Reviewed by Jacob Powell

MEET KENNY. He’s a plumber, but with a difference – he specialises in corporate waste management. Or, in layman’s terms, dealing with other people’s shit. The problem for Kenny is that it isn’t just literal shit he has to deal with. There is also the emotional, social, and relational shit that he has to put up with too. Great stinking mounds of it!


The eponymous Kenny is a long-time, senior employee at “Splashdown”, a Melbourne based company that, hires, installs, and maintains portable toilets – specialising in large corporate or public events. Unlike some of his colleagues, he’s not just making a buck however he can; he actually seems to really enjoy his work. As the film crew follows the Splashdown team we are taken on a rare, guided tour through the dark underbelly of public events: summer dance parties, big race nights at the local petrol-head track, through to the Melbourne Cup race day.

I’ll wager that not many of us have actually stopped to consider the excremental implications of our various communal gatherings – except, perhaps, when the queues are very long and muscle control feels wanting! Kenny, whilst taking the piss, also provides some insight into these (publicly) uncharted waters, and it does so with warmth, and good humour; creating an authenticity of setting and feel.

[NB: The firm portrayed in the film, Splashdown, is an actual Melbourne based corporate bathroom rentals firm whose motto is “Make An Impact”]

To give Kenny some stylistic references, think Rob Sitch’s The Castle (1997) meets Scott Ryan’s The Magician (2005). The former because it champions the ‘little guy’, whilst simultaneously poking fun at, and celebrating, the stereotypical lower socio-economic strata of white Australia. The latter, more for its use of the mockumentary platform and the subsequent grand results from a meagre budget, than for any sense of Tarantinesque subject matter and noir flavoured humour.

Directed by Clayton Jacobson, starring Shane Jacobson, and co-written by both, this is truly a family affair. Joining the brothers is their father, Ronald, who plays Kenny’s father, one of the major supporting characters in the film. Like many younger directors these days, Clayton has worked on a number of music videos and shorts prior to completing moving onto his debut feature film. He also, notably, directed the very amusing Footloose episode of John Safran's Music Jamboree.

Kenny is an unashamed ‘feel good’ comedy which certainly achieves its purpose. Though the ‘toilet’ humour will appeal to some more than others, everyone in the cinema broke into communal laughter throughout our screening of the film.

The Jacobsons manage to create a thoughtful narrative out of, what could easily have become a single joke routine. Sure, there are an abundance of “shit” references thrown in for good measure, and some cheap laughs, but the movie depends as much on the character and relationship dynamics as it does on its faecal (subject) matter.

We witness the development of: an uneasy father-son relationship, wider dysfunctional family ties, a believable, and surprisingly underplayed romantic scenario, as well as Kenny’s dilemma about how much he values his work versus measuring up to external expectations.

These dramatic threads draw the viewer in and provide some narrative shape for the mockumentary; particularly Kenny’s personal journey to being at peace with who he is and what he does, as outside pressures compound to devalue these. His job serves as a common touch point for conflict, or interaction, in all his relationships, as is the case for many of us.

The linear storyline also provides a natural feeling, framework upon which to hang the plethora of visual gags (eg. Parochial Kenny, surrounded by be-suited business people, wandering into a huge international waste management trade expo wearing a pair of shorts which would make the staunchest Australian rules football fan proud), excrement jokes, and amusing clash of the cultures moments.

Unfortunately the filmmakers, and hence the film itself, are a little too in love with their lead character. Kenny is viewed through somewhat rose tinted lenses, whilst negative character traits are painted in broad strokes over a number of the one dimensional supporting characters. This was the main detractor for me. It’s all too easy for writers and directors to be lazy with their setup and create character unreality which often jars the viewer.

In this film, as in many others, the protagonist can do no wrong. He happily slaves away at his job, acting as a pseudo-counsellor to his needy, dysfunctional workmates. When rowdy riotous crowds attack him and his team on the job, Kenny is the soul of diplomacy, holding back those in his team who are possessed of less exalted reserves of self control. He endures the ill communicated love of an angry, disappointed father, and angst from an embittered brother with great patience whilst simultaneously battling the spite proffered by his ex-wife with only the humane weapons of grace and understanding.

An earthier, more angelic person you’re unlikely to find.

Even when our saint finally shows some cracks (as opposed to showing some crack), the recipient of Kenny’s measured outburst is so surely deserving of the action that the audience, avidly projecting all the negative experiences Kenny has put up with over the past 80 minutes of the film, can’t help but feel as justified as Kenny does, if not more so! This bout of writers’ hero-worship really only rankled a very little, and then, merely upon reflection. It certainly will not significantly diminish your enjoyment of the film while in the midst of viewing.

Though Kenny isn’t about to win any academy awards, or garner a great deal of intellectual critical acclaim, you can’t help but like this film. It is a well written, well directed, and well played debut feature from the Jacobson brothers who know what it is to be Australian and are able to have a healthy laugh at themselves. It may even help a few to consider the good work of some people who may otherwise suffer their vocal as well as olfactory abuse. It seems appropriate, if a little cheesy, to say: this is some pretty good shit!