Kenny

Kenny Smyth (Shane Jacobson) spends his time buried up to the elbows in human excrement.

But don’t let that dictate your opinion of him. Kenny is one of the most genuine, kind, believable people in existence, on-screen or off. He endures his irritating codger of a father (Ronald Jacobson), adores his son, helps out complete strangers, and smiles, laughs, and jokes his way through a job that is… quite literally… full of shit.

Written by brothers Jacob and Derek Jacobson, Kenny is an extraordinarily engrossing mockumentary following the journey of it’s titular character (a 40-something Aussie bloke that just happens to work for portaloo company Splashdown) and his attempts to hold his life together and make something of himself. Where this film finds its strength is in its refusal to be calculatedly clever, simply allowing its wonderful characters to allow us into their lives, however simple they may be. Kenny is dignified and sweet, the kind of bloke you’d chat to for hours at the pub, and it’s impossible not to cheer him on as he navigates through his life; experiencing love, air-travel, hoon-attacks, mistreatment, and a hell of a lot of shit.

Christopher Guest, eat your heart out.