18 November 2007

Kenny is not on the surface an easy sell to fans of more sophisticated comedy, given that its central character is a waste management plumber who supplies portaloos to everyone from church socials to rock festivals, which sounds like the perfect setup for a broad scatological comedy. But Kenny is a film that became a runaway box-office success on terrific word-of-mouth in its native Australia. The toilet humour is there, but Kenny is a smarter, more sophisticated movie than its subject matter might suggest, a mockumentary feature in the style of This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show. I'll let the press notes fill in the rest:

A cheerfully amusing flush of toilet humour in the most literal sense, Kenny takes as its focus the hero of the title, an affable waste management plumber with a disarmingly infectious enthusiasm for life no matter what it throws at him. The number one when it comes to number twos, Kenny Smyth (Shane Jacobson) is in the business of taking care of 'business', delivering and installing Portaloos to corporate and public events, from the smallest of local fetes to Australia's biggest rock festivals and even the prestigious Melbourne Cup horse race.

But on top of having to deal with being up to his neck in sewage every day, Kenny also has to cope with a bullying harridan of an ex-wife, a judgemental father and an embarrassed young son, not to mention the often-erratic behaviour of his colleagues.

Co-written by real-life brothers, director Clayton Jacobson and star Shane Jacobson, Kenny is engaging, charming and sweet without being sugar coated. Never once resorting to crudity, despite its subject matter, it's an irresistible and uplifting comedy about a loveable, optimistic everyman whose glass is always half full.

Kenny will be released on UK DVD by Contender on 21st January at the RRP of £15.99 with the following special features:

• UK Trailer;
• Lifting the Lid Featurette;
• 11 Bonus Scenes.