Keanu

The scrawny titular feline is the most endearing character in Keanu, although he’s consistently overshadowed by his two-legged co-stars.

That’s part of the problem with this big-screen venture from the comedy team of Key and Peele, which might have worked better as a sketch on their eponymous television show than it does at feature length.

Rell (Jordan Peele) is a stoner who develops an obsession with an orphaned kitty that shows up on his doorstep and helps him forget about a recent breakup. But it turns out Keanu’s original owners were some drug dealers who break into Rell’s apartment and steal him back.

So he enlists the help of his hopelessly nerdy cousin, Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key), to infiltrate the network of thugs and gangsters and reclaim the diminutive cat from a kingpin (Method Man), only to find that the scheme — which involves assumed identities — is more perilous than they imagined.

Indeed, while Keanu gets title billing, the focus too often is on the humans around him who strain to be hip and clever while providing only scattered big laughs.

The episodic script is lacking in subtlety and surprise, and doesn’t have much character or plot development either, relying too heavily on generic action sequences as the duo transforms from mild-mannered slackers into vigilante crime fighters.

Many of Key and Peele’s collaborators from the show are involved here, including co-writer Alex Rubens and director Peter Atencio. The vibe has a certain self-deprecating charm that should please established fans, even if the half-hearted attempts at subversive satire — of films, or pet lovers, or Keanu Reeves — generally fall flat.

The one-joke premise can’t sustain itself, although there are a few highlights along the way, thanks in large part to the charisma and goofy rapport between the two stars (their identity trickery works better than it probably should, as does Rell’s overbearing affection for the kitten). They have screen presence and comic timing, to be sure, but just need a better project to showcase their talents.

Perhaps the film will widen their fan base and provide a calling card of sorts beyond the small screen. As for Keanu, he might need to hit the weight room before he’s cast in any more leading-cat roles.

Rated R, 98 minutes.