A trio of urban delinquents, along with a friendless dork, traverse the Scottish Highlands, lost and scared. A shadowy presence with a gun is stalking them. Though it sounds like the premise for a horror movie, this is the setup for Get Duked!, a cheeky social satire that skewers not only the aristocracy, but pokes fun at the clueless boys who stumble into a deadly situation that may cost them their lives.
Directed by Ninian Doff and originally titled Boyz in the Wood, Get Duked! pushes at just how much the audience is willing to tolerate with magic mushroom-laced rabbit poop, some graphic violence and a group of protagonists that is pretty unlikable. A hit at SXSW in 2019, this is the type of film you want to see with a group of people, something that isn’t recommended under certain circumstances.
We learn in a prologue that our protagonists are in the Highlands as part of the “Duke of Edinburgh Award,” a program that takes troubled youth from the city and teaches them skills such as teamwork and orienteering in the wilderness. The three boys in question are nominated for blowing up a bathroom after trying to light excrement on fire while the fourth boy, Ian (Samuel Bottomley), is homeschooled and sent there by his parents to learn how to make friends.
Dean (Rian Gordon), Duncan (Lewis Gribben) and William (Viraj Juneja) only care about drugs, explosions and hip-hop. In fact, William, who goes by the moniker DJ Beatroot, carries stickers and a CD entitled “Cocktales” which feature rhymes about, yep, his cock. Dressed in hoodies and tracksuits, the trio immediately appeal to us for their fish-out-of-water helplessness. They are totally lost with no cell service, and though there is an outdoor supervisor, he is quickly dispatched in a case of mistaken identity.
A loose, laissez-faire feeling drifts over Get Duked! Doff is willing to bend the bonds of reality from hip-hop-loving Scottish farmers to a trio of helpless cops looking for a bread thief, this is a film that does not take itself very seriously. There are some truly hilarious moments, but a lot of what we see is pretty cringe-worthy. Doff draws on his experience as a music video director to create some surreal moments and even some breakout scenes where DJ Beatroot gets to rap.
Stalking the boys is “the Duke” (Eddie Izzard in a disguise) and his wife (Georgie Glen), blue-blooded members of British society who are sickened by the erosion of the old ways so much that they murder kids chosen for the program. Besides some scary masks, there is little frightening about the pair, who are pretty ineffectual in their murderous ways.
Get Duked! almost crosses that “so bad it’s good” line, but doesn’t quite get there. The characters are just too stupid and too unbelievable for the film to be effective. Perhaps it is one that will grow in stature in time, but it is difficult to recommend Get Duked! for anything beyond a red-eyed weekend night where you have nothing to lose.
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