At some point, for whatever reason, Keanu Reeves became a bit of a joke in Hollywood. His movies weren’t quite hitting the way expectations were laid out and then the “Sad Keanu” memes started. But just like Keanu Reeves would do, he just kept keeping on. Then John Wick caught on like wildfire.
All sorts of Keanu being a decent, humble and nice human being surfaced and the actor was once again huge. The Keanu-aissance was upon us and we’re still living in it now. Until release dates shifted, May 21, 2021 was to be the apex of his stardom as both John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4 were due on the same day. As fans prepare for a new Bill And Ted, here are 10 Keanu Reeves roles you should head back and see.
Parenthood (1989)
Keanu was just a part of the massive ensemble that was Ron Howard’s Parenthood. The 1989 underrated classic should be watched by all families at all ages to full understand the viewpoint of each member of the Buckman family. Reeves played Tod, the rebellious boyfriend of equally rebellious Julie. We’ve all either met or have been kids like Tod, sure he’s a little “out-there,” but he’s extremely kind at heart.
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
In one of River Phoenix’s final performances, he teamed up with Keanu Reeves for the Indie classic, My Own Private Idaho.
The two play Mike and Scott respectively and embark on a road trip to Mike’s hometown in Idaho to find his mother. Reeves’ performance as a hustler and a prostitute was something that had seldom been seen in Hollywood at the time.
Speed (1994)
For a while, Reeves wasn’t thought of as an action star. Then The Matrix happened. A decade or so later, John Wick. But Reeves has always tipped his feet into the action pool. Speed was the first big action movie for Keanu that caught on like gangbusters. The phrase “pop quiz hotshot” was everywhere for a few months and the runaway train, along with Keanu’s as Jack Traven’s indomitable determination to stop a bad bomber captivated a nation and showed for one of the first times that Reeves can play other characters besides dimwits.
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Four years before he hacked into The Matrix, Reeves was playing Johnny Mnemonic, a man being hunted by the Yakuza for the data that was stored in his head. He needs to finish this one last job to have a procedure to restore his own memories, which were taken from him in order to his data memory increased.
Feeling Minnesota (1996)
Soundgarden’s lyrics from “Outshined” influenced the title of this Reeves movie Feeling Minnesota, which had a powerhouse cast, all right on the cusp of achieving A-List status. Reeves and Vincent D’Onofrio star as Jjaks and Sam Clayton, each falling for the same girl. Who could blame them, Freddie was played by Cameron Diaz; in-between The Mask and Something About Mary. Freddie is betrothed to Sam, repaying her debts to a nightclub owner. But she falls for Jjaks and they plan on stealing Sam’s money to run off together.
The Gift (2000)
Sam Raimi directs a very un-Sam Raimi tale, featuring Keanu Reeves playing a very un-Keanu Reeves type of role in 2000’s The Gift. The title refers to Cate Blanchett’s Annie’s fortune-telling abilities. She is asked by the police to help find a missing girl. As Donnie Barksdale, Reeves brings a menacing turn that isn’t seen in his other movies. But did he kill Jessica King (Katie Holmes)? Reeves’ role here is never looking for empathy from the audience and that kind of role makes the performance unforgettable.
Constantine (2005)
After partaking in the heavily inspired by Anime Matrix trilogy, Reeves delved headlong into the comic book world. He tackled the role of the Hellblazer in Constantine.
Taking elements from several stories in the comics, John’s trying to buy his way into heaven by sending exorcised demons to Hell. Saving his own soul is going to be harder than expected when he takes a case to help a detective find out what happened to her twin sister.
The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
Speaking of Hell, Reeves has dabbled in ghosts and goblins for his entire career. In The Devil’s Advocate, he plays hotshot Florida lawyer, Kevin Lomax he’s offered a phenomenal dream job in New York. As he’s wooed into the law firm, the head of the firm wants him to take a seemingly impossible case to win. Meanwhile, his wife (Charlize Theron) may or may not be losing her mind and the firm’s boss is far from what he appears to be.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Reeves tackles Jonathan Harker in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. He becomes the target of the seemingly immortal Count Dracula who has set his move lascivious sights on Harker’s fiancé, Mina. The Count believes that Mina is the reincarnation of his own beloved Elisabeta.
Meanwhile, Dracula has his other temptresses feed on Harker, who is able to escape and tries to save Mina while the people hunting the vampire are destroying his soil.
Chain Reaction (1996)
Chain Reaction would have been one of those “bargain bin” movies, had it not been for the cast. Reeves and Morgan Freeman team up for the action thriller. Reeves plays Eddie Kasalivich, an engineer forced to go on the run for a murder he didn’t commit along with Lily Sinclair, the woman who worked with the murdered Alistair Barkley. The movie was directed by Andrew Davis, who certainly knows about man on the run movies - he also directed The Fugitive.