Customer Reviews

Kenny

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was fortunate to take a trip to Australia after this film had been released. One of the people there told me this mocumentary was the best example of Australians he knew. He also said many Australians believed Kenny was an actual person because the porta-potty company for which he works is a real company in Australia.

I was mesmerized from the start.

If you like the TV series "Dirty Jobs" you are going to thoroughly enjoy this movie!

Kenny is a classy guy who takes pride in his not-so-classy job. I'm thrilled I can finally add this movie to my DVD collection!

I saw Kenny earlier this year in Australia, and found it completely delightful. I was skeptical at first -- many mockumentary characters are vapid, worthless imbeciles who serve only as whetstones for the writers to sharpen their sarcasm on, headcases with no self-awareness and even less personal appeal.

Kenny is just the opposite. He is a decent, ordinary bloke with a son who's not sure what to think of him, a father who's out-and-out ashamed of him, and a job that's thankless in the extreme... but he handles every turn with humor, grace, and some very sturdy work gloves.

Somehow amidst a plot full of absurd toilet humor (that somehow manages never to be crass) and riotously funny fish-out-of-water scenes, this movie made me a bit teary-eyed. It's a human film from start to finish, with comedy and pathos enough to satisfy even the most jaded movie-goer.

I must admit, when I first heard of the popularity of this 'mockumentary' movie I was a bit skeptical about seeing it because of the humour it would employ. However, when I finally took the plunge to view it (on tv) I was more than pleasantly surprised. Australians, by and large, despite all the shallow nationalistic rhetoric at times, are devoid of self confidence. Hence, there is an unfortunate tendency towards what is termed here as a cultural cringe. In other words, Australians, rather shallowly, don't like their own stuff, because they think it will be dismissed (as it often is) by outsiders - particularly the British or Americans. I suspect, this movie for the same reason maybe treated likewise at home. It's a pity because, the movie, as many of the reviewers here have pointed out, isn't just about a 'plumber' doing his dirty work, it's about the dignity and good heartedness of a simple man, trying to cope with his life as best as he can in often trying circumstances. To the American reviewers and others, I suggest you don't have to come to Australia to see people like Kenny - and yes, the gems of people like Kenny you can still find from time to time - I'm sure they are right there amongst you in the U.S. or elsewhere.

The toilet jokes throughout the film are used in an understated way, not intended to offend. What comes out best in "Kenny" is the character himself, and the contrast of him with the often self centred, superficial people he unfortunately has to deal with. He is a single father, playing an important role in the much maligned business of 'porta loos' (portable toilets en masse for various functions). He has to deal with snobby racegoers, a difficult ex-wife, and fellow employees not always reliable. On top of this, he travels to the U.S. to attend a 'business' convention. There, his wonderment and natural charm with those attending and exhibiting, make him easily likeable. His concern for the safe return to his hotel room of an inebriated Japanese business friend, rather than pursuing a possible romantic interest with the Air Stewardess he met on the flight over, endears his personal qualities even more. The Air Stewardess (Jackie I think), is the only female role that equates with redeemable qualities. In then end, you know, or at least hope, that the Kennys of this world will somehow make the best of any situation they're in. That's why, the closing scene of his reuniting with Jackie(?) suggest there is hope for the decent.

If you want to see a movie that reinvigorates your faith in the better qualities of people then have a look at "Kenny".

Interesting that reviewers have been touting the incredibly funny humor in the film Kenny, but I found it to be more poignant than comedic. Kenny is funny, sure, but he's also a decent bloke trying to make an honest living, and he carries himself with a certain amount of dignity and grace as he goes about his job. We should all try to be more like Kenny. He knows his job is distasteful to just about everybody, but he refuses to apologize for it or feel belittled by his choice of profession. After all, he performs a valuable service, that let's face it, everybody is going to need sooner or later.

Kenny handles his ex-wife and mean-spirited father with an almost zen-like calm, as well as annoying co-workers and whiny, uppity people at public events (where he's working). The acting is so top-notch, I really believed I was watching a documentary all the way through, I just couldn't believe that Kenny wasn't the real deal. Also, the convention in Nashville was a real convention, wasn't it? I don't see how they could have arranged all those companies together on the apparently low budget of the film.

Excellent film, humorous and poignant at the same time.

"Kenny" is a mocumentary about a Melbourne Aussie (Kenny) who's a porta-potty guru. As you learn the business of waste management you soon realize there's more to Kenny than meets the eye. As he battles the oddities of dealing with people and their waste needs, you are treated with some of the best common sense wisdom. He covers everything from divorce, fatherhood, family conflicts, to death, and employee relations. He is an honest, straightforward, simple guy who just wants to do a good job for people and be treated with respect. "Kenny" is a hilariously funny movie with a heart. This is a movie you will think about for a long time after. English subtitles are provided for the "Aussie-Impaired".

