Written by: Jordan Peele & Alex Rubens
Starring: Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Jason Mitchell, Luis Guzmán
Rating: [3.5/5]
The positive impact a pet can have in the life of a person knows no bounds. To have a creature that, for the most part, has an unconditional love for its owner makes even the darkest days a bit brighter. It’s a major part of why so many households elect to have a pet in their home. In Keanu, every single character understands this importance as the whole brawl breaks out as they all fight for who gets to keep possession of one adorable kitten.
Distraught from his place in life at the moment, Rell (Jordan Peele) has a small kitten appear on his doorstep. This kitten completely changes his life, but when he returns to his home with his cousin, Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key), they find the home ransacked and Keanu taken. This leads them on a chase to find where the cute kitten is, and they will stop at nothing to get him back.
I love all of the pets I’ve had throughout my life, but if Keanu does anything as a narrative, it questions if I would go this far for any of them. The lengths Rell and Clarence go to get them involved in gang warfare, a cartel, and two hitmen that bring chills to the spines of all of the aforementioned parties. That’s a lot to do, but this film makes the case that the two leads are not the only ones willing to die for this kitten, which solidifies the type of humor we have before us. Any pretense of seriousness goes out the window, and we just go on this ride to see where it ends and who remains alive when the curtains close.
To set the scene, this film does show the importance Keanu has made in the life of Rell. After recently suffering a breakup, Rell is going through the emotional gauntlet, and this kitten completely changed things for him. Therefore, he and his cousin Clarence, who have never hurt a fly, begin to wade in some dangerous waters. This serves as the source of much of the humor in this film as these two suburban men need to completely change their personalities in order to fit in this world.
This makes for the perfect arena for Key and Peele to unleash their comedic genius, and they do just that. Their portrayal of their characters makes for the best moments in the film. By the sheer fact they are initially confused as the Allentown Brothers keep them alive, and the roles their characters need to play have them calling themselves Shark Tank and Tech-Tonic. Key, specifically, plays a suburban guy so well and particularly shines as he tries to be there for his cousin and still lets his real self peek out every once in a while. Both of these gentlemen meet the silliness of this story at every level as it continues to get more absurd as more individuals begin to get involved in this fight for the ownership of this kitten.
While this film mostly operates as a comedy, there is some fun action on display, especially when the real Allentown Brothers make their presence known. They open up the film with a shootout showing their ruthlessness and why many fear them. It only makes it funnier that Key and Peele also portray these intimidating figures in these sequences, while also turning around and also giving their comedic performances as the two leads. Multifaceted performers as they serve as the backbone of this film. By no means would it have worked without their portrayals.
Filled with plenty of laughs and violence, Keanu poses the question of how far each individual in this story will go for a kitten. Evidently, it’s not just some random kitten but a very cute one. This kitten sets off an order of events so violent that it begins to border Helen of Troy territory as a figure many died for. This silliness makes its way through every frame of this film, and despite all of it, the love Rell has for that kitten is never, at any point, questionable, and that’s the power of owning a pet. A belief system this film certainly ascribes to and demonstrates what can happen through that love.
