Kenny

A surprisingly warm Aussie flick, not really a LOLfest, but very feelgood.

The critics were wrong. Kenny is not the funniest Australian movie in the history of forever. Sure, it has its comedic moments both subtle and puerile, but it really isn’t that amusing. What it is though, is perhaps one of the saddest and sweetest films this here local industry has ever produced.

It’s a mockumentary about the day-to-day life of a toilet plumber called Kenny. He lives in Melbourne, is divorced and has a young son. He makes a lot of jokes about poop and yeah, he’s all philosophical-like and kind of a nice guy. But that’s not what makes this film remarkable. Rather, it’s the realism that hits home. Kenny is – excuse the pun – pretty much shat on by the world around him.

People order him around, talk down to him and fail to recognise that he’s happy or even a goddamn human being. And he just takes it. He’ll be talking to someone, their phone will ring and they’ll just walk off without apologising or acknowledging him. He’ll get abused for not having the toilets spick and span right the hell now. If you’ve ever dealt with the public, you’ll know just how accurate it all is.

Kenny is one of those films that you’ll either really enjoy or just be left cold by. Viewed as a straight comedy, it’s not that spectacular. So watch it for what it is – a homage to those people we ignore.