"Kath & Kim" (2002) TV series 2002-????

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Creators:

Gina Riley
Jane Turner

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

16 May 2002 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Suburban nightmares living the suburban dream.

Plot:

A mother, her daughter, and their respective "hunks of spunk" negotiate life in suburban Australia.

Plot Keywords:

Performer | Caricature | Camp | Character Name In Title

Awards:

9 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Jane Turner	...	Kathleen 'Kath' Darleen Day Knight / ... (32 episodes, 2002-2007)
Gina Riley	...	Kimberly 'Kim' Day Craig / ... (32 episodes, 2002-2007)
Glenn Robbins	...	Kel Graham Knight (32 episodes, 2002-2007)
Peter Rowsthorn	...	Brett Craig (32 episodes, 2002-2007)
Magda Szubanski	...	Sharon Karen Strzelecki / ... (32 episodes, 2002-2007)

Runtime:

26 min (24 episodes)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Flemington Racecourse, Flemington, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Riley Turner Productions

Trivia:

Co-writer and star, Gina Riley sings the opening song title "The Joker Is Me".

Quotes:

[Kath trying to help her daughter to lose weight]
Kath: Look at moy, look at moy. Kimmy, Look at moy. Now I've got one word to say to you... Ozone.
Kim: What?
Kath: The ozone diet. It's taking Hollywood by storm, Kim. See what you do is, you eating nothing but air for two weeks and then nothing but red meat for two weeks so it all evens out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dancing with the Stars: (#6.1)" (2007)

The 'Kingswood Country' of the new millennium

Part-satire, part-parody, part-social commentary, Kath & Kim pulls no punches when it hacks into the pretention and ridiculous self-obsession of middle Australia. In settings that are essentially real - brick-veneer suburban homes and crowded escalator-riddled shopping malls - the two eponymous characters bounce off each other and the rest of the cast, Kath pretending to be worldly and 'with it', and Kim full of poorly-justified self-pity and narcissism. It's all great fun, but it also induces more than the odd cringe, because we all know a Kath or a Kim, and perhaps there's even a little of them in us occasionally.

The strength of the show is revealing the flawed respectability of the Australian middle-class for what it is. Nice house and car Kath and Kim might have, but intelligence, worldliness, tolerance, humility, concern and perspective are missing from their vapid lives: discussions centre around shopping and petty personal issues, Kath's idea of history is Barbara Cartland and Kim's days are spent brooding and Internet shopping. The supporting cast are no more credible: Kath's fiance Kel is a stereotype, a 70s throwback Teddy boy, a perennial loser with poor fashion sense and a string of jilted engagements. Kim's best friend Sharon is an obese, dim-witted, hypochondriac sports freak, while her estranged husband Brett - the most sensible character of the lot - is inexplicably drawn back to her ugly manipulative careening.

Of course not all Australians fit one of these moulds, but many do. The humour succeeds because it's inherently satirical: the characters mispronounce words in an effort to sound intelligent, mix metaphors, bungle proverbs, say the most stupid things while keeping a straight face. Moreover, it's successful because we can easily identify with it or relate it to people we know - a hallmark of high-quality satire.