Bill (Alex Winter) assures us that “Sometimes, things don’t make sense until the end of the story.” It might well be a good distance from the culminating moments of The Life and Death of Col. Blimp or Planet of the Apes, but the opportunity to see Bill reunite with his most outstandingest friend Ted (Keanu Reeves) and save the world kept me goofy-grinning throughout. One forgets just how successful a franchise this is: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure spawned two sequels, a Saturday morning cartoon series, and a live-action sitcom. Better a sequel than a remake — particularly after a 29-year absence — it’s a pleasure to report that our good-natured time traveling slackers haven’t lost one drop of chemistry. The directors may change — Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) keeps the time-frames in order — but scripters Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon are eternal. They craft each character with equal doses of loving care and urgent frustration, and somehow find logic amid the asininity. Much of the laughter stems from the screenwriting duo’s ability to work their way through the bizarreness by topping it in subsequent scenes. Come for the fathers and stay for their genderqueer offspring: Thea (Samara Weaving) and Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine). Weaving has already left a mark, but it’s her co-star who’s a force of nature. As pliant as a windsock, Lundy-Paine makes something memorable out of cradling a bag of Cheetos in her arm. Coming soon: Billie and Thea’s Non-Binary Outing? I sure hope so! (2020) — Scott Marks