When I’ve seen him interviewed, I’m always struck by the fact that he seems so…thoroughly animated. He smiles; he cracks jokes; he makes sometimes expansive physical gestures; his command of the English language, and fluid manner of speaking, indicates above-average intelligence; he really seems quite charming, overall. Real-life Keanu is almost the complete opposite of his on-screen persona. How does he do it, transform into a total robothespian as soon as he gets in front of a camera? Even more, why does he do it?? It’s baffling. Utterly baffling.
I think he’s good in the right roles. I liked him in Matrix, Constantine, Bill & Ted, Point Break (I think that’s the right movie), and *Parenthood. *
I haven’t seen the other movies y’all have referenced except for Much Ado About Nothing. I loved the movie, but his (fortunately) limited role makes me laugh harder than Michael Keaton’s antics as Dogberry.
One of the weird things about this movie is he had a body double dance for him in the jail house “I Will Survive,” song and dance scene. I couldn’t believe it when a friend told me, but I watched it later and sure enough.
This might be a case of “Don’t argue with success.” He is unarguably an extremely successful actor, so maybe why he’s doing it isn’t so important.