot summary to stop spoilers.
Why it is worth watching: This is a true classic. One of the funniest films I have ever seen. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters are two of the most charming and loveable leads in any film you will see, even if they are not the sharpest tools in the shed. Having these two travel through time and interacting with famous historical figures, without really having any clue about what is going on around them is brilliant to watch (especially a scene where they are trying to out philosophise Socrates in ancient Greece).

This is also one of the rare films where most of the cast is almost pitch perfect, George Carlin as the uber-cool Rufus, Amy Stock-Poynton as the boys old crush and Bill current step mother and all the actors playing the historical figures just fit perfectly. 

This film captures the change over from the 1980's to the 1990's fantastically, by having both charm and wit, and nothing in the film captures this more then the soundtrack. Full of 80's style pop-rock that sometimes veers close to power ballard territory without ever fully crossing over. It might sound a bit cheesy now but sometimes a bit of cheese is a good thing.

So in short go watch this film if you haven't seen it before and if you have then go watch it again, it is a really good time.