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.
