Review – Keanu
Keanu stars Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the two masterminds behind the brilliant sketch comedy show Key & Peele. The film plays out like an hour and a half long skit that they would have on their show, which has its positives and negatives.
When an adorable kitten lands on the footstep of the recently broken hearted Rell (Jordan Peele), he finds a new outlook on life and his heart is immediately mended. One night, when out with his friend Clarence (Keegan Michael Key), the kitten (named Keanu) is stolen from his house, which sets Rell and Clarence on a mission to retrieve Keanu by posing as drug dealers for a gang.
Much like the duos skits on the show, the plot is ridiculous and full of insane pop culture references and scenes so insane, they work for the most part. Everyone LOVES Keanu. Rell, the leader of the gang Cheddar (Method Man), these two Boondock Saint-like twins (also played by Key and Peele) all want this kitten and will risk their lives for it. This movie should have been called There’s Something About Keanu because everyone becomes so attached to the adorable kitten, much like the men do in There’s Something About Mary (1998).
The movie isn’t short on laughs. There are a ton of laugh out loud moments and probably more that I missed. Watching Rell and Clarence flip back and forth from their normal personalities to hardcore gangsters is great, especially when they have to explain their suburban ways to the gangsters. My favorite scene of the entire movie is when Clarence is teaching all the gangsters about the symbolism and greatness of 1980’s popstar George Michael. I was in tears. The two comedians show how talented they really are.
Keanu runs about twenty minutes too long, however, with some scenes that could have easily been cut out. I was worried that an almost two hour long skit would run thin and it does. Not terribly thin, but to the point where I actually checked my watch a couple times towards the end. They should have also developed Rell’s breakup a little more. The lack of development hurt the overall stakes of the movie. Also, I wish those Boondock Saint-like characters I mentioned earlier would have been more prominent in the story. They started off the movie with an awesome shootout and then they showed up a couple more times for a few minutes.
Overall, Keanu is a good time. It shows how talented Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele are and would have been one of the best action comedies out today had it been cut about twenty minutes.
MY RATING – 3/4
Did you see Keanu? What did you think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.