Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

Plot synopsis:
The music of Bill and Ted's band, Wyld Stallyns, has created a utopian future society. Chuck De Nomolos, who detests this society, steals one of the time-traveling phone booths and sends two robots modeled after Bill and Ted back to the late 20th century to prevent Bill and Ted from winning the San Dimas Battle of the Bands. Rufus attempts to stop De Nomolos but seemingly becomes lost in the circuits of time.
In the present, five years after Bill and Ted first traveled through time, Wyld Stallyns is preparing for the contest. Though Bill and Ted's current fiancées and former 15th-century princesses Elizabeth and Joanna have become skilled musicians, Bill and Ted are still inept. Despite this, the organizer Ms. Wardroe assures them a slot in the contest as the final act. Bill's stepmother Missy divorces his father in favor of Ted's, who threatens Ted with military school should they fail the Battle of the Bands. Evil Bill and Evil Ted arrive and the robots eventually replace Bill and Ted, killing them by throwing the two over the side of a cliff at Vasquez Rocks. The robots behave rudely to the princesses and work to ruin the duo's fame.
Bill and Ted's souls are met by Death who challenges them in a game for their souls. Bill and Ted escape after giving Death a "melvin". They attempt to alert their families but their ethereal forms prove difficult, and at one point, are cast down into Hell at a séance held by Missy. In Hell, they are tormented by Satan, made to face their own fears, manifesting as Col Oates, the Easter Bunny, and Granny S Preston, and realize their only escape is to take Death's offer. Taken to Death's chambers, the spirit gives them the option of what game to play. Bill and Ted, to Death's dismay, select modern games like Battleship, Clue, and Twister, easily beating Death. Death admits defeat and unwillingly becomes their servant. Bill and Ted recognize they need to locate the smartest person in the universe to help build robots to counter De Nomolos' evil robots. Death escorts the two to Heaven, and with God's help, are directed to an alien named Station who has the ability to split into two identical twins, and readily offers to help Bill and Ted.
Death brings them back to the mortal world, where it is the night of the Battle of the Bands. Bill and Ted take Station to a hardware store, and then race in their van back to the concert while Station constructs good robots. Just as the evil robots take the stage, Bill and Ted arrive, and Station's robots easily defeat the evil ones. De Nomolos appears in the time booth, ready to defeat Bill and Ted himself, and overrides the broadcasting equipment to send the video footage of this to everyone on the planet. The two recognize they can later go back in time to arrange events for De Nomolos to be trapped in the present, aided by Death and Station; though De Nomolos is apparently able to do the same, Bill and Ted gain the upper hand with the explanation that it is only the winners who get to go back, and De Nomolos is arrested by Ted's father. Ms. Wardroe reveals herself to be a disguised Rufus, having assured Bill and Ted's spot in the concert, and urges them to play.
As Bill and Ted reunite with their fiancées, they realize they are still terrible musicians, and the four use the time booth; though they return immediately, "an intense 16 months of guitar training plus a two week honeymoon" have passed for them, they have married the princesses and each is raising a young infant "Little Ted" and "Little Bill". They begin to perform a stunning rock ballad, joined by Death, Station, and the good robots. The worldwide broadcast set by De Nomolos continues, and Wyld Stallyns' music is played across the globe, creating harmony. Over the credits, it's shown through newspaper articles that the band, along with Death, go through many perks of fame before eventually taking their act to Mars.

Tags: cult, alternate history, historical fiction

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