Keanu

Key and Peele have established themselves with their show as two of the leaders of small screen comedy. Their brand of comedy pokes fun at stereotypes and generic film tropes, with heavy influences from the cinema world. Their skits are often cinematic and ridiculous, but in the best kinds of way. Now, they carry that over to an actual movie and the results are often times hilarious. While not always successful, when they are, Keanu is laugh out loud funny. With huge influences from traditional cinema, ranging from romantic comedy to 80's action, Keanu covers a range of genres, providing that same ridiculous kind of comedy fans are used to.

The film kicks off with a bang, delivering a stylish opening action scene that introduces us to the titular Keanu, a cute-beyond-words kitten that you immediately fall in love with. We're then introduced to our dynamic duo, Rell, a man-child lacking direction in his life who has recently lost his girlfriend, and Clarence, the straight arrow of the two who is happily married, but is so caught up in trying to please everyone else, he never takes time for himself. Once Keanu enters the picture, the two find themselves spiraling downward into a world of gang warfare, crime, and mistaken identity, all in pursuit of retrieving the adorable little Keanu.

If you've seen Key & Peele, the humor here will feel familiar. Working under the show's director, Peter Atencio, and with Peele in the writer's seat, all have a firm grasp of how to craft cinema and then skewer it. Both characters constantly feel out of place while at the same time handling themselves well, and much of the comedy comes from both the familiar fish out of water story and some surprises. What helps is that the film never really feels forced. Our heroes never feel too unnatural in their actions, though it is slightly mystifying that they are continuously believed to be tougher than they actually are. The action is well done too, with it feeling like it wouldn't be out of place in an action movie. And Keanu replacing what would be a person in distress makes for a hilarious spoof on traditional damsel- in-distress type tropes. Our villains also fare well, with one particular hilarious scene seeing Clarence bond with other gangsters over George Michael music.

As stated above, not every joke works, with several falling flat or getting little more than a chuckle, but more often than not the movie knows when to end a joke or just what to do to surprise or make the audience laugh. It also helps to know movies well to catch several of the references or tropes. Where the film could have made many missteps, it makes wise decisions in terms of balancing comedy, action, and drama and knows when it's comedy may be going too far and for too long. I often wondered if Key and Peele would take their comedy to the film world, as they have always clearly loved movies, and now that they've finally done so, they have delivered. Not a perfect comedy, but a very funny one and shows that the two have promise for a future in the cinema world. It's my hope that Keanu is just the beginning for these two.

Keanu is a comedy film about nerdy friends who disguise as gangsters to steal their kitten. The film stars Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, best known for their Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele. They play Rell, the besotted owner of Keanu the kitten, and his uptight George Michael-loving cousin Clarence. The film has a geeky, film-literate flavor to some of the humor, which defuses the semi-ironic gangster posturing. A cameo from Anna Faris is unexpected and not entirely successful. The central joke, that even the most ruthless underworld drug wholesalers are putty in the paws of an adorably cute kitten, is a good one but not enough to sustain an entire movie. The film is intended for the duo's loyal fans, introducing them to a wider audience, and directing at children. However, the movie is a weirdly generic fish-out-of-water tale, where bungling cowards impersonate tough guys, familiar territory for male comedy duos past and present. Key and Peele play their familiar, nerdy suburban characters, with Clarence being a mild-mannered people-pleaser and his cousin Rell being a single, stoner artist and graphic designer. Keanu, played by a team of seven kittens, fills the hole in Clarence's heart and becomes his artistic muse. The film's chemistry is one of its main assets, and the central joke, that even the most ruthless underworld drug wholesalers are putty in the paws of an adorably cute kitten, is a good one but not enough to sustain an entire movie. Key & Peele, a group known for their roles in Hollywood comedy, can act outside of their signature characters. Their intense friendship and individual personalities draw viewers in, but their bromance is absent in this show. The characters play it straight, with little frisson between them, and their black nerdiness is neglected. Keanu has potential, but the code-switching shtick becomes tiresome and neglects their black nerdiness. However, the team works to translate representations of black masculine anger and impenetrability into comedy, revealing the adorable kittens underneath the swagger. The film also satisfied the guilty pleasure of rappers/actors, with Method (Acting) Man defying the adage of avoiding performances with children or animals. Overall, Key & Peele's performance is enjoyable and satisfying, despite the potential for more mature roles. Keanu is a film about a family of gang members who are chased by the 17th Street Blips, a savage gang of former Bloods and Crips. The cousins, led by Will Forte, pursue the kitten into the urban underworld of L. A., where they bond with the Blips and battle drug kingpins and a crime duo. The film has only a single comic narrative setup and extended joke, which is part of the problem with the film. While Key & Peele are appealing on the big screen, the film feels declawed and lacks anything we haven't seen before, except for the kitten. The production feels televisual, staged in enclosed spaces like cars, clubs, and rooftops. The cousins visit urban spaces explored in their program, such as the Club, strip joints, back alleys, and vacant lots. However, the hood and neighborhood are flat, missing the playful surrealism that animates these quotidian urban and suburban spaces and the eccentric characters that occupy them in the show.

