Fans gathered online to break the world record for most people simultaneously playing air guitar to celebrate the release of Bill & Ted Face The Music. The franchise's third entry was released on Friday in select theaters and on VOD. The long-awaited sequel, released almost 30 years after Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the previous installment in the series, reconnects with the titular duo, played by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, in middle age. This time around, they are given 78 minutes to create the song that will unite the world, or reality will collapse.
Joining them on their journey are their daughters, Thea (Samara Weaving) and Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine), as well as Death (William Sadler), who returns from the previous movie. The film contains plenty of new laughs with the duo and their daughters traveling through time to meet famous musicians (some of whom, such as Kid Cudi, play themselves) and historical figures, as well as future versions of themselves. The film also provided fans with plenty of gags from the first two movies, including a whole lot of air guitar.
Now, in a case of fiction inspiring reality, a group of Bill & Ted fans has gathered together online to break the record for most people simultaneously playing air guitar online. The fans, all 186 of them, had to log on and play three different air guitar moves for 90 seconds, all at the same time. The minimum they had to beat was 100 people. The video from Orion documenting the attempt, and the subsequent successful awarding of the world record, can be seen below.
While the record itself might not be something that will be talked about for years to come, it does show the strength of the fan community that has grown around the Bill & Ted franchise. The cult movies are not everyone's cup of tea, but they do have a firm following, with at least 186 of them so dedicated that they took the time to obtain a world record to mark the release of the third movie, as well as raise money for charity. It's a sweet reflection of the central message of the movies - to be excellent to each other.
With reviews for the belated sequel calling it a goofy but likable and a worthy follow-up, it seems like those fans won't be disappointed when they watch Bill & Ted Face The Music either. Given that it took so long for the sequel to happen, and was largely a labor of love for Reeves and Winter, as well as writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, it seems like a rare real-life Hollywood happy ending has happened.
Source: Orion Pictures