Bill & Ted Face The Music

Starring: Keanu Reeves , Alex Winter

Directed by Dean Parisot

Rating:*

Lost of critics have gone ga-ga over Matrix star Keanu Reeves’ bold decent into dunderhead comedy in the Bill & Ted franchise.Sadly I hadn’t seen the first two films in the fatuous franchise. Or else I’d have stayed away from the asinine adventures of two buddies Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted(Keanu Reeves)who deserve one another .

We certainly deserve better.The film is probably a look-how-sporting-I-am gestures for Reeves. He wants us to know he can act as dumb as the script wants him to . It reminded me of the time Bihar politician Laloo Yadav’s son decided to take a bath in full public view at a roadside tap. Cheering crowds gathered to shoot the towel-clad young politician squatting and splashing himself merrily in the junta water. They later put up videos of Yadav Jr exposing more of himself than he had bargained for.

This is exactly how I felt while watching Reeves and his co-star playing lifelong buddies who think themselves as super-talented musicians on a quest through various time zones to discover that one song which can save humanity.While humanity is far from being saved, Reeves and Winter energize their brainless escapades with guffaws and giggles and large helpings of garage-sale humour. They hardly help to lighten the atmosphere which is so light, it threatens to implode into nothingness.

There must be some joke here that has the fans of the dumbed-down franchise rolling on the floor with laughter. Sorry, I didn’t see what was funny about two grownup men with wives and one daughter each behaving like junior artistes in Back To The Future .Reeves and Winter are like two adults pretending to be teenagers, letting their bizarre hair do all the talking. But there is only this much that the hair can do to a harebrained comedy where laughter is the primary casualty.Then follows basic intelligence.

Moral Of The Story: when you make a film about stupid people you need to be extra-smart about. Bill & Ted Face The Music goes the other way.