In theory, there’s nothing wrong with a movie that’s a collection of sketches—plenty of great ones are. But of all the sketches collected in Key and Peele’s Keanu (which I saw in “in-progress” form at SXSW, though that descriptor seems merely a loophole to allow a public screening before the official premiere), there are none so memorable as the concept itself. To force a bad cat metaphor, Keanu feels like a ball of yarn that Key and Peele were content to just keep batting in the air without unraveling.
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (why couldn’t the bald guy be named “Peele”?) are so good at making almost anything funny, that Keanu feels like they maybe just never finished writing it.