Keanu

Year: 2016
Genre: Comedy
Directed: Peter Atencio
Stars: Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Jason Mitchell, Luis Guzman, Will Forte, Nia Long, Rob Huebel
Production: New Line Cinema

Okay, I'll admit it, the cat was cute. Rather the five or so kittens that were used to bring the adorably fuzzy little Keanu to life were cute. Who ever trained the kittens to mew on command, jump into people's arms and pose for a movie parody calendar deserves an award of some kind. As for the movie itself...meh.

Dawwww!!!

The infinitely talented sketch comedy performers Key and Peele play Clarence (Key) and Rell (Peele), two hopelessly inept cousins whose lives are change forever with the arrival of Keanu the kitten. The kitten itself was a witness to the execution of cartel lieutenant and for unknown reasons is being hunted by the notorious "Allentown Boys" (also played by Key and Peele). In a cosmic coincidence the 17th Street Blips ransack Rell's house mistaking it for his neighbor's pad, a drug dealer named Hulka (Forte). They take Keanu, Rell and Clarence track them down, they talk a big game to get into the room and steal back the cat; mayhem ensues.

The film won me over in the first five minutes with an inspired comedic shootout inspired by the work of director John Woo. I was further taken in by the characters of Rell and Clarence both of whom are happy in their geeky, innocuous ways. Sure they were a bit goofy and sure their nebbishness occasionally became over-broad but their easy chemistry and inspired moments of back-and-forth made for an easy introduction. Once the plot kicked in however, the film slowly deflated from a loving send-up of action movie cliches into an extended one-note joke that wears out its welcome right quick.

Make no mistake, you take away the film's leads, this film is essentially a remake of Corky Romano (2001) only instead of recovering evidence our heroes are looking for a cat. The direction in Keanu is so woefully pedestrian and bereft of personality that all the humor, and I mean all of it is provided by extended moments of improvisation. Key and Peele are certainly great at winging it as proven by their energetic sketches on their Comedy Central show Key & Peele (2012-Present). But those sketches last at most ten minutes, this movie is an hour and forty minutes of two bungling idiots pretending to be hardcore.

Ironically it's during those cringe-worthy moments of fronting and street speak that an underlying theme emerges, thus saving Keanu from being completely forgettable. In the beginning of the film it is clumsily mentioned that Clarence worries so much about other people's opinions of him that he can't seem to just let loose. As Clarence is exposed to Cheddar (Method Man), Trunk (Britt-Gibson) and the rest of the Blips through his alter-ego "Shark Tank," his character goes through a warped kind of progression. Though the communal trappings of the gang life he finds the approval he struggles to get from his wife (Long). Could this be a commentary on struggling to find a sense of identity while sifting through the minefields of social acceptance and blackness? It is not for me to say though it's not like Key and Peele have never mined such themes for the sake of good chuckles.

Most gangsta guy you're likely to meet.

The film is serviceable as a comedy, doling out just enough laughs for people to feel they got their money's worth provided they don't think too hard about the plot. Keanu however is not worth repeated viewings. It's completely undermined by the faddish improv-cut-paste method that has all but taken over American comedy. It's the type of comedy that begs the audience to laugh instead of focusing on the story elements and letting the laughs emanate organically. It's a shame too, that Keanu is one cute cat.

Final Grade: D+