In theaters this weekend is "Keanu" and we aren’t talking about the guy from Matrix. Keanu Reeves isn’t the only person with that name — well, he might be the only person with that name, but in this movie Keanu is a cat. A cat… that gets kidnapped… or cat-napped. And Chris Van Vliet talked to Key and Peele about what makes that so funny.
Key and Peele have been making people laugh for years on their Comedy Central show with creative characters and memorable sketches.
Their most popular, called "The Substitute Teacher" has racked up 93 million views on YouTube.
Chris Van Vliet: "How do you think the substitute teacher would pronounce my name?"
Keegan-Michael Key: "You mean Che-rice?"
Chris Van Vliet: "That’s not my name."
Keegan-Michael Key: "Che-rice! Say it! Say it correctly!"
Chris Van Vliet: "Chris."
Keegan-Michael Key: "Say it correctly. Say it correctly."
Chris Van Vliet: "Chee-rice."
Keegan-Michael Key: "Thank you so much. If you’re going to say it, say it right!"
After a very solid career on TV, "Keanu" is their big screen debut — with their same brand of comedy.
Jordan Peele: "The Keanu in this movie is a kitten and it is the cutest kitten in the world that everyone wants to get their hands on. And Method Man gets his hands on it and his gang of incompetent gangsters."
Key and Peele make it their mission to steal Keanu back by pretending to be gangsters.
Chris Van Vliet: "Why is it funnier if a cat gets kidnapped?"
Keegan-Michael Key: "First of all, you’ve never seen it, you’ve never seen a cat get kidnapped before. A kitten seems so like helpless and vulnerable and you feel like you’ve not done your responsibility in protecting this animal."
Sure, Keanu could have been a dog… but the guys did some extensive studies to make sure that using a kitten was the right choice.
Jordan Peele: "You just take a general population of females
Keegan-Michael Key: "Yeah, any females."
Jordan Peele: "Any human women and you hold up a little puppy and they go ‘Aww.’ And you hold up a kitten and they go–
Both: "Ahhh, oh my God!"
Keegan-Michael Key: "That’s what happens every time. So we’re looking for that reaction in the movie theater."
"Keanu" is in theaters Friday, April 29.