Kenny [M]

Meet Kenny: he’s a loveable, tubby, port-a-loo delivery and maintenance manager suffering the strains of 6-7 day-a-week job. Although Kenny takes pride in his work and does a good, honest job, everyone else gives him a wide birth. His own father is ashamed of him, his brother doesn’t really want anything to do with him, he struggles a little to have a relationship with his son, and his ex-wife continues to make his life just that little bit trickier. But despite his occupational pressures and the pressures of societal ethics, Kenny retains his calm, control, and determination to do a good job. 

When this movie first came out in Australia, it was an instant success and regarded as one of the bloody funniest movies to come out of 2007. I saw it with my family all those years ago and we came to the conclusion that this movie is not funny, but fucking sad! The entire film is a chronicle of this poor bloke that life is just slowly flushing down the drain; filled with disenfranchisement and various situations that redefine the meaning of a ‘rough day at work’. 

I’ll admit that the mockumentary style is used to great effect considering that the movie was made on a budget of practically nothing and the script itself is quite lovely and harbours some moments proving that language can polish a turd with relative success but, even after a second screening, I still remain of the opinion that this movie is not laugh-out-loud hilarious as everyone made and still make it out to be. There is absolutely nothing funny about a bloke trying to do a good job and being flogged by bad luck and misfortune at every step of the way! 

Meet Kenny: he’s a loveable, tubby, port-a-loo delivery and maintenance manager suffering the strains of 6-7 day-a-week job. Although Kenny takes pride in his work and does a good, honest job, everyone else gives him a wide birth. His own father is ashamed of him, his brother doesn’t really want anything to do with him, he struggles a little to have a relationship with his son, and his ex-wife continues to make his life just that little bit trickier. But despite his occupational pressures and the pressures of societal ethics, Kenny retains his calm, control, and determination to do a good job. 

Having had that little rant at the beginning, it would be unfair of me not to say the film is not without its charm. Kenny is not a bad movie, my tainted enjoyment of it stems from the fact that everyone was laughing at this bloke when there really was no need to. I mean there’s schadenfreude and schadenfreude and with Kenny, laughter at this poor bloke’s misfortune and shitty circumstances I think is just mean. The whole thing is a bit of a double-edged sword because whilst Kenny’s circumstances should make us feel deeply sympathetic or empathetic, his Aussie-battler determination to do a good job is what makes us relate to and root for him. He doesn’t deserve all the crap that he cops, but he keeps his head down, his manners polite, and really tries to make the most out of shitty situations and of course you have to really admire this! 

Shane Jacobson is the knight in grimy overalls himself and he delivers a great performance, made all the more lovable by his thick-skinned, slightly brutal looking exterior housing a heart of gold and an indomitable spirit within it, with an extra sweet factor coming in the form of a slight speech impediment. 

Starring Chris Davis, Mark Robertson, Jesse Jacobson, Ronald Jacobson, Ian Dryden, Clayton Jacobson, and Eve von Bibra, Kenny is a sweet little chronicle about a suburban workingman struggling through the Howard years. Adopted as an Aussie treasure for his determination and incredible steadfastness, Kenny is an image of the modern Aussie battler roughing it alone. Filled with drama, romance, determination, shitheads, and comedy, it’s a film that speaks to a lot of people. My only beef is that people were laughing in entirely the wrong way when it came out.