Pauly Shore Explains Why Bill and Ted Work in 2020

Over the course of the next week or so, the late ’80s and early ’90s will come roaring back, as Bill and Ted Face the Music — the first new film to feature Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in their iconic roles — hits theaters and on-demand platforms at the same time Guest House, a new comedy starring Pauly Shore in a role reminiscent of his In the Army Now glory days, will be available on September 4. And when we talked to Shore about his new film, it was him, not us, that drew the comparison to Bill & Ted, saying that good-natured humor feels like a necessity in these difficult and often contentious times.

It isn’t hard to draw a straight line between many of Shore’s most iconic roles — in which he played an ordinary, underarchieving guy who was thrust into situations well beyond his understanding — with the stories of time-traveling slackers with an impossible destiny to fulfill. And Guest House brings a similar energy to it, as shore plays a middle-aged slacker who lives in the guest house behind a mansion, and drives the young couple who have bought the main house more than a little crazy.

“I think these movies, Bill and Ted [Face the Music] and [Guest House], I think are coming out at such a good time because of what’s going on in the world,” Shore told ComicBook.com. “Everything is doom and gloom, and I think this will be a refreshing feeling for people to watch something that definitely takes your mind off of what’s going on in the world. So a lot of it’s timing. I don’t know if the movie would do maybe as well if the world was just kind of moving at a hundred thousand miles per hour. Everything’s kind of slowed down now. Everyone’s just kind of waiting.”

Besides being a refreshing diversion, Shore thinks that there is something innately appealing about characters who, even if they’re “dumb,” are fundamentally good, deep down, and open to learning their lesson. He added that the good humor and lack of mean-spirited comedy that Bill and Ted embody is key to the kind of humor he, too, wants to bring.

“That was exactly where I was when I got the offer of the film, is to make this guy likable and endearing,” said Shore. “You kind of feel for him, and there’s also a message.”

Bill & Ted Face the Music will be available in theaters and on demand on August 28. Guest House will be available to rent or purchase digitally on September 4. In addition to Guest House, Shore is currently doing a weekly podcast as well as a one-man show in Las Vegas.

Pauly Shore’s Random Rants is a weekly audio and video podcast about living alone, and whatever is on Pauly’s mind: comedy, family, music, pop culture, politics, sex, social media. Pauly films from his Las Vegas home with his “crusty crew,” as well as special guest famous friends. New episodes drop on Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, and are available on YouTube, All Things Comedy, and everywhere podcasts are heard. Stick with the Dancing: Funny Stories from my Childhood is a new, one man show, in which the actor and comedian intimately talks about his life, career, ups and downs, growing up at The Comedy Store, Beverly Hills high school, MTV days, opening for Sam Kinison, and the Playboy Mansion.