GET DUKED! | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Ninian Doff (15, 87 mins)
Originally titled Boyz In The Wood, this comedy balances bromance, hallucinogens and class warfare with giddy fun and is a promising debut from writer/director Doff. Four boys are taken into the Scottish Highlands to do their Duke Of Edinburgh Award: for three upstarts it’s a punishment for bad behaviour, for one a stepping stone to a better CV and university place.
Characters are established quickly – Lewis Gribben’s tearaway with more intelligence than he thinks, Viraj Juneja’s would-be hip-hop artist DJ Beatroot, Rian Gordon’s slow on the uptake Duncan and Samuel Bottomley’s earnest Ian. They form a winning quartet as they set off into the wilderness to find themselves pursued by Eddie Izzard and Georgie Glen’s Duke and Duchess – initially mistaken for Prince Philip and the Queen – who want to cull the youngsters with guns and ceremonial swords before donning the skins of their victims.
Winningly daft, this is full of laugh-out-loud moments – from rabbit poo laced with magic mushrooms, a farmer’s rave with James Cosmo and Kate Dickie, and Kevin Guthrie’s witless PCs turning their attention from a bread thief to potential terrorism as a result of a series of mistaken assumptions. Edgar Wright-like in its confidence and camerawork, the hallucinogens hit home visually, and Get Duked! also manages to sneak in some social commentary as the rich entitled lords of the manor track down the youngsters, believing them worthless. Jonathan Aris’ know-all teacher and a cameoing Alice Lowe as a disgruntled police commander round out the game cast. The central quartet grow in depth as they find out more about each other, all handled very well by the young cast and the writer/director. Short, dark, funny and trippy, this is a bit of a homegrown gem.
words KEIRON SELF
Streaming on Amazon Prime now