This was one of the best comedies that I have seen in some time; that isn't to say you will fall out of your seat laughing - but the laughter was consistent from beginning to end, and that is pretty much the only thing that matters to me when I decide to go see a comedy.

Seeing how this movie was a clear reference to Keanu Reeves "John Wick", at least as far as the marketing is concerned, I thought the movie would be more of a direct spoof of that movie; but it wasn't - it was more so just a general action comedy and I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a "spoof" movie even though they were certainly playing off well known action tropes.

My bottom line: Is this movie worth shelling out the $ to go see in the theater, in my opinion, yes it is. Get some friends and go have some good laughs.

Assassins (Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key) shoot up a drug factory. A kitty escapes. Rell Williams (Jordan Peele) is depressed after getting dumped by his girlfriend. He is lifted up by finding the kitty on his doorstep and he names her Keanu. His cousin and best friend Clarence Goobril (Keegan-Michael Key) needs to man up for his wife Hannah (Nia Long). Rell's home is ransacked and Keanu goes missing. Small time dealer Hulka (Will Forte) points the finger at a local gang. The guys take on gangster persona "Tectonic" and "Shark Tank". They meet Hi-C (Tiffany Haddish) and leader Cheddar (Method Man) who mistakes them for the assassins Allentown Boys.

Firstly, the kitty is really cute. The guys have great chemistry. The ridiculous premise is set up for outrageous humor. There are some cute laughs at times but it doesn't stay at a high enough level. It's funny skit material but it doesn't fill out. It's a little thin. The movie tries to add a couple of comedic performances from Will Forte and Anna Faris. They only really hit singles rather than home runs. The movie needs to be more ridiculous. It needs to take on the gangsta genre in a deeper way. The guys are capable of more.

Who hasn't been waiting for Key and Peele to put out a movie together? 'Key and Peele' was one of the best sketch comedy shows of recent memory. Their dynamic on screen is always must watch television and so we were all waiting to see how it would translate to the big screen. For the most part, Keanu works. It does a good job of incorporating the same humor from their show into the film. I just wish they pushed it even further. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, but the plot of Keanu falls back into clichéd territory far too often.

It's largely a spoof of action films in the same vein as the avidly popular Jump Street films. Instead of going undercover to take down drug dealers, the duo played by Key and Peele, pretend they are drug dealers to win back the kitten that was taken from them. But besides that, the plot unravels exactly as you would expect. You could make the argument that it's not even necessarily a full on spoof, especially with its attempt at drama quite a few times throughout the film.

With that said, when the laughs hit, they hit hard. There's something about the quick witted banter between Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele that it becomes addicting to watch after a while. I just feel they could have taken it a step further. The runtime feels a little long in the tooth too, especially towards the climax.

The supporting cast is okay, with a few surprises here and there, but the real hero here is Keanu the kitten. It isn't named Keanu by accident, and I enjoyed how they played off his name throughout the film. But don't go in expecting Keanu to be the center focus. The kitten only gets like 25 minutes of screen time, but it isn't wasted.

Overall, Keanu features the incredible duo of Key and Peele and fans of the sketch show will no doubt walk away loving this, but there was still some untapped areas to be tackled. Whether it's a sequel to Keanu, a return to TV, or a completely fresh idea, I'm down to watch anything these guys do.

+Incredible duo

+Brilliantly stupid premise

-But it ends up feeling cliché and uninspired

-Uneven

6.8/10