Who Is KK Downey?

It's far too early to make any guarantees but I've got a feeling that a few years from now we may all look back at Who Is KK Downey? as the beginning of some pretty big comedy careers. The movie may have been made with a miniscule budget on video cameras by a collection of Montreal-dwelling friends but it's easily the funniest Canadian film to hit screens in decades. It's a shame that the movie only got a token release in a few major Canadian cities after a successful film festival run because if it had been given a chance to find an audience this sucker could have easily become a cult hit. Hopefully people will discover this gem on DVD because a movie of this calibre doesn't deserve to be dismissed. Who Is KK Downey? is first and foremost a parody of hipster culture. The film stars co-writers Matt Silver and Darren Curtis as a pair of aimless 20something musicians with delusions of grandeur who are starting to realize that they'll never be rock stars. When one of them writes a novel that's rejected because the publisher feels no one cares about what white, middleclass guys have to say (a fair assumption) they decide to create a fictional author named KK Downey and find sudden fame. Once famous, they pair end up going through a classic drug-fuelled downward spiral, as one angry music critic with a ridiculous haircut (the other co-writer, Pat Kiely) tries to uncover the truth behind KK Downey. Co-writers and stars Matt Silver, Darren Durtis and Pat Kiely provide a hilarious and candid DVD commentary where they reveal themselves as a struggling sketch comedy troupe from Montreal trying to transition into filmmaking. Given their ability to create hilarious characters that feel like they're taken straight out of the pathetic hipster existence that all urban young folks know so well, these guys clearly have some serious comedic talent. Kiely and Curtis also co-directed and give the project a jittery visual style that's far more engaging than the point-and-shoot aesthetic found in most mainstream comedies. Make no mistake: Who Is KK Downey? is a small movie with small ambitions but it announces the arrival of a unique and talented group of comedians that will hopefully be around for quite a while.