Did Channel 10, or one of its affiliates, have a hand in the funding of Kenny (10 Wed 830P), the 2006 Aussie comedy ? For it to hit free to air TV so soon after release (usually 3 years) would suggest so. Kenny, the man behind the name, played by Shane Jacobson (and directed by his brother Ronald) is the latest in a long line of naïve, knock-about, basically lovable Aussie blokes just doing their job. His line of work is in Port-a-loos which dot the landscape at every public event and function.
What makes Kenny fun to watch is that it gets good mileage out of its poo jokes in the first half hour and then settles down to present a character comedy as Kenny deals with his estranged wife, cantankerous father, indifferent employees and all the while trying to relate to his near teenage son in a respectful and responsible way.
I have also found that I regard the otherwise unremarkable Port-a-loo out in the real world in a whole new way after seeing this film!
Also on first run is 2005’s Kingdom of Heaven (7 Sun 830P). From director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator) it stars Orlando Bloom as the shattered young man, Balian, who rides off to fight the barbarians in the Crusades; it co-stars Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons. At the time of its release, the reviews wanted to be positive but just couldn’t quite. The action scenes are good, performances okay and the story line manages to blend enough fiction into the fact to render the fact meaningless ! GG seems surprised that “Bloom can only hold the camera for a few seconds before his internalised grief gives way to blankness.” For those of us who have followed his career since Fellowship of the Ring, there is no surprise. He can’t act !
1 comment:
Great work.
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