"Keanu" Review

Title: Keanu

Directed by: Peter Atencio

Screenplay by: Alex Rubens and Jordan Peele

Year: 2016


The comedy duo of Key and Peele have achieved considerable fame from their comedy show and sketches. I discovered them a few years ago and while not all of their sketches are particularly great, their best work has had me in stitches. Key and Peele are brilliant comedians, but are they capable of carrying an entire movie?

Having hit rock bottom, Rell comes across an adorable kitten that lifts his spirits and he names him Keanu. But it does not take long for Keanu to be kidnapped. With the help of his cousin Clarence, Rell embarks on an adventure to save Keanu from the gangsters that have taken him.

Without a doubt, the best thing in this film is the two leads. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are a force of nature when it comes to their comedic abilities. Their chemistry is explosive and their years of partnership are on full display. Key is much more over-the-top and expressive while Peele is more subdued and plays it a bit more straight. But they can both turn on a dime and their interactions are very dynamic, always changing and constantly surprising the audience. These two are like a chemical mixture; you combine two elements and you have no idea what is going to happen. Both actors are on top form and fans will be very pleased.

The supporting cast is also very good. Method Man is a pleasant surprise and the actors that play the 17th Street Blips are a solid group. Tiffany Haddish, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Jason Mitchell, and Jamar Neighbors are all consistently funny and enjoyable. Will Forte and Luis Guzman get in a few good laughs as well. Now for the titular cat. Keanu is an adorable character that brings a number of laughs, but the cat is barely in the film. He is present at the beginning and end of the film, but he is absent from most of the second act. It is not exactly a major issue, but if you go into this film expecting to see plenty of Keanu, you will not be getting that.

The story is surprisingly engaging. Of course, Keanu has its laughs and funny moments, but it is the plot where I found myself most captivated. The way the story plays out makes room for the humor and the dramatic turns are very investing, even the smaller plot threads. The minor sub-plot between Clarence (Key) and his wife Hannah, played by Nia Long, was rather intriguing. The Allentown Brothers scenes were mysterious, funny, and interesting. The main plot is also engrossing, as Clarence and Rell (Peele) have to pretend to be gangsters just to get Keanu back.

The humor is, unfortunately, hit-or-miss. Some of the jokes land and generate a strong audience response, but there are others that do nothing. There are not any cringe-worthy jokes or any bad humor, but some of the jokes are just not funny. There are many instances where the film takes a joke too far or spends too much time on it, which quickly becomes stale. For instance, there is a scene taking place at a mansion where Rell needs to collect drug money; but the entire sequence goes on for far too long. It has its moments, but it could have been trimmed. On the other hand, while Rell is collecting the money, Clarence is keeping watch in the car and that sequence is hysterical. The car scene revolves around George Michael jokes but it all works.

The humor has its ups and downs, and while the majority of the jokes work, there are many times when the film is not humorous. Yes, the plot is engaging, but this is supposed to be a comedy and there are a few too many scenes without laughs. I did not expect to walk out of a Key and Peele film praising the plot more than the humor.

Another thing I did not expect from Keanu is action. There is an opening action scene that is pretty sweet and a good chunk of the third act is a chase scene. This takes the focus away from the comedy and feels very misplaced. The opening action scene fits well with the comedy but the chase near the end is too long and pointless. It is a fine chase, but unnecessary. Also, there is an over-abundance of slow motion shots. There are so many scenes that utilize this technique that it becomes very noticeable very quickly.

The direction is rather good for this sort of film. The framing is always in service of the humor and brings the charm and familiarity of the famous sketches and skits. However, that is also a negative because the film either feels like a string of skits or a short film that has been stretched out to a feature length picture. Although the action scenes take away from the core premise of the film, they are filmed well. The slow motion, while used too frequently, is used well in a couple of scenes.

There is not much to say about Keanu as a film. Key and Peele play off of each other with incredible ease and triumphantly command the screen. The supporting cast is able to pull more than their weight; the humor is clever and and well written when it works; and the story is exceptionally winsome. However, not all of the humor works, the action can feel out of place, and Keanu is barely in the film, which could tamper with expectations. Even though this feels like an elongated skit, I would say that this comedy duo has transitioned to the big screen quite successfully. Perhaps not a great movie, but a pretty good start.

Grade: B-