Few actors in their careers hear these words: movie franchise. Keanu has heard them twice, most recently with "The Matrix" and earlier in his career with "Bill and Ted," which spawned one movie sequel, a 1990 cartoon show (which Keanu did voice-over), and a 1992 short-lived TV series (with Christopher Kennedy playing Ted). Keanu's reluctance for sequels began with "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey," which he would later describe as a "really bad experience."

The rights to the sequel of the surprise 1989 hit "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" had expired when its production company, DEG, went bankrupt. As rights were renegotiated, Keanu's manager pressured him to consider doing the sequel because, as the director remarked, "it was expected to be a huge blockbuster" and what actor doesn't want a commercial hit? Scott Kroopf, one of the producers, persuaded Keanu that Bill and Ted were not just "teen cult figures," but were a "classic comedic duo," like Laurel & Hardy, and Abbott & Costello. Keanu took the bait and went one step further when he referred to Bill and Ted as a "Shakespearean clown show with spiritual harmony." And "The Nation" echoed the same sentiments about Bill and Ted's classical roots when it declared the sequel "a dudespeak translation of 'Paradise Regained." So how could Keanu say no to that?

With a bigger budget than the first film, first time director, Peter Hewitt (the original director, Stephen Herek, was unavailable) was faced with a firm July 19th release date, and a bogus journey of his own ahead of him. First, there were problems with the script. The original screenwriters, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, returned but the first few scripts, as Keanu noted, "were just not happening." The early drafts had Bill and Ted kidnapping famous fictional characters to pass an English test. Another draft had Bill and Ted rescuing historical leaders from heaven and hell to do battle with their evil twins. Both of these didn't seem to fit the older Bill and Ted and seemed too similar to the earlier film. When a final draft was approved and filmed, test audiences in March hated the first cut. Scenes were then cut and re-shot, as late as June. Keanu referred to the end result as "Bill and Ted's Omitted Journey."

In additional to script concerns, Hewitt had problems with his star, whom he said, "would rather be somewhere else, very far away." Stories circulated that Keanu would be late to the set and disappear when needed. He collapsed on the set and was rushed to the hospital semi-conscious. Rumors spread that the incident was drug-related. Hewitt, who had to contend with editing and adding special effects while filming, remarked later that this pressure cooker environment "wasn't a particularly good experience." When he met with Keanu later after production ended, he told him that he was a "pain in the arse" and Keanu was "real surprised and had no idea" that the director felt that way. 1990-1991 was crunch time for Keanu, who at 26 years old, faced a career that was in overdrive. From July-September of 1990, he was on the physically demanding set of "Point Break," then he went immediately (September-December) to the surreal excesses on the set of MOPI, and from January-March, to the high-pressured set of "Bogus Journey." It was too much, and it showed when he promoted all three movies in a short period of time, something he hated to do (Alex Winter: "Keanu doesn't like promoting films, ever.") At one point, Keanu confessed to a reporter, "I'm a basket case, man."

"Bogus Journey" began its grueling shooting schedule on January 7, 1991 for ten weeks at the Santa Clarita Studios in Valencia, California (one hour north of Hollywood.) It made its release on July 19th and went on to make $38 million at the U.S. box office. Its original title, "Bill and Ted Go To Hell" had to be dropped because the word "hell" could not be used in advertising for TV, radio, or newspapers. How quaint that sounds today! Reviewers generally liked the sequel, crediting it with "some hilarious and innovative moments," even using oxymorons like "dumb-bunny brilliant, "brain-dead classic," and "masterpiece of stupid." I personally liked the "infinity" push-ups in hell, the reference to death as "His Royal Deathness," and the description of hell as an "Iron Maiden cover." Death was played with aplomb by William Sadler, especially in the scenes where Bill and Ted challenge him to a series of contests for their souls. I especially appreciated the tribute to Star Trek, since I am a fan of that franchise. At the beginning of the film, Bill and Ted were watching the first-season episode, "The Arena" from the original Trek series, where Captain Kirk battled the Gorn (there is a special note of thanks to William Shatner in the end credits). Later in the film, Bill and Ted were killed on the same Vasquez Rock cliff that was used in the Star Trek episode they were watching earlier.

"Point Break" and "Bogus Journey" were released within a week of each other and MOPI followed in September. Critics took notice of the range of Keanu's acting talents in three very different films. Roger Ebert remarked "I have seen Keanu Reeves in vastly different roles...and am astonished by the range of these performances." Janet Maslin of NY Times commented that "Mr. Reeves...displays considerable discipline and range. He moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanor that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comedic roles."

The tagline for "Bogus Journey" was: "Once they made history. Now they are history." And so they are, since Keanu has not returned to the role of Ted. But one thing I am sure of: whether he is hanging mid-motion in bullet time as Neo, a role he has played three times, or behind a head full of hair asking Death "how's it hanging," in a role he has played twice, every fan would agree with Hewitt's final assessment that "he's incredibly beautiful. You can just stare at him for hours." In the months ahead, we will be doing just that.

The balcony is now open.