Off the Shelf

   I have hundreds of DVD's and I am absolutely anal about them. I have them alphabetized and catalogued in my computer. I know when someone is borrowing a DVD because I have it highlighted in red in the catalogue. It is twisted, but it is because I value them.

   This is a new weekly feature I'd like to start. In "Off the Shelf," I will be choosing a movie from my collection and explaining why it I own it. If you have also seen it, feel free to comment about it, agreeing why it's great or disagreeing. If you haven't seen it...SEE IT!!

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
   "I'm Bill S. Preston Esquire! And I'm Ted Theodore Logan! And we're...Wyld Stallyns!!"
I first saw this movie at a friend's house when I was 10 years old and fell in love with it on the spot. There was a point where I could quote the first 10 minutes, word for word. It is laugh out loud funny from beginning to end and nothing short of genius.
  
   Now let's be clear: This is not an Oscar-worthy movie. Hell it's probably more Razzie-worthy than anything. But it is its simplicity and movement that makes this film work. There is never a dull moment to make you stop and question what you're watching. If there were, you probably would've shut the movie off pretty early.

   The plot is totally unrealistic but hilarious nonetheless. In the future, the music of Wyld Stallyns will create world peace. However, in the present (circa 1989), Bill and Ted are a failed history project away from being split up forever. It is up to Rufus (the late George Carlin) to help them ace the project. With the use of a phonebooth time machine, the dense Bill and Ted bring back some of history's most notable figures, from Socrates to Abraham Lincoln, Genghis Khan to Joan of Arc. They even fall in love with some beautiful babes from England.

   Keanu Reeves is outstanding as Ted, who only knows Napoleon as "a short, dead dude." He plays dumb so well (hmm...). The film's historical figures are great and their interactions with each other and the present day are hilarious. I think that the mall sequence is one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history (AFI might not think so, but watch Genghis Khan destroy a sports store and tell me otherwise). Throw in the fact that every single line is quotable and you have yourself a grade A, top drawer, off the hook movie.

   This film represents a time in Hollywood where a teen movie didn't have to focus on sex or vampires. Bill & Ted is a buddy comedy and an action adventure combined, with as much heart as stupidity. You won't find parties, booze, or naked girls anywhere in it. All it is is a classic story about two friends who want to make a difference. You'll laugh, you'll laugh so hard you'll cry, and by the end, you too will want to "reach out and touch somebody."