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Image: Joshua Bote/Gazetteer SF

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Our dude

Hollywood is full of stars, but there’s only one Keanu

Keanu Reeves is not from San Francisco, but there’s something hella Bay Area about dude’s whole vibe. Like San Francisco, Keanu is a harmonious blend of contradictions: brainy and physical; futuristic and eternal; sunny and noir; iconic and totally normal.

He must understand this because several of Keanu’s movies have strong SF pedigrees: The Matrix Resurrections, fourth installment of The Matrix series, was set here (or, you know, in a computer-simulated version of “here”), as were Sweet November and Always Be My Maybe in which he played the role he was born to play: himself.

This month and next, the Roxie Theater is presenting A Keanu Summer featuring five of our dude’s most excellent films. To celebrate this series — and the man at its center — we’re each taking a moment to honor Keanu and his many, many facets.

This is an ongoing series. Check back for more Keanu.

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989). Photo: MGM/Screenshot

The best Keanu is teen Keanu

  • Of all the teen spirited roles Keanu played back then, my favorite remains his smallest. By Matt Haber
Keanu Reeves and Stephen Colbert talking about the 'Sad Keanu' meme in 2021. Photo: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert/CBS/Screenshot
  • Consider that Keanu’s expression is not sadness. It’s solitude. It’s self assurance. By Lorraine Campos
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand in 'Cyberpunk 2077.' Photo:IGN/YouTube
  • Keanu shows more range here than in the majority of his filmography. By Eddie Kim
Keanu Reeves and Jack Nicholson in 'Something's Gotta Give' (2003). Photo: Sony Pictures
  • The whole world swooned when Keanu made his relationship with artist Alexandra Grant public — and for good reason. By Joshua Bote
Photo: YouTube/Screenshot
  • There may be no better example of peak ‘90s movie supremacy than ‘Point Break.’ By Byron Perry

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