'Keanu' isn't purrfect -- but it's a hilarious throwback action comedy

Key and Peele's first feature film -- the action comedy Keanu -- doesn't really reinvent the genre, and it sadly has underperformed at the box office, but it's still a hilariously funny film and deserving of the cult following I imagine it will someday get.

The sketch comedy duo have successfully channelled their whacked-out sense of humor to a full-length feature, and even though the film stretches out very silly jokes for a long time, I was never unamused or not entertained by this movie.

It works as a stoner comedy -- even though the main characters are stone sober for most of the film.

If they're high on anything they're flying on the adrenaline of posing as professional badasses. The two comics play square hipsters who couldn't be further removed from stereotypical hip-hop culture. When their kitten is kidnapped in a convoluted drug deal gone awry, they embark on an adventure that requires them both to pose as legendary assassins.

The film marks similar terrain to 1986's classic Three Amigos, where three prima donna action movie stars get to play at being the real thing. Both Key and Peele are a riot as they navigate a terrifying terrain and try to affect deadly personas.

The entire film feels like a throwback to the best 1980s action comedies, films that had gaping plot holes and questionable logic, but skated by on their sheer charm and hubris.

Why would these two relatively sane men go on a wild goose chase for an, admittedly, adorable kitten? The movie never really comes up with an adequate reason. But with laughs this consistently silly and infectious -- who cares.

The movie has a running gag involving George Michael that is sort of apt when describing the film itself. Like George Michael, the movie is kind of lightweight but with an attractive, sort of undeniable appeal that sticks in your head, long after the credits roll.

I'll concede that before I even saw a frame of this film I was predisposed to like it. I am such a huge fan of Key & Peele's Comedy Central series -- which always had the high production values of a major motion picture. I wanted this film to do well even if it wasn't any good, because we need more comedy voices like theirs in the movies -- especially when it comes to people of color.

No offense to the Barbershops and the Tyler Perry fans, but this is my kind of black humor.

I'm happy that I can recommend Keanu after all, and I hope that even if it isn't a big hit, it won't be Key & Peele's last chance.