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"Kenny" Review - Traverse City Film Festival

by Jane Boursaw on August 1st, 2008

Kenny is one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a long time. Not only funny, but also heartwarming and intelligent and optimistic.

It’s a mockumentary in the vein of Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap) which follows the life of a loveable Australian guy who works for a port-a-potty rental business called Splashdown. They do corporate rentals for both large events and small church socials.

I didn’t realize this film wasn’t real until the end credits rolled with the names of the actors. Yes, I thought it was a real documentary. That either says something about the quality of the film or the stupidity of me — maybe both.

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Kenny Smyth (Shane Jacobson) is an Australian bloke who deals with human excrement all day long. As you might imagine, the film is rife with crap humor, but it takes the humor seriously, if that makes sense.

Take the company’s slogan: “We’re number one with your number two.” And Kenny figuring out the shit/piss ratio of folks at an upcoming event. And the rumor of how the word “shit” came to be. It used to be hauled in the lower level of boats and frequently caught on fire. Thus, it was boxed into containers with the words “Store High In Transit” on the side. Got that? SHIT.

Kenny delights in taking viewers on guided tours of the company’s facilities and has no trouble talking about shit all day long. We follow him as he deals with life’s daily challenges: nasty phone calls from his ex-wife, a disgruntled dad who calls him a “glorified turd burgler,” a trip to a port-a-potty convention in Tennessee, and other, uh, interesting situations, like finding a naked guy chained to a toilet at a big festival.

During a race car event, Kenny and his co-workers try to keep rowdy participants from setting the johns on fire. In the melee, Kenny’s leg catches on fire. “No man should be set on fire trying to save one of his shitters,” he quips.

Kenny’s a “no worries” kind of guy who realizes that no kid will ever want to ride on the back of his truck filled with port-a-potties. It’s not like a fire engine, he says.

And as for the naysayers? “If people have a problem with what I do, that’s their problem, not mine,” says Kenny. Excellent words to live by.

“Kenny” is on DVD, but also still playing at film festivals and in theaters. If you have a chance to see it, you really must do so. In fact, I’m commanding you to see this film. Jacobson is fantastic as an optimistic, working-class dude just trying to get by, and well complemented by spot-on casting of family members (real-life dad, Ronald Jacobson, plays his dad; real-life brother Clayton plays his brother and is also the writer, director and producer of the film; and Jesse Jacobson — not sure how he’s related — plays his son).

And if the settings seem realistic, it’s because the film was financed by the real-life port-a-potty company, Splashdown. Jacobson was placed in the middle of many real-life events, including the Melbourne Cup horse race. Splashdown employees also have supporting roles.

DVD Extras: Audio commentaries, deleted scenes, behind the scenes and bloopers, short films, making-of featurette.  

Watch the trailer: