Key and Peele’s ‘Keanu’ finds comedy matrix

If the premise of Keanu — two adult men spending a violent weekend searching for a lost kitten — seems far too slender for a feature film, well, you underestimate the abilities of Key and Peele.

That would be Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the dazzling comic minds behind the acclaimed Comedy Central television series that concluded its run after five seasons last fall.

In the series’ glorious run, the comedians introduced the world to the concept of Liam Neesons, baroquely named college football players and a couple multiplexes’ worth of cinematic parodies.

It’s that last element of Key & Peele most evident in Keanu, a riotous homage to a very specific strain of action filmmaking.

Those who grew up with (or have a deep affinity for) the oeuvres of John Woo, Tony Scott or John McTiernan, or appreciate the blood-spattered efficiency of sleek, harsh B-movies like last year’s John Wick, will find much to love here.

Director Peter Atencio, a longtime Key and Peele collaborator (he directed every one of Key & Peele’s 53 episodes), working from a script by Peele and Alex Rubens, grounds what is an absurd story — with a handful of ludicrous detours — with well-rounded protagonists, kinetic set pieces and some genuine shocks.

Key stars as suburban nebbish Clarence Goobril, an uptight father and husband, whose cousin Rell (Peele) is reeling from a breakup as the film opens. (Before the audience is introduced to the pair, there is a frenetic, bullet-riddled sequence set in a church — also featuring Key and Peele as taciturn assassins — that would bring a tear to Woo’s eye.)

When Rell discovers a kitten at his front door, the briskly paced story kicks into gear.

In short order, said feline (dubbed Keanu by Rell: “I think it means ‘cool breeze’ in Hawaiian,” he explains to Clarence) is stolen from him by a group of murderous, drug-dealing thugs, led by the vicious Cheddar (Method Man).

The narrative unfolds over the course of one wild, spectacularly violent and drug-fueled 36 hours, as Clarence and Rell pose as sinister, callous killers they are not, in order to reclaim the adorable Keanu. (The crowd let out a contented “aww” nearly every time the kitten appeared at a preview screening I attended.)

Much of the film’s delights lie in its surprises, so revealing more of the plot’s twists and turns would spoil the fun — although it is worth noting Keanu’s abundant and seemingly unironic affection for George Michael’s solo catalog, which could change forever the way the world hears his hit single Faith.

What keeps Keanu from slipping into mindless lunacy is the nuanced, sensitive work of Key and Peele (who, yes, slip in a Liam Neesons reference). Even while the supporting characters are, generally, playing broad stereotypes, the pair’s effervescent chemistry propels the film and makes the familiar narrative seem fresh, even as it hits the expected beats.

Pitched as a sort of film Hollywood struggles to make in an age of endless sequels and franchise-building — an action comedy that manages to portray both elements convincingly — Keanu also draws upon a deep well of satire and dry wit, exploring race and gender in ways most blockbusters avoid altogether. (That said, Clarence’s wife, played by Nia Long, seems to exist purely as a plot device, which is surprising, given Tiffany Haddish’s fully realized gangbanger Hi-C.)

The pair also understands the value of brevity — Keanu is a lean 98 minutes, a refreshing change of pace from Judd Apatow’s two hour-plus comedy marathons of late — and the judicious usage of cameos (again, flying in the face of star-packed-for-no-reason comedies, such as the recent Zoolander 2) to achieve maximum impact. The movie ends exactly when it should, and crams in plenty of high- and low-brow jokes along the way.

Keanu is fueled by a clear love of not only the action genre, but moviemaking in general — one of Rell’s hobbies is making a calendar (strictly for personal use) of Keanu posing in recreations of scenes from Reservoir Dogs, Mad Max: Fury Road and Nightmare on Elm Street.

The appreciation for the rhythms and visual language of a certain style of movie animates nearly every frame of Keanu — Key and Peele kid because they care.

What’s more, by lovingly tweaking Hollywood conventions, Key and Peele also manage to deftly transition from the small screen to the silver screen. (Key and Peele have each appeared in numerous other films in bit roles, but Keanu marks the duo’s first official joint cinematic effort.)

That leap is far more difficult to make than it might seem. Melissa McCarthy, moving from her CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, is perhaps the current patron saint of such a move, and Amy Schumer also eased from her critically acclaimed Comedy Central series to the multiplex with last year’s Trainwreck. But Keanu instills confidence that, together or apart, Key and Peele will handle Hollywood just fine.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Key and Peele’s ‘Keanu’ finds comedy matrix."