'Get Duked!' Review: A wild, quirky comedy about four schoolboys learning the art of teamwork and friendship
There's always something about inane schoolboy comedies that can bring you cheer, even though you know exactly which way they're headed from the start. 'Get Duked!' is as absurd as it sounds, and is filled with vibrant energy and a lot of crude jokes, if you please. Four boys in Scottish Highlands have competed for the Duke of Edinburgh award. Unfortunately, they just have a map. They need to pool in all their intellectual resources if they want to win the award. Their phones are not going to be any of use to them, much to their disappointment. Three of them, Dean (Rian Gordon), Duncan (Lewis Gribben) and amateur rapper DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja) are close friends, and not happy to know they've been stuck with another lad Ian (Samuel Bottomley).
While Dean, Duncan and DJ Beatroot see this quest as some sort of punishment, which it is for them, Ian is eager to be in on this and has a desire to win. Of course, with such perfect combination, things go wrong from the start, as you can imagine. These four clashing personalities have a lot to learn, and perhaps being in the wild isn't the best option. The lost boys miss all the signs and realize that they don't yet have what it takes to survive in the wild. The true theme of this bizarre story is friendship as they learn the art of teamwork and become better friends with each other. Like said above, there's nothing new to see here, but does count for a fun watch, anyway. The teenagers do the best with the roles and after seeming downright unlikeable at the start, you actually warm up to these delinquents at the end of it.
To give director Ninian Doff credit, the film is a curious blend of horror-comedy, laced with satire, and in its own quirky way, is a coming-of-age story. It's an unusual combination, but miraculously, the filmmaker managed to pull this off. It's delightfully haywire at points (perhaps too much so) at points, though the film could have done without a lot of the jokes. Yet, between all the comedy, if you look hard enough, there's actually a sharp commentary about the ever-widening generational gap, masked by all the humor. The ride does seem never-ending at times, and you wish it could be a little less fast-paced, as it gives you the impression you're sitting on a swing that refuses to just stay in one place. Doff is certain that he wants to portray mayhem and chaos in every sense of the words, you just have to be up for it.
Nevertheless, all said and done, 'Get Duked!' is the film you watch with your friends when you just want some laughs. It's perfect for that. The film is streaming on Amazon Prime.