Bill & Ted Face The Music (2020)

If there was ever a film that I was looking for a sequel for it was the Bill & Ted Franchise of the late 80's and early 90's. In 1989, we were brought on a time travelling adventure with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure which featured a young Keanu Reeves (Knock Knock) and a young Alex Winter (The Lost Boys) as two San Dimas, Californians with dreams of making it big as rock stars. They returned in 1991 for the sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey where they had to make it through hell and a game with death to save the world. Well, it's 29 years later and they have returned with Bill & Ted Face The Music which was directed by Dean Parisot (Fun With Dick and Jane). Older and not much wiser, they have been chipping away at trying to fulfill a destiny that was given to them, but with kids and their marriages on the rocks, they are told they don't have much time to save the world with the song that will unite them all. The film also stars Samara Weaving (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as Thea,  Brigette Lundy-Paine (Downsizing) as Billie, Kristen Schaal (Toy Story 4) as Kelly, William Sadler (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) as Death, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Dennis Caleb McCoy, Erinn Hayes (Children's Hospital) as Elizabeth, Jayma Mays (Red Eye) as Joanna, Hal Landon Jr. (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) as Chief Logan, Amy Stoch (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) as Missy, Beck Bennett (Sing) as Deacon, Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street) as Dr. Taylor Wood, and Holland Taylor (Keeping The Faith) as the Great Leader.

One of the things that worked for this film is that they didn't try to mix up the formula or install new humor to try and make it hip, they went with what worked before and they ran with it. I have to say that I absolutely loved this film from the beginning all the way to the end because it was a Bill & Ted movie that delivered with a great message of unity as one no matter what race, sex, or creed that you may be and that is exactly what we need in this day and age with all the madness that is happening. I was actually impressed that the make up department did a great job making Keanu Reeves finally look his age for once because that man does not age whatsoever. I was definitely shocked at the sight of it but tons of kudos to them and for the various looks we received throughout the film. I was definitely impressed with Weaving and Lundy-Paine, but Lundy-Paine was the real star of the show as far as the kids and don't get me wrong cause Weaving was great too, but Lundy fit more the part of one of their kids. I loved the fact that they brought back Chief Logan and Missy, it brought back some nostalgia for us long time fans of the franchise, but this movie would have not been what it was without William Sadler who once again appeared as Death. Everything about his performance was excellent and mix that with Anthony Carrigan and it just gets better. I had so much fun watching this film and I recommend it to anyone that loves comedy or the franchise so therefore I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Keeping The Faith (2000)

Stop me if you've heard this one before, a priest, a rabbi, and a girl head into a bar... you guys can seriously stop me anytime. That is because the film I chose for today sort of has that premise as we tackle another Sheldon's choice in 2000's Keeping The Faith. The film was directed by and stars Edward Norton (Primal Fear) as Father Brian Finn who recounts a story of love and betrayal to a bartender (Brian George). Brian along with Rabbi Jake Schram (Ben Stiller) have been friends ever since they were kids, but they'll never forget the girl they were in love with when they were kids because she has returned into their lives and she complicates things as both of them once again fall in love. The film also stars Jenna Elfman (Ed TV) as Anna Riley, Anne Bancroft (The Graduate) as Ruth Schram, Eli Wallach (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) as Rabbi Ben Lewis, Ron Rifkin (A Star Is Born) as Larry Friedman, Milos Forman (One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest) as Father Havel, Holland Taylor (Two And A Half Men) as Bonnie Rose, Rena Sofer (The Bold and The Beautiful) as Rachel Rose, Ken Leung (Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens) as Don, and Lisa Edelstein (Girlfriends Guide To Divorce) as Ali Decker.

I am not so sure how I feel about Jenna Elfman because she was an OK actress who gained popularity through a television show, but she was not a leading lady because her performance in this film was OK. I thought that the strongest performances in the film came from Ben and Edward who play the stars of the show, but I just felt that Jenna couldn't really keep up with their star power. There were times where some of her mannerisms felt too forced in some scenes, but as far as the movie was concerned this was a decent first attempt at directing by Edward Norton. There were definitely moments in the film placed their for his fellow actors to shine that could have been left out because they either dragged the scene too long or just were unnecessary. I'm not sure if he intentionally was trying to point out the dilemma between interfaith relationships and what I mean by that is they represented the new ideals where anyone should marry anyone regardless of faith versus the people Stiller was trying to impress that represented the old way of thinking. Nonetheless, the film loses it's steam in that regard as it gets lost in the romantic comedy Hollywood tropes that it tries to follow faithfully. It is not a terrible movie by any means, but two hours was just too much for this film. There is definitely some fantastic moments like the cinematography or Ken Leung as Don the karaoke salesmen. That is why I checked it out for free on VUDU and also why I am going to give the film an C+/B- (Somewhere in there) for a final grade.