Family, basketball, TV, film make a Long day
After working on the sketch show MADtv, Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key decided to work for each other on their comedy series Key & Peele.
After five award-winning seasons, the next logical step for them is a movie exploiting their strength in skewering pop culture excess, stereotypes and race relations.
Co-written by Peele, the film is called Keanu, with Key and Peele as the main attractions along with the titular kitten.
Cinematic events unfold when pot-smoking slacker Rell (Peele) enlists his mild-mannered, George Michael-loving cousin Clarence (Key) to help him find his missing cat. The search leads them into gang country, which is a setup for a Nerds n the Hood conceit.
Joining the craziness is comedy veteran Nia Long, who shows up as Clarence’s bold and brazen wife.
Long, of course, has other things on the go. The 45-year-old plays the sister-in-law in ABC’s update of Uncle Buck debuting in June. She has a recurring role in Amazon’s Hand of God.
And, the mother of two is currently cheering on her husband-tobe and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ime Udoka, whose team is competing in the NBA playoffs.
Taking a break from filming an episode of Amazon’s Hand of God in Los Angeles, Long offers her thoughts on a variety of subjects. On her first experience with Key and Peele’s style of humour: “I was introduced to them by my 15-yearold son, who would sit on his bed and crack up watching their videos all night.” On being invited to do their movie: “When the opportunity came along, I said ‘yes’ immediately. It was a no-brainer for me.” On the limited amount of her character’s screen time: “I didn’t even consider how much I do in the film. I told them, ‘If you want me, you have me.’ I never looked at it as a job — it was more like play time.” On improvising some of her scenes with Key: “You have to know when to jump in and when not to jump in. But sometimes Keegan and I would just go on having some fun. It felt like 15 minutes for a take sometimes.” On the tone of the shoot, given that Key and Peele have a lot riding on their debut movie: “You would never know it. They were chill and easy breezy.” On the duo’s special wit: “I think being smart is really important to what they do. They talk about a lot of different things and have a
lot of different perspectives. Their genius is all about how they crossculture subjects and situations.” On the great expectations for the
Uncle Buck sitcom: “I can’t wait to see what the world thinks of it. I just pray everybody loves it because the show has been the most fun at work I’ve ever had.” On her dramatic performance as a reporter in Hand of God: “There’s definitely a different rhythm and you definitely have to switch the mindset. Drama is all about being centred and real, and comedy is about being a good listener and responding.” On family matters: “At the end of the day, my fiancée and I carve out the necessary time.” On what’s next: “Spurs are in the playoffs and hopefully we’ll make the finals — go Spurs. And then we’ll do what’s best for all of us.”