The King (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Matthew Saville

Writers:

Jaime Browne (written by)
Kris Mrksa (written by)

Release Date:

20 May 2007 (Australia)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The King is the story of Graham Kennedy, Australia's first and greatest home grown TV superstar. It traces his rise and rise...

Plot Keywords:

John Wesley | Controversial

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Stephen Curry	...	Graham Kennedy
Shaun Micallef	...	Colin Bednall
Garry McDonald	...	Nicky Whitta
Steve Bisley	...	Harry M. Miller
Stephen Hall	...	Bert Newton
Todd MacDonald	...	Richard Croft
Bernard Curry	...	John Wesley
Nick Farnell	...	Norm Spencer
Donal Forde	...	Geoff 'Corkie' Corke
Leo Taylor	...	Sir Frank Packer
Beau Brady	...	Tim
Monica Maughan	...	Nana Scott
Roz Hammond	...	Kathleen Whitta
Jane Allsop	...	Noeline Brown
Beth Buchanan	...	Val Wesley

Also Known As:

The King: The Story of Graham Kennedy (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

Australia:100 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English | English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Crackerjack Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After Graham gets into his car and tells his driver he might have a quiet night in, the vehicle proceeds round a corner, briefly revealing a lighting tower and several crew members in the background.

A little Disappointing

There is no doubt that Graham Kennedy was a master of his craft, with Bert Newton not too far behind as another icon of Australian Television. As such it was always going to be difficult for anyone to accurately portray The King. While Steven Curry's performance is a reasonable effort it still resembles something of a caricature and falls well short of reproducing the magic of Kennedy.

Graham Kennedy's life certainly had its bitter sweet moments with his complex and private personal relationships but I thought that the writers could have delved a little more deeply into his life and what made him tick. Some things appear to have been left unsaid.

There were some interesting insights into the early days of television in Australia where the participants learned their craft on the job but perhaps it was the attempt to duplicate everyone from Noeline Brown to an appalling attempt at replicating Ugly Dave Gray that detracted from the film.

The fact is that many Australians grew up with these characters and appreciate and understand them from viewing hundreds of their performances over the years. Any attempt to re create icons like Graham Kennedy is likely to be very tough indeed. It is ironic that some of the more effective moments in the film came with original footage of Kennedy himself rather than those from his impersonator.

Perhaps this was too big a task. As so many have said, no one will ever replace The King.