Get Duked! Review: The Hunt With Darker Humor, More Drugs, And More Laughs

Release date: August 28, 2020
Running time: 86 minutes
Starring: Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie, Georgie Glen, James Cosmo

Dean (Rian Gordon), Duncan (Lewis Gribben), and DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja) are teenage pals from Glasgow who are forced to embark on the character-building camping trip—based on a real-life program—known as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, where foraging, teamwork, and orienteering are the order of the day.  Eager to cut loose and smoke weed in the Scottish Highlands, the trio find themselves paired with strait-laced Ian (Samuel Bottomley), a fellow camper determined to play by the rules. After veering off-path into remote farmland that’s worlds away from their urban comfort zone, the boys find themselves hunted down by a shadowy force hell-bent on extinguishing their futures.

Although I was initially turned off by the movie stills and poster, don't let those dissuade you from this.  Get Duked! is a fantastic film with a great sense of style and a dry European sense of humor that had me laughing out loud many times.  The group of youths are fun to watch. They each have distinct personalities and motivations, yet meld very well.  The friends are all fun individually and as a group, but DJ Beatroot is definitely the star of this show.  His personality has plenty of quirk and his antics are laugh out loud funny.  I especially liked some of the things he does to avoid messing up his all white outfit, and his rap songs are as catchy as they are silly.  The other standout is Ian, who plays the straight-laced youth in this film.  However, he is forced to bend the rules to survive, and learn to rely on the ridiculous group he is shackled with.  And although the boys don't get top billing, they are the true stars of this film.  It is great to see these young actors real steal the show, and inject heart and energy into this quirky film.

Get Duked! has a funny, dark comedy style to it that is apparent from the moment the film starts.  It definitely grabs you and doesn't let go.  The story is evenly paced, with a good setting that gets you to some action relatively quickly.  It also puts the friends in several moments where their quirks shine through.  Even from the start you get to see some of the ridiculous things that they say and do, and really start to enjoy seeing these characters.  And with a main character who is an aspiring hip hop artist, and a director with a history of directing music videos, you can expect the music to be top notch.  And it definitely is.  DJ Beatroot's songs are fun and catchy; they not only tell a story but keep you entertained.  But it is also the atmospheric music that will draw you in and keep your attention.  When it starts to get a little sinister, instrumental music comes on from Alex Menzies that is reminiscent of Hans Zimmer.  It really sets the stage and helps shift the mood to something more serious (though there is still plenty of ridiculousness going on).

And speaking of the ridiculous nature of this film, the story gives plenty of opportunities to put these kids into dangerous, hilarious, and altogether entertaining situations.  The film keeps introducing more and more, building towards an unexpected and wholly satisfying ending.  Really there is not much wrong with Get Duked!  If there is a complaint, it is that as an American, I found it tough to understand some of the lines due to the thick accents.  But that did nothing to blunt my enjoyment of this film.  Make time this weekend to earn your Duke of Edinburgh Award; you will definitely not regret it.

Get Duked! has a dark comedic style, quirky characters, and story that puts them all to great use with plenty of ridiculousness and laugh out loud moments!

Watch it.

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