I'm not sure what this says about my family's cultural level, but the most quoted movie in our household is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Sure, there are a lot of Star Wars quotes as well as the occasional quote from some other movies, but I don't think we can go more than a few days without quoting Bill and Ted.
From a critical standpoint, perhaps, it is not the greatest movie. However, we love it. Not only is it hilarious, it is also educational—you gain an insight into the personalities of eight different personages of historical significance. For example, Billy the Kid adapts very well to different cultures, and Napoleon loves waterslides.
Why do we quote this movie all the time? There's two reasons, I think. First, it is simply packed with funny and memorable lines. Second, many of the quotes are excellent for usage in everyday life.
A few weeks ago, I had to struggle very hard not to burst out laughing in my European history class. Our professor asked people to think of what they already knew about Napoleon, and immediately Bill and Ted popped into my head. All I could think about was that Napoleon was a short, dead dude.
Lest you should give up already and think this movie is just a ridiculously shallow movie about two high-schoolers about to flunk out of history, I would like to share an deeply thought-provoking quote from Bill, when he and Ted met their future selves and were unsure if they should trust them. "Why would we lie to ourselves?"
Another oft-repeated quote is from the scene in the castle. "Ted... Don't be dead, dude!" Most recently, that ran through my mind in genetics lab, when we were working with fruit flies and hoping we hadn't accidentally given them too much anesthetic. Yet another serious time when I had to restrain my laughter.
Whenever we drive past a Circle K, and occasionally just when something weird happens, there's a quote for that. "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K." I tell you, there is a Bill and Ted quote for every circumstance.
Sometimes, we don't even have a good reason for busting out a Bill and Ted quote. It just kind of randomly happens. For example, someone will say "Put them in the iron maiden." And then we complete the sequence. "Excellent!" "Execute them!" "Bogus..." So much fun, so much inanity. It's great.
The best one of all, though relates to Socrates (pronounced SO-crates). In their history textbook, Bill and Ted read, "The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." Ted's response is pure gold: "That's us, dude."
Okay, I need to stop. I could just go on and on about my favorite Bill and Ted quotes, but then I would basically be reciting the whole movie for you. That would probably go way over my maximum word count for an Odyssey article!
If you've never watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, I highly recommend that you do so. Immediately. But whether you've seen the movie or not, I would like to leave you all with a reminder to be excellent to each other.
And...
