Another fresh take on the mockumentary comedy (Kenny (DVD))

Member Name: BlackSwan

Product:	Kenny (DVD)
Date:	01/09/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original, very funny and touching without being sickeningly sentimental

Disadvantages: The realistic feel of this film may leave some viewers cold who expect the usual rythm of a comedy

The mockumentary style comedy has gone mainstream at least in the western world. I guess it really all started with Spinal Tap, but it wasn't until the like of Steve Coogan started to popularize uncomfortable conversations that some comedy writers twigged. The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm are prime examples of how this medium can present painfully realistic awkwardness and turn it into good mainstream comedy.

What Kenny, the story of an Australian portable toilet supplier, does is to present a very sympathetic character who is not driven by ego. We have neither the incompetent bafoonery of the pompous David Brent or the cynical "Larry David" persona. He is a content blue collar worker who takes enormous pride in a job he is very aware the rest of the world would rather not think much about - "I'd love to be able to say 'I plumb toilets' and have someone say 'Now that is something I've always wanted to do'". Divorced from a wife who only phones him to discipline a son he loves, endlessly criticized by a very disappointed and tedious father, and constantly playing nursemaid to his moaning team of fellow plumbers, Kenny is the downtrodden yet resourceful and optimistic ground level manager of any business. Kenny may philosophize about his work, but this is no undiscovered genius. Nevertheless, a lot of the breaks he receives are not the usual dumb luck that we find happening to fictional characters like this.

There is some obvious signs of formula here, but what I feel makes Kenny different from other similar works or comedies is its refusal to try to ram a gag in on every scene. There are whole sequences where you get embroiled in the storyline, which really does often feel like a real documentary, and won't laugh for a while, but when the humour does come it is very funny. Some great lines include "There is a smell down here that is going to outlast religion", "From the back she looked like a fridge with a head" and "Busier than a one-armed bricklayer in Baghdad".

I highly recommend Kenny to anyone who has - well, lived life!

Summary: A different comedy that offers quality over quantity on the gag front