If you haven’t been able to see even a sketch from the comedy duo Key and Peele at this point than there is a case to be made that you indeed, live under a rock. Using their platform on Comedy Central (established in 2012) combined with a savvy use of social media the pair have created a hysterical platform that folds in observational, racial and absurdist humor (Check out this early gem .) They took the lofty expectations set by Dave Chappelle and nearly met them at every turn.
So it’s a natural turn to bring that whip smart acumen to the big-screen. So behind the very capable script by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens (while employing the thespian services of Keegan-Michael Key) comes Keanu – a crazy mix of Homeward Bound, Pineapple Express and Midnight Run.
Rell (Jordan Peele) is in a rut. His girlfriend has left him and his prospects are dire. In desperate need of any motivation beside his bong a mysterious scratch wakes him from a depression spiral. When he opens the door the most adorable little kitten is waiting with an even more adorable meow. Rell latches onto his newfound companion, giving him the name Keanu. He gets the cat copious toys and scratch-towers to climb. He even teaches him to scratch viciously at an old picture of his girlfriend.
Meanwhile across town Rell’s best friend Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) is seeing his wife and kids off for a weekend with friends. Clarence is a tightly-wound government employee who is so in need of a night out his wife (Nia Long) implores him to get out and do ANYTHING to let loose. With the family out of the house Clarence heads over to Rell’s for a night out to remember.
Things start innocently enough after the friends head to the new ‘Liam Neesons’ movie. But when the boys get back to Rell’s they find his apartment ransacked and Keanu nowhere to be found. This sends them to a strip-club (aptly named HPV) looking for answers and the innocent night takes a bit of a turn.
What follows is the world’s worst executed dive into the L.A. gangster underworld. Rell and Clarence quickly realize their square, suburban look won’t work and adapt the persona’s TekTonic and Shark Tank. They don gangster walks and accents to further the façade all with the pursuit of returning Keanu to his rightful owners.
In the wrong hands, Keanu could’ve been something as grossly misguided as Malibu’s Most Wanted. In the right hands the film feels fresh – even in a fairly rehashed formula. The buddy comedy is well worn territory but what Key and Peele find in it is often hysterical racial undertones. Their dissection of black, masculine culture leads to some of the film’s most raucous laughs and not because it’s cheap but because the actors understand the dichotomy. It’s really funny to have Clarence love George Michael and convince his new gangbanger friends that he was a light-skinned brother who killed his partner.
Taken to that extreme, Keanu and its jokes are pointed and hilarious. Too often in the third act however the film has to plod forward and we’re treated to fairly dull action scenes. This slows the momentum when they are clearly intended to do the opposite. Luckily it doesn’t completely dilute a fantastic big screen debut. I’m excited to have voices like Key and Peele making movies together – there are very few people who could make it believable how far a man will go for his feline companion.
Rating: 
