My New Years Resolution for 2019 was to watch every Keanu Reeves movie. Here’s how it went.

Every year I try to make a New Years resolution that is fun but also kind of a challenge. In 2019 my NYE was to watch every  Keanu Reeves movie. When I made this resolution it was only because I don’t watch a lot of movies anymore (my daily schedule isn’t conducive to blocking out two hours of time) and I had noticed I hadn’t seen any Keanu Reeves movies in almost a decade. The Matrix and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure are in my top echelon of all time movies, so I would say I was a fan, but maybe not a super fan.

I wasn’t prepared for this to be The Year of Keanu, the #Keanusance (#Keanaissance?), or even that the already long list was going to grow by at least four movies. Not that I’m complaining. It was fun to follow along with the fans and get swept up in the Keanu-ness.  2019 was a rankle, wrapped in a misery, inside an egomania, so watching these movies and checking them off gave me a much-needed bit of escapism.

I used IMDB, and printed out a list. Because putting that little check mark as you go is a big part of the fun of achieving a goal in steps. To make myself more accountable, I tweeted every time I watched a movie under the hashtag #Reevesolution and #KeanuReeves. 

 

So how did I do? I had to give up on watching the TV shows, some of which were no longer accessible, and because I didn’t have time to watch several episodes or even a season. There were also a couple other random entries of not-movies that I couldn’t find. And sadly, there were 3 movies, all from 1991 or earlier, which I couldn’t find anywhere. Letting Go, Act of Vengeance, and Providence. But as far as any movie available that I could see, I did. From a cursory count that’s 75 items, including movies, short movies, and documentaries.

Here’s what I discovered.

The most obvious thing is that Keanu Reeves has been in a lot of different kind of movies, and exemplified a lot of different types of character. His range covers everything from sinister criminal (The Watcher, The Gift), to romantic lead (The Lake House, Sweet November); from dumb knave (Ted E. Logan, ) to doctor (To the Bone, Something’s Gotta Give); from football (The Replacements) to physicist (Chain Reaction); Heartbreaking (Permanent Record), and heartthrob (too many to list); cartoon (ToyStory 4) to comedy (Always Be My Maybe)  to cat (Keanu) and dog (Freaked); from divine (Little Buddha) to devilish (The Devil’s Advocate); from dimwit (The Prince of Pennsylvannia, I Love You to Death) to detective (Point Break, Street Kings). 

Keanu’s most compelling role is the one he is basically Aristotle’s ideal of: The reluctant hero, the everyman savior, transcendent yet relatable. The Matrix, Constantine, Speed, John Wick, 47 Ronin. Nobody does the flawed and failing, drawn-from-the-trenches-to-become-the-hero-we-all-need than Keanu Reeves. Nobody.

He’s a director and documentarian and ostensibly has more than a passing interest in the behind-the-scenes aspect of film.

There are several lesser known movies where he is listed, but actually either appears only in a single scene or as footage with Dogstar. I wonder if this is a kindness bestowed on burgeoning moviemakers, lending his star power to help them out.

What will come as no surprise to his fanbase, he is a very talented actor. While it is true Keanu has been in some bad movies (The Bad Batch, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues) and played some characters he wasn’t particularly suited for (Dangerous Liaisons) I wouldn’t say his acting was less a problem than the material.

There are some subtle trends in his oeuvre. Keanu is often billed as a science fiction action hero, and of that there can be no doubt. Within that he’s got some major philosophical tread. Gibson’s cyberpunk Johnny Mnemonic, PKDs A Scanner Darkly, and the John Wick series, which are rich explorations of augmented and blurred reality, as well as the nature of reality in The Matrix and the individual’s mastery over reality in Little Buddha.

Another thing that seemed to stand out is that despite being an action hero and having a good portion of his career be in the dark ages, he has a much higher than average ratio of movies with strong female actors, characters, and directors. In fact, one might think he actually chose movies with this basic criteria. I could be completely wrong and it may be a coincidence or the agent’s choice, I don’t know. But I know this. Katheryn Bigelow, director of Point Break, in 1991. Sandra Bullock in Speed, Glenn Close in Dangerous Liasions, Cate Blanchett in The Gift, Carrie Ann Moss in The Matrix, Qing Ye in Man of Tai Chi, Emma Thompson in Much Ado About Nothing, Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give, Rebecca Miller, director, Robin Wright in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Ali Wong in Always Be My Maybe, Halle Barry in John Wick 3. So maybe it’s a coincidence that he’s in all these movies with strong female leads, but a happy one for me, as I’m no fan of fridged girlfriends, female furniture or women in general who lack agency.

My favorites didn’t change, but I found a few new movies that I enjoyed, and a few I liked better than I expected to. Ultra-violent, punchy-kicky is generally not for me, but John Wick had a lot more world and character building to offer.  The Private Lives of Pippa Lee made something poignant about being on the fringe of acceptable. Freaked revived my youthful nostalgia of stupid funny. And the cynically unromantic Destination Wedding had the funniest sex scene ever.

I’m looking forward to more Keanu in 2020 and beyond.