Bill and Ted (film): Difference between revisions

The first film features Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan ([[Keanu Reeves]]) as two air-headed rocker kids from San Dimas, California. They're so focused on their wannabe rock band Wyld Stallyns (and so dumb) that they're in danger of failing History class and being held back. To make matters worse, Ted's authoritarian police chief father says that if that happens, Ted will be shipped off to a military academy in Alaska, breaking up the band.

 

 

The movie ended up being an unexpected comedy classic, credited with launching Keanu Reeves' career (a more snarky troper might contend that the dopey Ted is his best role ever). Because of this, as well as the contrast between this and Reeves' later roles, ''Bill and Ted'' is frequently used to mock other movies: ''[[The Matrix]]'' is quite comedic when you redub Neo with dialogue that sounds like [[Totally Radical|Ted]].

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Air Guitar]]: '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx8FanC70S4 Every ten seconds]''' whenever Bill and Ted think of something EXCELLENT!

** In the second film, the evil B&T develop a "stealth" version (twiddling their fingers as if strumming) after De Nomolos shoots them a [[Death Glare]] for doing the real thing. They continue to use it throughout the movie.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Bill and Ted do everything together. Including proposing to their girlfriends.

* [[Hot Mom]]: Bill (and later Ted's) stepmom, Missy. It helps that she's only three years older than Bill and Ted. Ted even asked her to the prom. It's lampshaded in the first movie, when Freud offers to psychoanalyze Bill during the history report, and he responds, "Nah, just got a minor Oedipal complex."

* [[Ink Suit Actor]]: In "The Birth Of Rock And Roll" animated episode, Little Richard voices himself.

* [[May-December Romance]]: Missy definitely seems to have a thing for men who are old enough to be her father; first marrying Bill's dad, and later Ted's dad.

* [[Myspeld Rokband]]/[[Xtreme Kool Letterz]]: WYLD STALLYNS! ''*air guitar*''

* [[Parody Sue]]: The founders of a Utopian future are ''these'' guys.

* [[Retroactive Preparation]]

** Arguably the first film did this with the absurd number of people they cram into the thing, subtly drawing attention to the fact that it is most assuredly ''not'' [[Bigger on the Inside]].

* [[Shallow Female Love Interest]]: The princesses again.

* [[Take That]]: In the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Bill and Ted run into Rufus at a record store, where a Take That to then-hot teenybopper group New Kids On The Block (who had a cartoon show then as well) is delivered:

{{quote|'''Rufus:''' I was just checking out this new album by New Boys On The Corner.

* [[Utopia]]: The duo use [[The Power of Rock]] to turn the world into one.

 

'''The first movie demonstrates these non-heinous tropes:'''

* [[Accidental Hug]]

'''Bill and Ted:''' "BOGUS!" }}

* [[Odd Friendship]]: Billy the Kid and Socrates. An outlaw and a philosopher respectively seem to get along well. When Bill and Ted make eyes to the Princesses, the two historical figures are seen in the background tossing a Nerf football to each other. They work together to rescue Bill and Ted from execution. When they run amok in San Dimas Mall, Socrates is seen trying to emulate Billy's trademark shooting the ceiling with a water gun. [[Shown Their Work|It's not so odd when you realize that William Bonney has been rumored to be a well educated man and even at one point studied philosophy.]]

{{quote|'''Rufus:''' "San Dimas, California, 2688. And I'm telling you, it's great here. The air is clean, the water's clean... even the dirt, it's ''clean.'' Bowling averages are way up, mini-golf scores are way down. And we have more excellent water slides than any other planet we communicate with."}}

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: Bill lapses into one when he thinks a medieval dude killed Ted.

* [[Waxing Lyrical]]: "All we are is dust... in the wind, dude."

* [[The Wild West]]

* [[You Already Changed the Past]]: One of the signs that Bill and Ted are clever if not book smart is their recognition of this trope; they realize that to solve a problem in the present, they can use their time machine to plant helpful items in the past, and then they'll be there for their present selves to discover - and they keep reminding each other "Once this is over, we have to go back and place all that stuff!"

 

'''The second movie features the following totally metal tropes:'''

* [[All Part of the Show]]

** Though at the concert at the end of the film, Ted says it can mean anything.

* [[God]]: Appears as a bright light in a roughly anthropoid shape who says very little.

* [[Graceful Loser]]: Evil Bill and Evil Ted of all people, when the Good Robot Usses charge them in the climactic concert.

{{quote|'''Evil Bill:''' "Evil Ted, looks like we've met our match."

[[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Pages]]

[[Category:Independent Films]]