Not Even Keanu Reeves Can Save the Painfully Unfunny Outcome

(SeaPRwire) –   Keanu Reeves is typically the last actor one would anticipate facing an existential dilemma, given his relaxed and endearing persona. However, he is acting against his usual type in Jonah Hill’s excruciatingly unfunny Apple TV film Outcome. Here, he portrays a famous actor anxiously attempting a comeback following drug rehabilitation, fearing the public has turned on him during his time away. Reeves usually serves as a comforting presence in films, often relying on his easygoing charm to overcome weak scripts. Yet, even Reeves cannot polish Outcome, a satire that stretches a flimsy concept until it wears thin.

At the film’s outset, we learn that Reeves’ character, Reef Hawk, is the most popular movie star globally. However, after recently overcoming a heroin addiction, he has been absent from the spotlight for an extended period. Anxious about his return, he leans on his oldest high school friends, Kyle (played by Cameron Diaz, who is stuck with ridiculous dialogue unworthy of her talent) and Xander (played by Matt Bomer, who is miscast as a dim-witted airhead). They provide him with hollow confidence, which might barely suffice. However, Reef receives a call from his fixer, the shrewd lawyer Ira Slitz, portrayed by Hill. Ira reveals that an unknown individual has acquired a sex tape featuring Reef Hawk and threatens to release it unless a massive ransom is paid. Ira directs Reef on the necessary steps to resolve the issue, starting with apologizing to anyone he may have previously wronged.

Reef recalls no instance of being filmed having sex and cannot imagine anyone disliking him enough to leak such damaging material. On the other hand, as a recovering addict, there is much from his lowest moments that he cannot remember. He embarks on a desperate quest to find and apologize to those he may have harmed. This includes his narcissistic reality-star mother (Susan Lucci), his former girlfriend (Welker White), who bluntly tells him he is not a good person, and his ex-manager (Martin Scorsese, in a cameo that is nearly touching), who was abruptly fired years ago. Reef listens to each account with intense sincerity. As Reef, Reeves is too genuine and empathetic, which sabotages the intended humor of Outcome. It is impossible to accept that Reef, as played by Reeves, could ever be such a terrible person.

Meanwhile, Hill dominates the screen, bulldozing through every scene he appears in—and he appears far too frequently. Early on, Ira arrives at Reef’s luxurious beach house to devise a crisis strategy but realizes he needs to use the restroom. He continues the meeting from the toilet, and when Reef’s sarcastic assistant, played by Ivy Wolk, is asked to bring softer toilet paper, she makes a vivid remark about the room’s odor. One wonders who writes such material. The writers responsible are Hill and Ezra Woods, and although the other jokes in Outcome are less vulgar, they remain largely unfunny.

As a director, Hill fails to maintain a consistent tone; the film shifts abruptly from crude jokes to serious solemnity. The apparent message is that Hollywood is a toxic environment where people treat each other poorly while amassing wealth. While this is plausible, it is also a familiar trope. However, Reeves’ face radiates humility. He is unconvincing as a self-absorbed character who supposedly succeeded by trampling his friends, family, and acquaintances. Even in such a poor film, Reeves delivers, but his performance may not be enough to help you endure Outcome. It is the cinematic equivalent of rough toilet paper.