Most Triumphant Rediscovery

Scott Hardie | May 4, 2002
Last night I watched "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" again. Matt bought it for me on DVD as a Christmas gift but didn't deliver it until last week. I had seen the film in fifth grade in 1988, then on video in 1993. I didn't realize till now how age has shaped my perception of the film.

When I saw it in 1988, I was ten years old, spending the night at a friend's birthday party with a few other boys. We all loved it, of course. I remember on the drive home, they were all describing their love of the movie with its own vocabulary - "excellent," "bodacious," and so on. They said "bogus," and I reminded them that "bogus" meant bad. The birthday boy's father said, "Actually Scott, bogus means fake." They laughed at me a little. (It's okay; I deserved that one.)

I saw Bogus Journey in eighth grade and loved it because it was smart, and then when the comic book by Evan Dorkin came along in high school, I was hooked on Bill and Ted; I knew that they would always occupy a nostalgic place in my heart. So I convinced my best friend at the time, he who shall not be named on my web site, to watch both movies with me. I warned him that the first one was kind of stupid. By the time it was over, I was hanging my head in shame. How could I have recommended such a stupid movie? I was embarrassed to have ever liked it.

Now I'm about done with college and I've reencountered it. When I opened the package from Matt, I was surprised to find it, because my opinion was still the same as it was in high school. I'm always happy to get a new DVD, but this was a film that I thought was kind of stupid and I didn't really like any more. But I accepted the gift and thanked Matt. Last night I watched it, and you know what? I really enjoyed it. It had a goofy charm, it had jokes that I could only appreciate now (I never noticed before what Freud was doing with the corndog in the mall), and it only occasionally grated on my nerves, just when it overdid the head-bopping and slogans. I was surprised to find myself laughing a little and grinning a lot. Thank you Matt! Since Bogus Journey is only ten bucks, I'll have to get that one sometime soon.

This, by the way, continues the streak: When somebody buys me a movie on DVD that I didn't ask for and don't really like, I watch it and wind up liking it anyway. It happened with "What Planet Are You From?", "Being John Malkovich," and "Sleepy Hollow." I liked all of those movies, but after owning them, I genuinely loved them. Maybe it's psychological, but I hope it's coincidence.

Scott Hardie | May 4, 2002
Another thing that I didn't like about it in high school was the historical inaccuracies. The film was rampant with them! When I watched it last night, I realized that the filmmakers weren't stupid; they intentionally ignored such details in the face of making entertainment. How could I have been so uptight back then?

Matthew Preston | May 5, 2002
I am glad that you enjoyed it. You were polite when you opened it, but I got the feeling that you really didn't care. I bought it for you because I remember back when we lived together freshman year in college that you loved the comic book... I guess I kind of confused that with a love of the movies.