Keanu

Director: Peter Atencio
Screenplay: Jordan Peele & Alex Rubens
Stars: Jordan Peele (Rell Williams / Oil Dresden), Keegan-Michael Key (Clarence Goobril / Smoke Dresden), Tiffany Haddish (Hi-C), Method Man (Cheddar), Darrell Britt-Gibson (Trunk), Jason Mitchell (Bud), Jamar Malachi Neighbors (Stitches), Luis Guzmán (Bacon), Will Forte (Hulka), Nia Long (Hannah), Rob Huebel (Spencer), Madison Wolfe (Alexis)
MPAA Rating: R
Year of Release: 2016
Country: U.S.
Keanu
KeanuA year after their Comedy Central sketch show Key & Peele came to an end, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have reunited on the big screen in Keanu playing suburban milquetoasts forced to act all gangsta in order to retrieve a ridiculously adorable kitten. It’s a one-joke premise of an action comedy that is stretched about as far as it can go in every conceivable direction, and while the film certainly lacks the subversive panache and consistent hilarity of their short-form sketch comedy, Key and Peele’s chemistry is strong enough to see it through, although one can only hope that their next vehicle provides a sturdier foundation.

The story begins with the titular kitty escaping a massive shoot-out in a secret drug lab and winding up on the doorstep of Rell Williams (Peele), a genial, pot-smoking slacker who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend. When his house is burgled and the kitty, whom Rell names after his favorite actor, is catnapped, Rell goes after him with the help of his cousin, Clarence Goobril (Key), a button-down family man who talks, according to Rell, like Richard Pryor imitating a white man. From information supplied by Rell’s goof of a dreadlocked pot dealer (Will Forte), they track the cat back to a strip club that serves as headquarters for a gang known as the Blips, so named because it is composed of rejects from the Bloods and the Crips. Because Keanu is now in the hands of ruthless Blip leader Cheddar (Method Man), Rell and Clarence must quickly forge new hard-core gangsta identities with the hastily thought-up names Tectonic and Shark Tank, whom Cheddar enlists to work for him in exchange for handing over the feline.

Watching Rell and Clarence quickly transform from harmless nobodies into swaggering, foul-mouthed criminals sans wardrobe change (Rell is still sporting a lime green hoodie and Clarence keeps his plaid shirt and beige Members Only-esque jacket) is one of the film’s greatest pleasures, although by the end the joke has been pretty much worn out. It does provide a springboard for some inspired sequences, though, including one where Rell and Hi-C (Tiffany Haddish), the Blips’ lone female member, execute a bizarre drug deal with a familiar Hollywood actress (who will remain unnamed here) while Clarence convinces a bunch of gangsters of the musical bona fides of George Michael (a running gag that culminates in a drug-trip scene that finds Clarence dancing within Michael’s “Faith” video).

Director Peter Atencio, a Key & Peele veteran, keeps the tone jaunty and slightly off-kilter, although he often has to resort to ramping up the violence whenever the comedy starts to flag. This works to an extent, but in a few instances it just starts to feel desperate. But, whenever Keanu is in danger of sinking completely, its stars come to the rescue—and I’m not just talking about Key and Peele. The adorable feline fuzzball about whom all the hoopla is made proves to be a star in his own right, which goes a long way toward selling the film’s absurdist premise involving unlikely characters being so determined to claim ownership of him that they will risk life and limb.

Copyright ©2016 James Kendrick

Thoughts? E-mail James Kendrick

All images copyright © Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema

Overall Rating: (2.5)




James Kendrick

James Kendrick offers, exclusively on Qnetwork, over 2,500 reviews on a wide range of films. All films have a star rating and you can search in a variety of ways for the type of movie you want. If you're just looking for a good movie, then feel free to browse our library of Movie Reviews.


© 1998 - 2024 Qnetwork.com - All logos and trademarks in this site are the property of their respective owner.