“This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is fucking coincidental.”
The opening on-screen disclaimer for Who Is K.K. Downey? makes it pretty obvious that this is a film filled with social satire. Up for laughs is the hipster subculture obsessed with indie music and ironic, eighties fashions. Splitting the seams of all those too tight pairs of jeans is the story of best friends Terrance (Darren Curtis) and Theo (Matt Silver) who live with their parents while living for their art: a no name rock band and an unsold novel. Though Theo’s beloved book is written about all things exciting, from gang bangs to drug binges and all the creative combinations of everything in between, no publisher will touch his hard core story written from white, middle class suburbia.
This is until Theo hatches a brilliant plan to make his masterpiece a memoir: pitching Terrance as the centerpiece of the story, K.K. Downey himself. As Terrance takes on the role of the gender bending, hard living, poetic speaking Downey, Theo’s novel Truckstop Hustler, gains widespread acclaim and becomes the best read book of the entire twenty-something generation. But Downey’s downfall isn’t too far behind his meteoric rise to fame; Terrance’s love for his old flame sparks a vendetta for vengeance in her new beau, an evil magazine reviewer who eventually uncovers the truth behind the legendary literary star and brings the sham to a screeching halt.
Who is K.K. Downey? is Darren Curtis and Pat Kiely’s debut feature film; impressively, the two wrote the screenplay along with Matt Silver and performed equally well in front of and behind the camera. I was really pleasantly taken away with the subtle, yet poignant wit that saturated Downey’s dialogue and made for a very sound, cohesive film. I wasn’t left wanting with this movie – the brilliantly colored characters, the quick and pivotal plot points, the gentle, timeless social commentary- all was delightfully spot on.
I saw Who is K.K. Downey? at the 2008 Philadelphia Film Fest, where the screening audience laughed through the entire show. The directors cited the fake memoir trend floating through recent literary history, namely the embarrassment that is James Frey, as the inspiration behind the movie. And though Who is K. K. Downey? is a delicious piece of contemporary cultural criticism, its entirely original story filled with fresh and dynamic characters makes the film timeless. The project was launched with both a little budget and a relatively small crew, but I wouldn’t have it any other way; the performances are pitch-perfect and the movie has the look and feel of a generational classic.
