Kenny ****

[Jon]

Kenny
4 out of 5



Australian Kenny is a plumber. Of sorts! He installs and maintains portable toilets at corporate events, rock concerts, etc. This documentary follows him in his work as he deals with all types of customers and colleagues. We also meet his family; son, ex-wife, father and brother.

A sort of change of pace with this hilarious mockumentary with a few surprises up it's... pipe. It is bloody funny, there's no way around that. Kenny is a laid-back sort, with a one liner for every occasion. Ok, its normally something to do with "mud-biscuits", but still, he is a great companion in this strange world. I've got loads of new phrases now! I'm particularly fond of "we're gonna get flogged. We're gonna be busier than a one-armed brick layer in Baghdad."

I admit, I sat down to watch it thinking it was just going to be one joke after another about crap and crapping and the people who collect it. What I wasn't expecting was such an honest film that for the last half at least is actually quite moving.

After various escapades in his daily life culminating in a fantastic sequence at a race circuit, Kenny's boss sends him to an expo in Nashville. The whole sequence is wonderful. I'm not exaggerating. Seeing him take his first plane journey and then going out with one of the stewardesses is such fun and feels far more genuine than a dozen romantic comedies. Great little film!

I heard this quote about the character that sums him nicely: "eternally optimistic and always ready to put others before himself". He's content in his work and finds joy in the smallest things. Someone has to do the job, yet everyone seems to complain about Kenny and his toilets, but it has to go somewhere. All his customers think they're better than him simply because he cleans up after them. Bollocks. We could all learn something from him and that's the point.

Trailer