I mentioned last week that we had seen a preview of the new Australian movie Kenny. It’s a mocumentary. It takes the form of a documentary but the characters are all ficticious.
Kenny is played by comedian and co-writer Shane Jacobson. His fellow writer is his brother and director of the movie, Clayton Jacobson.
The movie follows the life of Kenny Smyth who works for a portable toilet company. It’s Kenny’s job to install portable toilets at a range of festivals and events.
I need to say before I go any further that this movie is not for everyone. If you have problems with strong language it’s probably best to give this one a miss. The strong language isn’t in every scene but there is enough scattered throughout the movie to concern some people. As you can imagine there are also quite a few toilet jokes but the movie goes way beyond that.
The ABC programme At The Movies reviewed Kenny last night and I think the difference in opinion between Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton demonstrates how movie goers will see this movie. Margaret couldn’t praise the film highly enough while David didn’t like it at all. Margaret doesn’t give four and a half out of five stars very often. David could manage just two and a half. Click here to read the review. You can also follow the link from the review to see a short interview with Kenny. What he says to Margaret in those couple of minutes really sums up the character and the movie. He talks about life being about the small victories and how different real life is to what we normally see in the movies.
This movie has pathos by the bucketload. You’ll find yourself growing to really like this down to earth toilet plumber and I think you’ll respect the priorities in his life. That’s not to say that he’s not flawed but I suppose that’s what makes him so likable. He’s an unremarkable man doing an unremarkable job but through it all you get the idea that he’s a decent bloke doing the best he can with the hand that life has dealt him.
The movie explores Kenny’s relationship with his son, his ex-wife, his elderly father, his brother and co-workers. He really is a good bloke.
If you want to see a movie that will have you exiting the cinema with a smile but that also makes you think, this is definitely worth a look. It opens around Australia next week.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Kenny – At the Movies – Kenny the Movie – Shane Jacobson
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