REVIEW: Keanu proves to audiences that these two extraordinary actors are safer with skits.
By Dyala Harb, Staff Writer
Actor-comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele starred in their first major movie, Keanu, which was released on April 29, 2016. The plot of the movie is centered around two men, portrayed by Key and Peele, who go through a great deal of trouble to retrieve a kitten. When mistaken for a notorious pair of drug dealers, the two men assume the roles in order to get Keanu, the kitten, back. The movie is categorized as “action/adventure” and is nearly one hour and forty minutes long. As of May 20, 2016, Keanu has received a rating of 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, a website that allows fans to rate movies. Regardless of its rating, Keanu has confirmed the idea that Key and Peele make the most of their talents through skits alone.
The comedic duo first rose to fame when their hilarious skits gained a lot of popularity. Key and Peele have an incredible ability to make touchy subjects a hilarious topic for everyone through their brief skits. The remarkable pair won the Peabody Award in 2013 and even received encouragement from President Obama, who participated in the performance of one of their most popular sketches alongside Key at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2015. The two managed their career together for a long period of time at Comedy Central. The uproarious television series, Key and Peele, first aired on the channel in 2012. After five seasons of the Key and Peele’s priceless sketches, the two announced that there would not be a sixth season. Following this decision, Keanu was released, starring these two as the leading characters.
How did Keanu establish that Key and Peele were better off sticking to skits? “Keanu is a 10-minute sketch that’s been blown up to bloated feature length,” Manohla Dargis, movie critic, declared in a movie review in the New York Times. Dargis couldn’t have said it better. It breaks my heart to say this, but films are not their forte. “[Keanu was] an initially amusing but fatally overstretched action-comedy,” Justin Chang, another movie critic, criticized. It may be hard to believe that such lively and amusing actors could allow a movie to seem “lengthened” for no reason. However, after watching Keanu, I find it as clear as day that the film would’ve made a much better skit than a movie. This was an interesting reach for the two, but unfortunately it did not reflect their best abilities.
In an interview with Reddit, Peele revealed that Keanu was not in the original draft of the movie. Keep in mind that Keanu is the title of the movie and retrieving Keanu is the primary motive of the adventure that is depicted throughout the movie. How could the movie have been introduced without the kitten? If the storyline had been created for a classic Key and Peele skit, it wouldn’t have left out this major element of the comedy in the first place.
If you’ve watched the movie trailer, you’ve practically seen all of the funny moments. I’m not implying that Keanu was not funny or entertaining, but the best scenes are already in the previews. If you’ve seen Key and Peele’s sketches, it’s ridiculous to say that this movie is some of their best work.
Maybe I’m just not ready for such a big change in Key and Peele’s performances. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Nonetheless, the movie clarified that the duo is destined for short, humorous acts.