Before "Speed" Keanu wasn't even a blip on my radar screen.
Afterwards I developed a "scorched earth" policy, unearthing all things Keanu. I ran out of sources by October, just in time for the release of "Speed" on video. I bided my time for the next release: AWITC. And then...oh my God! they postponed it...and then postponed it again...until August, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII. It felt like 50 years just waiting for the movie. I remember driving to another state to see the two minute preview for AWITC because a friend told me she saw it at a particular theater with the movie "Losing Isaiah". I paid admission, watched the preview, and left. I was desperate for anything new on Keanu.
Meantime, JM struck on Memorial weekend. But that's another post....
I know a lot of fans who came into fandom with AWITC. It was number two at the box office, losing out to Michelle Pfeiffer's "Dangerous Minds." I wanted it to be a big hit like "Speed" and erase the box office disaster of "JM." It went on to make $50 million and was listed as a hit in EW because of its low budget. But its always listed as one of Keanu's failures by reviewers. And they went after his jugular in the reviews. He got stomped, kicked, lashed, slashed, and skewered big time. What were they looking at? The only major review I could actually read without assuming a fetal position was Roger Ebert's.
Keanu was on tour with Dogstar and had to take a break from his cross-country adventure to arrive at the Premiere looking completely disshelved. I remember the look of shock on reporters' faces as he ran past them, and then saundered back with hands in his pockets, taking questions.
One of my favorite interviews was with Bob Goen from ET interviewing Keanu from the set of AWITC. Keanu's response "do you want me to touch you?" to Goen's story that women at his office were gushing over him was priceless! Keanu blushed. Very cute. I loved the interviews he did with the Napa Valley backdrop, sitting in a chair, fighting allergies, and answering questions in an unguarded manner. He was refreshingly honest and open. I miss those interviews.
AWITC is eye candy to me. Everything about it reminds me of an escape from realism. Look how it starts: out of all those men getting off the ship, Keanu is the only one left standing on the map of Oklahoma. Yeah, right. And the wife choosing Armisted Knox over Paul Sutton? What was SHE thinking? And what about Paul Sutton? He's not like any man I know past the first month of a relationship. Its a movie less about characterization and plot, and more about imagery: the first sight of Las Nubes, the butterfly wings, the grape-crushing scene, the fire, the kiss, the bulging biceps pulling the original rootstock out of the ground in a sooty white T-shirt.
Hm...Hm...
Where was I? Two of my favorite Keanu scenes are in AWITC: the serenade and the drunken rehearsal with Don Pedro which preceded it. During the filming of AWITC Keanu was playing hockey with friends and got hit in the mouth, requiring stitches. The next day he had to film the sexually-charged welcome home visit to his wife. This scene was very "hot" in the book, written by Deborah Chiel, based on the screenplay. Because of Keanu's injury, there was no kiss between husband and wife. I guess it left me wanting something more. And that's how I remember AWITC: sweet, but it needed more substance.