Keanu
Keanumay be a glorified feature-lengthKey and Peeleskit, but it’s also an entertaining and thematically-layered action/comedy parody.
Keanustars Keegan - Michael Key and Jordan Peele as ( respectively ) Clarence and Rell , a mild - mannered , middle - class , matrimonial fellow and his ne’er - do - well friend . Rell has recently fall into a slump after having been ditch by his longtime girlfriend , but then finds his spirit and sense of purpose renew when he pick up a dispossessed kitten at his doorstep and adopts the vernal animal as his fresh favorite , naming it Keanu . However , trouble arrives one night when after having run to see a picture show to kick off their weekend together ( what with Clarence ’s household being out of Ithiel Town ) , Clarence and Rell find that the latter ’s home has been burglarized and ransacked - and that the mysterious thieves have taken Keanu along with them .
Clarence and Rell , acting on a tip from Rell ’s pot supplier Hulka ( Will Forte ) , cross Keanu to a local strip cabaret , where they find that a mobster dub ' Cheddar ' ( Method Man ) has taken and adopted Keanu as his own . compulsive to get his beloved kitty back no matter what , Rell convinces Clarence to help him pretend that the pair are , in fact , a ruthless duo of criminal / drug dealers from out of town that everyone ’s blab out about , so that Chedder will make a mess with them - where , in return for their service , he will give them Keanu ( or , rather , the " gangster dearie " they ’re in the market for ) . Of course , that plan does n’t exactly go smoothly , especially once therealout of town crooks in question get wind of what Clarence and Rell are up to …
Comedians Keegan - Michael Key and Jordan Peele have make themselves a loyal cult thanks to their exertion on Comedy Central ’s acclaimed sketch comedy seriesKey and Peele(which air out from 2012 - 2015 ) , in addition to their legion guest - star appearances on a multifariousness of TV shows in recent year ( including , their recurring role onFargoseason 1).Keanuis the first full - duration film that was headline by the pair , in plus to having been co - write by Peele andKey and Peelewriter Alex Rubens , as well as direct byKey and Peeleseries ' helmsman Peter Atencio . For these reasons , it ought to come as little surprise thatKeanuin many ways feels most like , well , an extendedKey and Peelesketch … though luckily , in the best way potential .
On the Earth’s surface - stratum , Keanuexplores its ( comically nonsensical ) premise through what amount to a largely bare - off-white three routine narrative - unlike the richer type story that Key and Peele ’s fellow Comedy Central sketch comedy breakout star , Amy Schumer , explored in her own full - length piece of writing / star vehicle , Trainwreck , back in 2015 . However , whereasTrainwreck(arguably ) end up leave out the sting social commentary / satire of Schumer ’s best comedy sketch oeuvre , Keanutackles upshot related to racial / ethnical individuality and stereotypes with the same mentality and inventiveness that Key and Peele did throughout their previous sketch comedy work . As a result , Keanuwind up being a much more superimposed film than its ( charmingly ) silly and unproblematic frame-up would evoke .
Keanusuccessfully riffs on visual , character , and even melodious tropes that are commonly assort with inner - city law-breaking drama / thriller genre fare , be it via over the top slow - motion shoot - out and/or a frequently comically operatic soundtrack composed by Steven Jablonsky ( theTransformersfilm series ) and Nathan Whitehead ( The Purge : Anarchy ) . This filmmaking approach not only congratulate the moving picture ’s plot beat in an immediate sense - as the characters Clarence and Rell likewise do a ( comedic ) imitation of every gangster cliche they can retrieve of to keep their charade - but also on a meta level . This allow Key , Peele and their confederate here to draw divine guidance from , and in turn smartly send - up , a kind of conventions and stereotypes link with Hollywood movies about black and/or inner - city gang culture .
The team behindKeanudon’t restrain themselves to satirizing and/or poking merriment at crime / gangster picture show only , as the moving picture ( like many aKey and Peelesketch before it ) also explicitly cite a bit of democratic Hollywood lineament - and yes , Keanuincludes a joke that rotate around a sure thespian who may’ve even inspired the name of the eponymic kitty . Much of the celluloid ’s humor ( that which hit its Gospel According to Mark and misses alike ) come from the back and forth banter between its two leads ; from a directorial perspective though , Atencio still does a solid job at integrating enough in the way of amusing edits and/or visually - drive comedy into the proceedings . This , in tour , allowsKeanuto feel more cinematic and not just like a collection of scenes where Key and Peele improvise and/or bounce jokes off one another ( even given the pic ’s lower - budget aesthetic and design ) .
Key and Peele , as you would expect , are the main attraction inKeanu , along with the adorable title part ( who was play by no less than seven dissimilar cats ) . Similar to the protagonists in many a comic - lead fomite before , there are obvious parallel between the nerdy ( and sissy ) persona Clarence and Rell in this picture show and Key and Peele ’s real - life public personas . Neither Clarence nor Rell are provide with an especially rich or meaningful character arc inKeanu , but the tried - and - true chemistry between the pair ( when coupled with the self - reflexive nature of their function ) make Key and Peele ’s onscreen opposite number leisurely to root for , even as they blunder from one funny mishap to another . The fact that Key and Peele also play an ominously silent non - local malefactor ( known as Smoke and Oil Dresden ) whose action setKeanu ’s patch in movement only adds another layer of mirthful meta - comedy to the legal proceeding .
Keanu ’s affirm mould , like Key and Peele , in general surrender solid performance and make the caricatures that they ’re play all the likeable for it . That work party admit Tiffany Haddish ( The Carmichael Show ) as ' how-do-you-do - C ' , Jason Mitchell ( Straight Outta Compton ) as ' Bud ' , Jamar Malachi Neighbors ( Underbelly Blues ) as ' Stitches ' , and Method Man as ' Cheddar ' - whose name , for those who ’re unaware , is a nod to his type Melvin " Cheese " Wagstaff onThe Wire . FormerSNLactor ( and currentThe Last Man on Earthstar ) Will Forte is likewise mirthful in his small role as Rell ’s not - so - intimidating weed principal , Hulka , as are the handful of extra name actors who pop up along the way .
Keanumay be a glorified feature - lengthKey and Peeleskit , but it ’s also an entertaining and thematically - layered military action / comedy parody . Those who are consecrate fans of Key and Peele ’s premature Comedy Central sketch comedy employment should get additional mileage out ofKeanufor that intellect , since the latter delivers much of the same brand of sense of humour for the running prison term of a full - length feature article - but has n’t already draw out of gas by the time the oddment credits embark on rolling . AlthoughKeanudoes contain verbatim nod to a phone number of famousKey and Peelesketches , it ’s nonetheless a undecomposed starting spot for anyone who ’s less familiar with that goggle box show , but wants to find out if Key and Peele ’s temper is their cup of tea . It ’s plausible ( even likely ) that succeeding Key and Peele - run movies will offer diminishing return should their comedy approach arise stagnant and/or flunk to evolve further - but for the metre being , watching a movie where Key and Peele bring together force for save a kitten from mobster is , indeed , enough on its own .
‘Hi-C’ (Tiffany Haddish) and ‘Bud’ (Jason Mitchell) in Keanu
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Keanuis now playing in U.S. theater land - wide . It is 98 minutes long and is Rated gas constant for ferocity , oral communication throughout , drug use and sex / nudeness .
Written by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens , Keanu is a 2016 Action and Comedy film star Peele and Keegan - Michael Key as two cousins who must break into a gang in edict to get their beloved kitten back .
‘Hi-C’ (Tiffany Haddish) and ‘Bud’ (Jason Mitchell) in Keanu
Key and Peele in a tight spot in Keanu
