Keanu

Starring: Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Luis Guzman, Will Forte, Nia Long, Rob Huebel, Keanu Reeves (voice), Anna Faris (uncredited)
Directed by: Peter Atencio
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two mild mannered friends (Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key) pretend to be assassins to rescue a kitten from local drug dealers.

Review:

Tim: You have to give Keanu credit- it's not your typical movie. It blends action and comedy together in a plot that sees two ordinary guys pretending to be murderers to retrieve a cute kitten named Keanu. It's kind of a bizarre plot, but it's one that draws you in. The movie certainly has some funny moments, but it's ultimately too uneven to be very good. Director Peter Atencio has mostly done shorts and television work, and I have to believe his inexperience with feature-length films came into play here. Keanu is an okay movie, but you'd be hard pressed to call this a success.

I wasn't very familiar with Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key before seeing this film. I'd seen a lot more of Key in other films than Peele. I'd never seen their television show. The two obviously have experience working together. I wouldn't say their chemistry was shockingly good, but it's apparent and the audience can pick up on that energy. They play off each other well. I thought both men did a good job with their respective roles. They play dual roles and that, combined with quite a bit of range they needed to pull off their main roles, impressed me. A lot of comedy actors are good at one thing and one thing only. In this film, Peele and Key showed they have some actual acting ability.

The story elicits some laughs, but it's central premise is pretty weak. Two totally straight-laced guys pretend to be these hardcore criminals and the real criminals around them actually buy it. This is all played for laughs- indeed, it's the central humorous premise of the entire film. It was a little hard to buy. Peele and Key tried to play this for laughs and definitely weren't interested in making the story believable. The problem is that while this idea is funny, they go back to the well again and again throughout the movie. It loses its luster. The movie does have some humorous moments- the Anna Faris bit was memorable and funny. The Brett Michaels gags were okay. However, there were just too many intended funny scenes that fell flat and weren't as effective as intended. Besides a few laugh-out-loud moments, there were long stretches of this film that caused me to roll my eyes, not laugh.

One other oddity that hurt this movie was 2014's John Wick. By total bizarre coincidence, that movie featured Keanu Reeves killing bad guys to avenge his murdered puppy. It was a unique concept two years ago. While they'd started work on Keanu before that (so this movie wasn't inspired by the earlier one), that film does detract some from the uniqueness of this film. Instead of saying, "What a brilliant, original concept!" The thought was, "So this kind of like a comedy John Wick?" That coincidence does hurt this movie. Instead of seeming fresh, it feels like a rehash. No one is to blame for this, but it does limit the film's impact.

Keanu is a perfectly fine comedy. It does have a few laughs and memorable scenes. However, it's ultimately a bit too one-note for me. It got undercut by John Wick and lost a bit of its innovative shine. It's an okay comedy, but it's not one I have any desire to see again. I do give the film credit for getting Keanu Reeves to voice the titular cat during a dream sequence though!

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: John Wick