But the creative risks are always the same: Either they attempt to string together sketches on a bigger scale, which can make a film lumpy and episodic, or they take a thin comic premise and stretch it well past the breaking point. “The cat was named after him as an act of love for his movies, and especially the kind of movies that he makes”, Peter added. “They’re epic and fun but the bullets were real”. Early on in the movie, the two learn that Keanu has been stolen by the Blips, a group of gangsters led by Cheddar (Method Man), but Rell is determined to rescue Keanu, so the two try to blend in with this suspicious crowd with whom they share no similarities.
Advertisement
“Keanu” is rated R for violence, language throughout, drug use and sexuality/nudity.
“Action is our favorite genre”, said Jordan Peele.
It’s understandable, as most know “Key & Peele” as a veritable factory of genre-bending viral sketches that engage with the tropes of Hollywood. Keanu wanders through Los Angeles and ends up at the home of Rell (Peele), an unmotivated stoner made even more inert by a recent break-up. “How ABOUT them Keys and Peeles!” “We wanted to expand on that anyway, so we thought he could do the voiceover for the cat in that scene”. “So in that way people can identify”. Instead of appearing on screen, he’ll voice Keanu during a sequence in which Peele’s character is guided by the kitten during a particular bad drug induced trip.
As far as “code switching” – or toggling between the ways in which one speaks – they are experts.
Suffice it to say that Rell and Clarence are also uncomfortable with murder, and in the course of trying to get back the adorable Keanu, they find themselves faced with increasingly violent scenarios. There’s not a lot of originality in Keanu, but that I hadn’t seen before.
Their comedy hinges on “a sense of surprise”, Key said. “The script was really amusing and intriguing”. A scene in which “Shark Tank” holds court in his minivan, educating his new gangsta friends on the subject of George Michael’s “Father Figure” is bliss, not least because it gives the supporting actors (Darrell-Britt Gibson, Jason Mitchell of “Straight Outta Compton”, and Jamar Malachi Neighbors) plenty of space to play as well.
In the world of movies, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and cats.
There’s a unusual wish fulfillment at play in this film.
But few make better playthings of racial stereotype than Key and Peele.
Advertisement
Both men have biracial parents and say code-switching was a regular part of growing up for them. But when Keanu – who is actually pretty adorable – goes missing after Rell’s house is broken into by a drug gang, Rell enlists his nerdy cousin Clarence (Key), a corporate team-building specialist, to infiltrate the gang and help get his cat back from its leader (Method Man). The title character is a tabby kitten so ridiculously cute that everyone who sees him wants to keep him – even risky druglords.