"Kenny" was a big hit in Australia, where it was made by the Jacobson brothers: Clayton, who writes, directs, and produces, and Shane, who writes, produces, and stars as Kenny Smyth, port-a-potty man. This s a mockumentary deliberately made to look amateurish, so it doesn't' suffer for its low budget and handheld camera. The brothers' father Ronald Jacobson and Clayton's wife and son are in the film as well, so it seems like a family project. Kenny is an unassuming, easy-going employee of Splashdown, a company that furnishes "corporate bathroom rentals". He speaks frankly about the life and work of a man who plumbs poo for a living to a documentary film crew that follows him to all kinds of events that need potties and, finally, to a big Pumper and Cleaner Expo in the USA.

I don't think I've ever seen a greater burden put on one actor to carry a movie. Kenny is at the center of every scene. His blunt talk and surprisingly good nature combine to make him a lovable working class hero. Director Clayton Jacobson has found a way to get good dialogue in a loosely scripted film, and that is to tell the actors what the character says in general terms and let them put it in their own words. Shane Jacobson is a veteran of the stage and conveys an almost hyper-genuineness in his manner and speech. Many of the other actors are non-professionals. And Splashdown is a real company. Its owner really is Glenn Preusker, and we see real employees in the film. Kenny's not real, but his friendliness and gift for understatement are enormously appealing.

The DVD (Xenon 2008): There are 16 deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer, 4 featurettes, and an audio commentary. "The Making of Kenny" (44 min) is a full-featured documentary that interviews the Jacobsons, their family, cast, and others about the film and its appeal, from the project's conception to its warm reception in Australia. "Post Production" (5 min) is about editing and recording the sound. "Directing in Nashville" (9 min) joins the cast and crew filming in the US. The director talks about working with non-actors and filming on locations. "Shootin the Sh*% with the Cast and Crew" (6 min) are outtakes. The audio commentary is with Clayton Jacobson and Shane Jacobson in the character of Kenny, so it is a sort of continuation of the film. The film is optionally subtitled in English to help with the accents and the fact that Kenny slurs a bit.

Just saw Kenny at the Traverse City Film Festival and Michael Moore was right! This movie had the audience in absolute stitches... very clever and well paced. Highly recommended

I can relate with Kenny on having a (forgive me) crappy, thankless job & having to put up with clueless (truly sorry) arse holes all the time. This movie really hit home for me.

See the movie, You'll feel better about yourself after.

From the opening scene to the final credits, this film is, in Australian parlance, a Pearler! It took me half the film to realize that this was not in fact a documentary, but was a mockumentary. Shane Jacobson is a truly great Australian talent (he's currently completing a movie with Paul Hogan of Crocodile Dundee fame). Funniest line? "This smell is going to last longer than religion."

Thoroughly recommend it.

KENNY was shown Spring 2008 at Philadelphia Film Fest. The scuttlebutt (puns already!) were that this was a funny film; a title like KENNY didn't register its subject matter to me, but an Australian-- or was it New Zealand film, sounded promising to me. I'm jumping the gun here, but the reason I am unsure of where the film was made, is that I purchased 4 DVDs this fall for gifts to friends. I promised myself after seeing KENNY last spring that this was a perfect gift for a number of my male friends. (I don't now own a copy.) There were as many women in the sold out audience at the Film Fest last spring laughing as hard as we all were. It's not the sorta thing a man buys a woman for a gift-- well not me. But it is hilarious. I truly thought this film would get a major release; I never heard further of it. It appeared on the racks of DVD vendors in October I think. It's bathroom-- cut the euphemism-- toilet humor. The film is about Kenny, who narrates in Aussie (English subtitles so you don't miss a word) English this mockumentary of a "Sanitation" man (he provides porta-potties) to major sports,Rock shows and other large events-- it's Australia I'm sure.

The engaging performance of the actor portraying Kenny and the delightfully (I did say that) scripted 'tome' he delivers throughout is (I will not say 'delicious')bright, funny.

The film and Kenny never (here I go again) stoop so low as to be as tasteless as my 'delicious' word use. Having grown up in the midwest in the age of dinosaurs, bathroom humor supplanted any suggestion or mention of sex; I left all the "beans" humor behind long ago, and I will crudely embarrass myself again by saying this film KENNY I found refreshing and very, very funny. The guys I gave this DVD to have all responded and quoted lines to me. It worked! It's not great film art, but there's a wonderfully honest picture of a blue collar worker who sees through the crap (literally) and at another level, much the way W.C. Fields in those 1930's brilliant comedies tolerated fools, jerks and ..turds. Gibbs Murray