Movie Breakdown: Get Duked!

Pre-Screening Stance:

I didn’t know that Get Duked! even existed until a screener rolled into my inbox, but after checking out the trailer, I think it looks like it could be a good time.

Post-Screening Ramble:

Heavily influenced by Edgar Wright and playing out like The Hunt but with teens as its stars, Get Duked! is a kinetic film that occasionally spins out of control, but overall it works. It features four teenage boys – three are total hooligans (Viraj Juneja, Rian Gordon, Lewis Gribben) and one (Samuel Bottomley) is far too nice for his own good – who get dumped in the Scottish Highlands. Their provided goal is to complete a small set of objectives (like teamwork, orienting, etc.) while trekking to various checkpoints, which seems simple enough, but it quickly gets complicated when a masked man starts shooting at them with a rifle. Now, I know this sounds like a horror show, but Get Duked! is much more of a comedy than anything else. The boys are a real rag tag team of dopes, and even when the bullets start flying, the tone never shifts into anything scary or all that serious. Hell, right in the middle of the movie when things are at their most “tense,” one of the characters gets high on rabbit shit and puts on a hip hop show for a bunch of farmers. As I mentioned, the movie is a bit much sometimes, but thankfully it’s energetic and funny enough to recover when it veers off the rails. Also, I appreciate that it attempts (and lands) a poignant punch in its final moments.

Get Duked! is not a movie that’s going to wow you, but it’s a fun little dark comedy. You should have a couple drinks and check it out when it lands on Prime Video this Friday.

One Last Thought:

Apparently, this movie was originally titled Boyz In The Woods. I’m glad it was changed.