Directed by Stephen Herek
Released February 17, 1989
Written by Chris Matheson & Ed Solomon
Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB
"Two seemingly dumb teens set off on a quest to prepare the ultimate historical presentation with the help of a time machine."
So the easiest way to explain this film is to just watch this honest trailer.
There we go, blog done. That's all you need to know.
Well the trailer is pretty accurate in terms of the kind of movie this is. In simple terms, it is a typical "dude" film. Not in terms of it being two guys together, but in the stereotyping and characterization of the high school slacker/dumb/surfer/stoner/band guy. Where the word dude is used more than actual words out of the character's mouth. It is the type of film that needs very little brain power and a lot of reliance on jokes based on stupidity. Now that isn't me saying that the film is necessarily stupid, I just mean in terms of jokes they go for the easy, cheap shots of playing the characters off as stupid. And while these guys aren't stoners per se, I think they still would get along very well with Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Now with that being said, this wasn't my favorite movie and you can probably guess why. Movies like this and Fast Times are just the type of movie, to me, that doesn't offer much. It goes for the cheap laughs and the stupidity and annoyance of their main characters. Now these types of movies are entertaining for other people, but not for me. There has only been one "dude" movie that I would say is passable and that is Wayne's World. Ironic because I am not a Michael Myers fan, but that movie wasn't made in the 80s so we won't get into that.
Part of the problem, with movies like this, is they play into stereotypes so hard that it makes the movie unbelievable because the stereotypes are so blown out of proportion. The main stereotype in this movie is the "hot, young stepmom." This woman clearly is barely older than Bill and Ted, they even admit they went to high school together. She is so dumb and oblivious to everything, does whatever Bill and Ted says, wears skimpy clothing so she is "eye candy" to male viewers, has no depth in terms of characterization, no one listens to what she is saying, and the woman burns grilled cheese sandwiches, but no one says anything because she is "hot."
It is scenes like this one that makes me want to turn away from the movie because it is so stereotypical and has nothing to do with the advancement of the film (or women's rights for that matter).
The other part of this movie that turns me away is the corny, corny dialogue. Not only is it super obnoxious to constantly say the other person's name whenever you answer or talk to them, but it almost sounds like they are mocking each other throughout the film. "Hey Ted." "Yes, Bill?" Normal people don't talk like that. The dialogue wasn't written in a conversational way. It feels forced and almost robotic with the constant repetition of names. I just went through some of the quotes from the movie to prove another point (that the dialogue overall is just corny, like how they tell themselves in the Circle-K parking lot that they are about to have an excellent adventure...*big eye roll*), but I found something else when looking at the dialogue: all the dialogue is pretty much one-liners. I would say about 90% of the dialogue is dialogue that is one sentence or less. There is no complexity and the conversations are just back and forth of a few words from each person. It isn't an actual conversation, just endless one-liners and goofy comebacks.
Something I did love from this movie is the fact that George Carlin was in it: AKA Rufus. Now he isn't one of the biggest names in comedy, but most people probably know him from this famous stand-up stick.
**Warning adult language used**
The addition of George Carlin was fun because I would say it is pretty common to have a comedian as a supporting character in a film. Defiantly during the 90s and 2000s and even present day it is still very common, so to see this casting back in the 80s made me enjoy the movie a little more. Even though I think he should have gotten more screen time.
Now this goes without saying, that since this was made in the 80s, the graphics and CGI wasn't very good. The hard part, though, is since this was made in 1989 you would think that the graphics would have started getting better this late in the 80s. I mean Back to the Future had better graphics and that was made in '85. So part of me thinks that with the feel of this movie and the "dude" aspect of it, they made the graphics worse than what was actually available during that time. It is also jarring because the movie itself has a very 90s feel to it, so it even more seems like the graphics should have been a lot better than they actually were.
What is with the 80s and time travel? I know I have talked about this before in other blogs, but really what was the fascination? At least this one had less to do with the future and more to do with the past. I don't think us modern day people can take another 80s movie that shows us how unadvanced we actually are in the 2000s. We don't need anymore false expectations of what we should have been able to accomplish by now. Haha.
I will say, though, with the traveling to the past concept, it does bring up a great teaching method.
Yes, in the movie they are suppose to be the "real historical figures" they are portraying, but this final scene really makes me think in terms of modern day curriculums in school. Reading about these dead guys and trying to picture the time periods is one thing, but actually seeing a visual representation brings the learning to a different level. People focus so much on reading to learn about the past, but I think using the arts to create a more visual representation would be a lot more effective. Especially, in younger students. I remember in 5th grade, my class did a "wax museum" project where we had to research a person, dress like them, and give a speech about their life. Learning that way makes learning more fun, entertaining, and engaging than just reading/trying to remember random facts about a person. Being more hands on about them allows you to better understand their life from a more realistic sense than just facts. Schools really should start incorporating learning like this more because I feel like students would enjoy it more and be able to retain the information easier when they can see the history in front of them. This is part of the reason the arts are so important to me in terms of learning. Hearing the music of that time period, seeing the art work, acting out what it was like during those times, it makes everything stick better in kids minds when they are immersed in it. Okay, I could ramble on about this, but I think you get my point.
That's it for this week's post, comment believe what you think about this movie and if you think the visual/immersive learning would be more effective in schools.
Missy: "Hi, Bill. Want a ride?"
Bill: "Sure, Missy. I mean, mom."
Ted: "Your stepmom's cute."
Bill: "Shut up, Ted."
Ted: "Remember, when she was a senior and we were freshman?"
Bill: "Shut up, Ted!"
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