In defense of Keanu Reeves: He's not good but he's not that bad

Keanu Reeves in Point Break

Keanu Reeves is not a good actor. I'm not going to pretend that he is. I just think it's become quite fashionable to consider him one of the worst actors ever, which I think is unfair.

For several years, with the brief outliers of Speed and The Matrix, it's become really uncool to like Keanu Reeves, and very hip to ridicule him. The "Sad Keanu" meme is just one of many recent parodies of this preternaturally good looking guy.

Last night, after re-watching the totally ridiculous (but still really fun and entertaining) cult classic Point Break, I found myself re-evaluating the guy's talents. And I've determined he's really not that bad.

Take Point Break for example. He's totally credible as an action star. He looks amazing. And he seems more aware of the absurdity of the movie he's in than say the late Patrick Swayze who's performs his horribly written philosophizing surfer crook with complete earnest sincerity.

Watching the movie I recalled a friend once telling that me they first saw Speed while abroad and dubbed in Spanish, which led her to see Reeves as a better actor. And I think she was onto something.

Reeves has perhaps the worst voice in the history of movies. When people think of someone "sounding dumb" it probably comes out like Reeve's voice if it's a man (and Kim Kardashian's if it's a woman). And despite a long and varied career, Reeves never quite lost that idiotic tone. He tried accents to a fault (Southern in The Devil's Advocate and British in a few movies), but he always comes back to sounding like a Ninja Turtle.

I am not saying this guy would be the second coming of De Niro if he only had better pipes, I just think it has handicapped his acting severely. That said, for an actor who's pretty much universally perceived as sucking -- he's been in some pretty decent movies.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Besides smash hits like Speed and The Matrix, Reeves has had solid supporting turns in Dangerous Liasions, River's Edge, Bram Stoker's Dracula (albeit with a terrible accent), A Scanner Darkly (which I didn't love, but critics did), Something's Gotta Give, Parenthood and My Own Private Idaho (which I still haven't seen -- but I've heard is terrific).

Off-screen, Reeves has a reputation for being a private, but totally humble good guy. He recently directed a very well-received documentary about the film industry's movie from traditional film stock to digital, hardly idiotic fare.

I also have failed to mention the first role that I first discovered him in: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. The surprise hit was one of my childhood favorites and even at that young age I saw Reeves and his co-star Alex Winter as clearly ironic in their portrayals of high school "dudes".

Reeves probably played the role of Ted better than any other part he's ever had, and it's become totally wedded to his persona. Reeves could play the president of the United States and we'd still see Ted. Of course Sean Penn first won our hearts playing a similar character, Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and no one has ever pigeonholed him in that part. So some of this does have to do with Reeves' lack of talent.

And even while I try to defend him, I'm being a little hypocritical. Tonight, my girlfriend and I are attending the popular spoof of all things Keanu, Point Break Live!, in which a random audience member plays his part by being led around with cue cards. So I am just as guilty of ragging on the guy as anyone.

And yes, I have agreed in the past with the argument that a lot of stars could have played Neo.

But I'm just saying he's not the worst actor I've ever seen -- not by a long shot and clearly he has defied the odds because he's still around making movies despite the fact that he is so endlessly mocked.

Righteous!