to a job interview for the position of an assistant manager after getting fired from his previous job( remember the porn incident?). It is a cleverly executed episode that involves a parody of a popular Cola-Cola ad followed by an accidental mix-up that leads G into the wrong interviewing room because well, shit happens.
Even in its most serious moments like episode 2 where G walks in on his wife in bed with a younger man, Shit Happens still manages to find its humour and steer us away from any sort of empathy you would otherwise feel in such a situation. It is all on you if you decide to feel sorry for G or not, but this show is not asking for it.
Shit Happens seems to have mastered the art of‘ show, don’ t tell,’ something our Kenyan shows with wordy and sometimes irrelevant dialogue, can borrow from. It doesn’ t rely heavily on dialogue to deliver its humour, and the actors, especially Langiri, do an excellent job with their actions while saying as little as possible.
It also helps that Langiri is the director of this comedy, bringing with him that unapologetic boldness that has defined his work in the risqué comedies Fundimentals and House of Lungula and the talk show In the Forest with Gerald Langiri.
Under the watchful eye of Kenya Film Classification Board’ s Dr Ezekiel Mutua, Shit Happens is the kind of comedy you will never see on primetime TV. It breaks all the rules but in a good way, sometimes it is cringe-worthy, but it
is your loss if you stopped watching it just because you cannot handle some‘ shit’. We are always too safe with our humour, always too guarded and too censored to do and say exactly what we want to say. It is a good thing Shit Happens breaks free from these restraints and finds its humour in the most self-deprecating situations.
We need more shows like this in Kenya, not ones about shit but bold comedy that is not afraid to embarrass itself and be brilliant at the same time.
When you are done watching all the six episodes, it is okay if you find yourself saying,“ Shit, are there any more episodes?”
Filamu Kenya PAGE 15 now playing