K.T Simpson
It’s taken longer than an unscrupulous UberEats driver to arrive but the wait for Bill & Ted’s triumphant return is, I’m glad to say, well worth the wait. It’s a perfect package director Dean Parisot (“Galaxy Quest”), and scribes Ed Solomon & Chris Matheson, have on offer too. Determined to fit nicely into the inevitable box set with the first two instalments of the comedy series, “Bill and Ted Face the Music” is a film concerned largely with the long-standing fan club. The storyline, like the first two, is silly and simple, the performances are both kooky and endearing, and the energy is palpable.
While it’s incredible to have Keanu Reeves back as Ted, a role we never thought we’d see him play again once he hit the big time in the early ‘90s, Co-Star Alex Winter gives an equally welcome reprise here – slipping comfortably back into his alter-ego Bill’s duds without effort. The twosome, coupled with a zippy, vibrant libretto, will see “Bill and Ted Face the Music” become a frequent go-to guilty pleasure in the years to come.
“Repossession”, one of the horror treats at the recent Dances with Films film festival, serves as yet another reminder why Hollywood so often looks to Asia for unique horror yarns. This one, the feature directorial debut of debut of Goh Ming Siu and Scott Chong Hillyard, is a wholly originally piece that – though some may consider it comparable to the likes of “In the Mouth of Madness” and “Jacob’s Ladder”. Much like last year’s applauded “Parasite”, Goh and Hillyard’s screenplay successfully blends elements of the smart, psychosocial thinkpiece with a frightening, nightmare-inducing genre piece.
It’s great to see Pauly Shore, the MTV VJ turned big screen silky man (“Encino Man”, “Son-In-Law”), back in a high-concept comedy – even if you’ll be hard pressed recognising him behind the fuzz pizza on his face. Where Shore’s earlier comedies worked was in their sweet, silly, family-friendly concepts. “Guest House” seems to have missed the memo on that, replacing cuteness and crazy lines with gratuitous nudity, profanity and drugs.
If Troy Duffy, Sean Bishop and Sam Macaroni’s (It took three guys to write this!?) screenplay were funny, then the departure might’ve paid off, but there’s nothing in this atrocious farce than even spurs a grin, let alone the kind of chortle Shore use to easily earn in his prime.
Oh, and poor Aimee Teegarden…
