It is said that there are few bonds stronger than that of a man and his pet, that they build a foundation of friendship and love so strong one can move mountains to get to the other. And as a pet owner myself, I feel it's true: my dog Ace can say more to me by cuddling up by the fire than most people can when talking. Keanu is a film about the bond between a man and a stray kitten he finds, his cousin, and dangerous gangland drug dealing (one of these things is not like the others....).
It's needless to say that this is a comedy, pouring both intense violence and adorable kittens into the same scenes, and naturally this film is the product of a comedy group: Key and Peele, who have had much success with their comedic stylings on Comedy Central. And, upon watching this, one can see why: while the humor is crass and sometimes overdoes itself, the two have wonderful chemistry and build off of each other in a manner similar to that of Abbott and Costello (though not as effective). There's a distinctive sense of mutual respect and enjoyment from working with each other you get from seeing them, and when they do get to have fun with the roles, the results are delightful. But throw them in a serious situation and they lose quite a bit of their luster.
The plot involves two cousins- Clarence, who lives a stable if quite dull life, and Rell, a bong-hitting bachelor. Clarence goes to visit Rell, who is torn apart by his breakup with his girlfriend. Rell, however, finds a kitten at his door and proceeds to take it in, naming him Keanu. Keanu quickly becomes Rell's everything, complete with a large cat nook in the house and a picture of Rell's girlfriend affixed to the scratching post, and as such he is devastated when, returning home from a late night film, finds his home broken into... with Keanu nowhere in sight. A local tip leads them to a gang known as the Blips (members were kicked out of the Bloods and Crips), and Rell drags his unwilling cousin on an adventure to discover what happened to his beloved kitty. The two end up masquerading as two notorious criminals known as the Allentown Brothers (under the names 'Tec-Tonic' and 'Shark Tank'), and get tangled up in a web of lies, gunfights and drug lords in their attempts to bring the cat home.
The interesting thing about the film isn't entirely the relation between Rell and the cat; it's the relation between the cat and everything else. In the start of the film, Keanu's first owner (a Mexican drug king) is gunned down by the real Allentown Brothers, who take a liking to the kitten as well. Keanu somehow runs from them and ends up in Rell's neighborhood, then is taken by gangsters, and yet still somehow finds his way constantly back into Rell's arms, which of course ties him into the stories of so many other characters who want the cat as their own pet. It's a wild ride for not only Rell, but for Clarence, who must not only come to terms with violence beyond his comfort zone, but to learn how gangsters talk. Gratuitous use of a word I'm not going to say follows.
Of course, where Keanu falls short is the side plots and characters. There's a short scene about how Clarence and some of the gangsters bond and communicate over George Michael, and I would have enjoyed more scenes like that. I liked the gangsters, and wanted more of them. My personal favorite characters, the actual Allentown Brothers, have lots of bizarre aspects that I'd love to see the film expand on: they hold up in an abandoned Showbiz Pizza, never speak, are seemingly unstoppable in gunfights, and play rock-paper-scissors to determine which one gets to do the dirty deed of finishing off the last one alive. One of them even has a necklace fitted with the unmentionables of his previous victims (as one of the boys says, "Please tell me those are fingers."). I would have loved a film about these guys, or at least to know them a little better. Alas, not every aspect of the film can be good. Regardless, Keanu comes off as a gangland comedy that shows the lengths a man is willing to go for his beloved pet. Maybe it' the pet lover in me, but I had a lot of fun at the film. And, at the end, isn't that what a comedy is supposed to do?
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
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To be clear, yes, there is a scene where the cat talks. And yes, it IS voiced by Keanu Reeves (it did take place during a high, so luckily the kitten didn't talk all the way through). Couldn't let that joke slide, huh? Kitten's cute, though.
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