Dean Parisot’s Bill & Ted Face the Music is a film that could have simply coasted along on Gen-X nostalgia to make a little extra money, and yet, it is so much better and more emotionally satisfying than I ever expected it to be. Yes, the time and space shenanigans are convoluted and make no sense if you’re trying to keep track of cause and effect and alternate timelines. But this is a Bill & Ted movie. You’re not here for a physics less. And sure, the pacing feels a little disjointed and breathless at times. But they manage to make breathlessness work in their favor as the film counts down the minutes until the end of the world. The film’s real strength lies in the juxtaposition of its dual narratives – one in which Bill and Ted run into darker and darker versions of themselves, the other in which their daughters try to help out by assembling the greatest band of all time (literally). The film’s lighthearted exploration of the unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves as artists to create masterpieces with each and every work is especially poignant. It’s a charming, generous film that moved me, brought me to tears, and took me completely by surprise.