‘Kenny’: Australian film succeeds as comedy, character study

The low-budget Australian comedy “Kenny” is about the portable toilet business. That can’t be denied, as much as you might want to deny it.

But it’s really about something else: a certain kind of Aussie type, much beloved in that country’s culture: a beefy, working-class, straight-talking chap who likes his beer. He’d bathe in beer if he could.

Or so he says. Kenny, played by Shane Jacobson, probably exaggerates now and then. That’s the source of much of this film’s pleasure.

Kenny works for Splashdown, a big mover in the porta-potty business. We watch him as he goes about his business at various festivals, some of them shot at real-life horse races or concerts.

Kenny’s got a shrill ex-wife (heard but never seen), a young son he dotes on, and a father who’s focused on two things: keeping his trailer clean and denigrating Kenny’s job.

The film spares nothing in detailing this job. Inevitably, someone is going to lose a ring in a toilet. And Kenny’s the man to fish it out. (This is left off camera, thankfully.)

A bit of plot rises in the second half of the picture, as Kenny attends a convention in Nashville (an actual toilet expo) and enjoys a mild flirtation with a flight attendant. It’s all filtered through his wide-eyed wonder at being abroad for the first time.

“Kenny” is filmed in the style of Christopher Guest’s comedies, or “The Office”: It seems to be hand-held documentary about its subject, although of course it’s not. The project, based on a short film, is a labor of love by Shane Jacobson and his brother Clayton; they wrote it together, and Clayton directed (and also plays Kenny’s uptight brother).

Shane Jacobson’s performance in the lead role won him the Australian equivalent of the Oscar, and you can see why. Not only does he have natural comic talent, he never lets the seams show. Unsuspecting viewers might easily mistake this film for a real documentary, at least for a while.

Beyond the laughs, “Kenny” gives an increasingly rare thing in movies these days: a portrait of a long-suffering, working-class guy who doesn’t dream of riches or fame. Kenny’s rather proud of his accomplishments, and he should be.