The story of Stompanado is a riveting one… which makes the news of Keanu Reeves getting the lead role something of a mystery to me. Stompanado is based on the true story of the mobster/wannabe actor Adrian Lane (who was also the boyfriend to legendary actress Lana Turner). Lane was killed by Turner’s daughter who stabbed him to death.
So why is this a mystery to me? Well the good folks over at filmfodder put it mildly when they say:
At first glance it seems a bit of a stretch for Reeves, who isn’t quite the menacing thug type.
I would go one step further… I’ll say that Reeves isn’t much of an actor at all when he wanders outside of his “I’m stunned and clueless and not really sure what’s going on” type of roles. My god have you ever heard the man try to fake an accent? It’s enough to make you roll your eyes and roll on the floor at the same time.
So yes… playing a rough mobster type just doesn’t make sense to me. Oh well… who knows? Maybe this will be like some sort of “break out” role for him where he proves us all wrong.
