NEW RELEASE REVIEW OF PEELE & KEY IN KEANU

Year Released: 2016

Funny how the funniest thing about KEANU has hardly anything to do with a kitten owned by a mobster; while the best aspect has our two comedic actors, Jordan Peele (resembling a wannabe Ice Cube combined with Tracy Morgan) and Keegan-Michael Key (The Rock had he never lifted a single weight), pulling off being something they aren't around people who are: And that's not very funny either, because their lives depend on not being seen as two "white guy movie geek types" around, for the most part, real life gangstas... And these two Woody Allen-like (whether they know it or not, that's the groundbreaker in the neurotic male department in which they're derived) hyperactive personas seem to be their thing, and you're reading from a person who had no idea they were a famous duo already...

Kittens do rule, actually

And yet, judging by the movie itself, just minutes in, actually, their natural interplay felt like a sequel or small part of something much bigger: So now the big question for this particular venture starring the already-popular team-up, is, was KEANU actually funny? Well certain scenes evoke more of a light smile than any kind of noise, but the rambling arguments, like two people drowning in syllables, between two comic reliefs without an actual straight man, can seem hopeless. Who's who here, exactly?

Key's a little more uptight being he has a wife and kid at home, drives a mini-van, and doesn't smoke loads of pot, like Peele; and yet, Peele does the most whining and has his own weight, weighing him down from being the "perpetually loaded one" like, for example, Chong was to Cheech back in the day. Their entire act almost feels like both are trying to discover, for themselves, who can get the biggest laugh, from everyone else...

But that doesn't matter because it's during moments they either slip so deeply into their own "character," on a mission, backed by heavy rap music and George Michael for giggles, to pull off a possibly dangerous drug score in order to get Peele's kitten back, set free during another drug score, that both comics prove they can really, actually... act! In fact, judging by this movie, they're far more talented than humorous. Meanwhile, the drawbacks are how long particular scenes take to get to the point, or any point, and how there's one too many action-packed, near-death climaxes when, after a while, even the adorable kitten needs a cat nap.

RATING: **1/2