Keanu Cures All Ills

I promise you this. Regardless of your emotional state, there’s nothing you might want to see that isn’t lurking somewhere in the Keanu filmography, that nearly-incomprehensible collection of works that boggles the mind: Keanu Reeves was in that?

It’s a weird, beautiful mix of strange, brilliant, campy, and sometimes just plain bad movies that goes back nearly 40 years. It’s also a very long list, which is, in and of itself, part of the appeal. Keanu Reeves apparently likes to work, and he’s easy to enjoy in (almost) any film.

[See the List of Keanu Films and Links to My Ramblings on Each]

When The New York Times in 2020 ranked Keanu number four on its list of the Greatest Actors of the 21st Century, A.O. Scott asked the question: “Can you name one film that has not been improved by his presence?”

Prior to a few months ago, I had little interest in Keanu Reeves. I’ve grown up with his movies — he’s about 10 years older than I am, which means I am at the perfect age to remember when he was everywhere, and later, when he was always lurking in the background, just waiting to pop up.

But even if I grew up with Keanu Reeves movies — and maybe “grew up” is not the most precise term, since he wasn’t really Keanu until I was an adult — I never had much desire to see a Keanu Reeves movie. If you read any of the pages deeper in this site, you’ll probably start to figure out why. I have slowly been figuring out why, mostly through the sometimes self-indulgent processes of memory and retrospection.

My interest took a turn in late December 2021, when I thought it might be fun to rewatch the original Matrix before the release of Resurrections. Important side note: I saw The Matrix in 1999 and hated it. But even I wanted to watch Resurrections after seeing Keanu on every talk show, and of course, you can’t revisit a franchise two decades after the fact without a refresher.

In 2021, I thought the original Matrix was phenomenal. I get it now. Out of curiosity, I looked up the extensive Keanu Reeves filmography, and because I’m old enough to remember, was startled by the number of recognizable titles: Keanu Reeves was in that? And that? You know, I never saw that…

So, really, it would make perfect sense that I would not just want to watch more Keanu Reeves movies, but that I would try to watch every single Keanu Reeves movie that there ever was. Every single one.

The title of this website, “Keanu Cures All Ills,” comes from the fact that watching Keanu is almost invariably anxiety-abating. Even in the rare instance where he plays a bad guy, there’s something about his acting — even (or especially) the classic Keanu monotone, which often reappears — that’s calming.

Maybe the sense of calm comes from the name, which itself sounds like an exhale: Kay-ahh-nu. If John Wick were played by someone named George Reeves, maybe it wouldn’t have quite the same effect. And yes — you can read that as me saying that I find a sense of calm (and pure delight) even from the John Wick trilogy, perhaps one of the greatest 7 hours on film.

I could just keep a private tally of every item on the Keanu Reeves filmography, and tick it off as I go along. But I am a writer — rarely a great one, but it’s what I do, it’s who I am — so a checkbox isn’t enough. This website is therefore an ongoing project to see — and write about — every Keanu Reeves film.

It’s ongoing because, since there are so many Keanu Reeves movies, I don’t know how long it will take me to get through them all. As I write this I have posted essays for a little more than a dozen Keanu films, and I have notes for about 10 more. And that’s only about a third of what’s on the Keanu list — one that doesn’t even include the cameos, narration gigs, and made-for-television fare.

It’s also ongoing because I discovered a fact about myself as I began writing these pages — the first of which was a full 3,500 words on Matrix Resurrections that I posted briefly on another blog. Films that go this far back in time are spark points for dead memories, some pleasant, others not so. The upshot is that I don’t feel it’s particularly healthy to spend too much time reflecting on the past, despite the catharsis and (sometimes) joy that it can bring.

It is also ongoing because I hope that Keanu keeps making more films. As long as he wants to. May his performer’s soul always have an outlet, one that feeds and honours him.

March 2022 (text update)

keanucuresallills@gmail.com