Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)

Film and Plot Synopsis

In the distant future, Earth is a utopia thanks to the lyrics of two 20th Century simpletons named Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan. However, that future finds itself in jeopardy when an evil gym teacher from the future sends evil robot replicas back in time to Bill and Ted. Once the robots kill the boys, they must outwit the Grim Reaper to return to the land of the living. Only then can they rescue the Princesses” and have a most triumphant showing at a Battle of the Bands in San Dimas.

‘Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey’ Movie Summary

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey begins in the future where the evil Chuck De Nomolos (Joss Ackland) orates his disgust of his society’s worship of the two fools known as Bill and Ted. His minions break into Rufus’ (George Carlin) classroom to steal one of those fancy time-traveling phone booths. Rufus attempts to thwart De Nomolos’ plan. However, he winds up lost in the circuits of time as De Nomolos sends two evil Bill and Ted robots back to the late 20th century to prevent the real Bill and Ted’s (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) band, Wyld Stallyns, from winning the San Dimas Battle of the Bands.

In the present day, the Wyld Stallyns prepare for the contest. Bill and Ted still suck as musicians, but their bandmates/fiancées/former 15th-century princesses, Elizabeth (Annette Azcuy) and Joanna (Sarah Trigger) are very skilled musicians; you might say they carry the group.

The Battle of the Bands’ organizer, Ms. Wardroe (Pam Grier), will only let them join as the contest’s final act. We soon find that Missy (Amy Stoch), Bill’s young stepmother from the last film, has divorced his dad (J. Patrick McNamara) and married Ted’s father, Captain Logan (Hal Landon Jr.). Once again, Ted’s father threatens to send him to military school in Alaska if he doesn’t win the Battle of the Bands. The school’s Colonel Oats (Chelcie Ross) is there to tell Ted, Bill, and the Princesses that his school would do them all a world of good.

Soon the evil robots arrive. They trick the real Bill and Ted into heading out into the desert where they throw the real boys off a cliff at Vasquez Rocks; killing them. The Grim Reaper (William Sadler) next greets the dead Bill and Ted where he challenges them to a contest for their souls. However, they decide to melvin the Grim Reaper and escape his clutches.

Back at the boy’s apartment, evil Bill and Ted try to bang the princesses, but they are too chaste for that. The dead Bill and Ted look on as the girls quit the band and throw their engagement rings on the floor.

The boys need help, but since they are dead, nobody can see them. They go to Ted’s father’s police station where Ted possesses him during a meeting. The police don’t believe him, so the boys find Missy as she holds a séance. Missy freaks out at the boy’s appearance and sends them straight to Hell.

In Hell, Satan (Frank Welker) makes the boys face their own fears. First they come across Colonel Oats at his bootcamp who makes them count off pushups to eternity. They run off before separating. Soon the Easter Bunny (Frank Welker) chases after a young Ted (Brendan Ryan), and Granny S. Preston (Alex Winter) tries to kiss a young Bill (William Thorne). Quickly the boys realize their only chance to escape is to take the Grim Reaper’s original challenge, and try to beat him in a contest.

The Grim Reaper appears, and tells them to choose their game. Bill and Ted easily beat the Grim Reaper in Battleship. However, he’s a poor loser, and makes it a best two out of three; then three out of five. They wind up playing Clue, Electric Football, and Twister before he admits defeat.

In addition to losing, the Grim Reaper becomes the boy’s servant, and agrees to take them back to the living world. However, Bill and Ted need to find someone smart enough to build good Bill and Ted robots to beat their evil twins. So, the Grim Reaper takes them to Heaven where God directs them to an alien named Station (Frank Welker). The boys are surprised to see that Station is two identical twins. He/they agree to help Bill and Ted.

The Grim Reaper brings the boys back to the mortal world with Station, and places them in their bodies the afternoon of the Battle of the Bands. As night falls, the evil Bill and Ted robots crash their stolen Porsche into Ted’s house where Missy and the Princesses are chatting. We then cut to a hardware store where the real Bill and Ted can get parts for Station. Then we cut back to evil Bill and Ted revealing their robot bodies to the Princesses.

We cut back yet again to the hardware store. As Station gathers the remaining parts he needs, Bill and Ted argue on the phone with the evil Bill and Ted. In the parking lot, the two Stations run full speed into each other to combine into one Station, and he builds the boys the good robots on the drive over to the Battle of the Bands.

Just as evil Bill and Ted take the stage, the real Bill and Ted arrive. Station’s good Bill and Ted easily defeat the evil duo, who offer no resistance. De Nomolos then arrives in the phone booth to kill Bill and Ted himself. He zaps the broadcasting equipment so the entire planet can witness his deed.

Just like the first film, the boys realize they can go back in time later and arrange for things to help them trap De Nomolos now. However, De Nomolos seems to somehow do the same after the boys trap him in a cage. He produces a key he claims he hid using their same method, and unlocks the cage. He pulls a gun and shoots at them, but a flag pops out of it that says, “Wyld Stallyns rule!”

You see, Bill and Ted actually hid that key and gun because only the winners can go back and set the traps, and they are the winners. The Grim Reaper melvins De Nomolos as Ted’s father shows up to arrest him. Ms. Wardroe reveals herself to be Rufus in disguise. He was keeping an eye on the boys, and quite frankly, they are so bad, no one would realistically allow them a spot on the roster.

Bill and Ted, now reunited with the Princesses, still suck ass as musicians. The four use the phone booth to travel through time to practice; immediately returning to the stage seconds later. The boys claim they just trained 16 months on the guitar plus a two week honeymoon with the Princesses. Each has a baby; one named Little Ted, and the other, Little Bill.

The Grim Reaper, Station, and the good Bill and Ted join the Wyld Stallions to perform live. As De Nomolos’ worldwide broadcast continues, the boy’s sweet music blares across the world for the first time ever; bringing the masses together, and starting their version of world peace.

Over the end credits, a newspaper article montage chronicles the band’s rise to fame; culminating with the boys taking their act to the planet Mars.

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Additional Film Information

• Peruse IMDb’s article on Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
• Learn more Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey information at Wikipedia
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