Overview

Thanks to his prolific movie career (seventy-eight movies and counting) and endearing real-life persona, Keanu Reeves has become the universal screen saver of pop culture—nobody can go a few days without some reference to Keanu or his movies popping up. But Reeves is much more than box office receipts and internet memes, and Much Ado About Keanu provides the in-depth look at his art, identity, and ethnicity that this oft-misunderstood cultural icon deserves.

Despite the sometimes-mocking estimations of his acting skills—and his seven Razzie nominations—Keanu Reeves is one of the most thoughtful and talented performers of his generation, and during his forty-year career he has made huge strides for Asian and Indigenous representation in spite of his identity often being whitewashed.

Pop culture sociologist and Reeves devotee Sezin Devi Koehler explores all of this, presenting insightful essays that critically examine Reeves’s creative output from an interdisciplinary and intersectional perspective. Those who code Reeves as white miss how his multiracial identity informs so many of his mainstream films, often subverting their most straightforward themes. Criticisms of his acting overlook the popularity and the reach of his work.

Koehler’s essays challenge how audiences engage with Keanu’s movies, highlighting the importance of Keanu as a multitalented artist and trailblazer, not only for racial representation but for intersectional, queer, and feminist readings of cinema as well.

Much Ado About Keanu connects existing media studies around various themes in Reeves’s films—particularly Asian and Indigenous representation, gender studies, philosophy, technology, and sexuality studies—in a “Critical Reeves Theory” sure to engage not just fans but all of us who live in Keanu’s world.

Reviews

“The films of Keanu Reeves and his wholly unique and widely adored broader star persona provide Sezin Devi Koehler the perfect subject matter for this probing celebration of one the greatest screen actors of our time and his enduring impact on our lives in very real, meaningful ways. More than mere fandom, Much Ado About Keanu is a rigorous, exciting, and contagious master class in pop cultural engagement as praxis.” —Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of 1000 Women in Horror, 1898-2018

“Passionate and persuasive . . . will probably appeal primarily to diehard Reeves fans and film students.” — Library Journal

"Much Ado About Keanu is a deep dive into everyone’s favorite celebrity. It’s also deeply intellectual, brilliant, and so much fun to read. Sezin Devi’s meticulous work here is to be lauded." —Nayomi Munaweera, author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors and What Lies Between Us

"How do you deconstruct a vibe? Sezin Devi Koehler does just that with this clever and wonderfully readable take on one of our most beloved artists. What makes Keanu so cool and transcendent, so enigmatic and important? Sezin reveals all with wit and sophisticated analysis. A fine gift for any Keanu lover—which, let’s face it, is everyone." —Holly Sorensen, creator/writer of Step Up: High Water

“In this fascinating volume, penned with deep affection and rigorous scholarly research, Sezin Devi Koehler casts a glowing light on the much adored but widely underestimated actor. As a mixed-raced reader, aware of Keanu Reeves’s own multiracial background, I deeply appreciated Sezin's refreshing analysis of how Reeves’s work—often whitewashed, the depth overlooked—blasts through stereotypes, challenging both racial and gender norms. Sezin’s love for her subject shines through with every sentence. Her fluid, insightful writing makes you feel like you’re having a delicious up-all-night chat with a brilliant friend. By the time you’re finished reading this book, you’ll want to rewatch all of Reeves’s films. You will never see them the same way again.” —Lisa Williamson Rosenberg, LCSW, psychotherapist and author of Embers on the Wind and Mirror Me

“I didn't know I needed this much Keanu Reeves in my life—I'm just glad Sezin Devi Koehler did. With sensitivity and humor, Sezin parses the threads of the Reeves persona and braids together a more complex understanding of the multifaceted, seemingly ubiquitous cultural icon. The book’s fast-paced, engaging prose leaps deftly from the macro—Reeves’s wide-reaching mainstream influence—to the intimate, often overlooked nuances of his Asian identity. Much Ado About Keanu awakens and delights.” —Shanthi Sekaran, TV writer and author of Boomi’s Boombox, The Samosa Rebellion, and Lucky Boy

“I can’t think of anyone better than Sezin Devi Koehler to write a book about Keanu Reeves. A queer mixed-race reading of John Wick? Yeah. An anti-Brechtian theory of Reeves? Dude. The monosyllable as expressive genius? Whoa. Even the way the book is structured (unironically) using the language of tarot is cosmic, and utterly Keanu. This dive into Keanu Reeves’s oeuvre and fandom is brainy, loving, and deeply fun. There’s something for everyone, from film nerds to literary witches to the occasional hater. It’ll be the most excellent book on your coffee table.” —Abeer Hoque, author of Olive Witch

Author Biography

Sezin Devi Koehler is a pop-culture writer whose work has been featured in the Daily Beast, Scalawag magazine, Black Girl Nerds, Certified Forgotten, Bitch magazine both in print and online, Teen Vogue, Shudder's The Bite, Horror Homeroom, Looper, Crooked Marquee, and many others. She currently writes for Entertainment Weekly's movies and television sections, and has published two indie horror novels.