Greetings my excellent friends!

That is the first line of the 1988 cult comedy that is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, a film that helped boost Keanu Reeves' acting career, as well as making use of some superb air-guitar techniques!

Bill: I am Bill S Preston Esquire!
Ted: And I am Ted 'Theodore' Logan'!
Both: Together, we are known as 'Wyld Stallyns!'

The film starred Alex Winter (who also appeared in Freaked! and The Lost Boys) and Keanu Reeves (the guy who would later become the star of the even-more-famous The Matrix) as the original Beavis and Butt-head without the crudeness.

Bill S Preston (Winter) and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Reeves) are two budding guitarists that can't play, and two failing idiots at the San Dimas High School in California. In the year 1988, Bill and Ted are failing History, and unless they get an A+ in their oral report, Ted will be sent to Colonel Oat's Military Academy in Alaska, a move that would split their band, the Wyld Stallyns, and therefore prevent them from becoming the successful rock band they want to be.

This is where Rufus (George Carlin) comes in. He's sent from the year 2688 (in a time travelling telephone booth) to make sure that Bill and Ted pass their history oral...

Be excellent to each other...

To help Bill and Ted, Rufus supplies them with a telephone booth and a phone book. By typing in the number that corresponds to a date, followed by the '*' and '#' keys the booth would take them to anywhere in time.

Thus begins Bill and Ted's most excellent adventure through time, collecting famous people to use in their report including Napoleon ('the short dead dude'), Joan of Arc ('Noah's wife') and Beethoven ('the Van Halen of his time').

The film was so successful that it spawned a sequel in 1991 (Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) and an animated series (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures) - Winters and Reeves providing the voices of their cartoon counterparts.

Party on dudes!

The Characters

• Bill Preston (Alex Winter) - The 'smarter' of the two main characters, he is easily distinguished as the one with blond curly hair. Bill's best friend is obviously Ted.

• Ted Logan (Keanu Reeves) - Most distinguished by the black waistcoat and dark pudding-bowl haircut. When Bill and Ted meet themselves, to prove that the other Bill/Ted are really them, Ted asks what number they're thinking of. The reply is a quick 'sixty-nine, dudes!'

• Rufus (George Carlin) - The man sent from 2688, to help Bill and Ted pass their History report and who also presents the dudes with two new guitars for finally passing History with A-plus grades.

• 'The Princesses' (Diane Franklin and Kimberley LaBelle) - Joanna and Elizabeth. Two princesses from Medieval England who later get saved by Rufus from a 'royal ugly dude'.

• Wyld Stallyns - The band that consists of Bill, Ted, and maybe (one day) guitar god Eddie Van Halen, as soon as they get a triumphant video, which can't be done until they learn how to play, which can't be done until they have Eddie Van Halen...

• 'Missy' (Amy Stock-Poynton) - Bill's stepmom who everyone has the hots for. Bill constantly says 'Hi Missy - I mean Mom...'

• Napoleon (Terry Camilleri) - The first historical character to be taken through time. When Bill and Ted decide to go back for more people, Napoleon is given to Ted's little brother Deacon to look after. Napoleon is involved in some of the film's funniest moments involving a bowling alley, the term 'piggy-wiggy' and a trip in a water park named Waterloo...

A totally non-heinous¹ movie, though not necessarily for those who aren't happy with grammatical errors or constant 'dude' references..!