Four delinquent boys from the city are given a chance to redeem themselves by taking on the challenge of the Duke, wherein they are placed in the Scottish Highlands, given a map, and told where their rendezvous point it. There they will meet their teacher/leader and camp for the night before commencing to hike some more the next day. This whole ordeal is to teach them self-reliance and teamwork. The boys, being mostly dumb and wild, of course screw the map up and wander off, carelessly treating this like a stroll in the country. They quickly learn that a man calling himself The Duke (Eddie Izzard) is following, and he has a gun, and he’s hunting them down. “Vermin,” The Duke calls them. “They must be culled.” Along the way, we meet a group of hedonistic farm families and a set of bumbling, incompetent but hilarious cops. As The Duke pursues his prey, the fight begins…
To enjoy this movie you pretty much have to put away any notion of reality or realism and step right into this with both eyes wide open. This is a wild, crazy film that makes very little sense but takes you on an absolutely fun and thrilling ride, if you just relax and let it flow. The boys are obnoxious and dumb and quite irritating, but as with any good movie, you learn to like them more and more as the story unfolds, and soon you’ll find yourself rooting for them, despite all of the awful and dangerous decisions they make along the way. It’s all part of the fun. There are many funny moments to be had, as well as a few scary ones. The fact that it’s all irrational and slightly whimsical only adds to the enjoyment. By the end, I was cheering the boys on as they embraced their quest for vengeance and redemption, and even though I winced at the absurdity of it, the payoff at the end was unexpected and had me laughing out loud. This is the kind of movie where you’re just going to have to roll with it and let the impossible and improbable guide you, because both are a part of the inherent reality of this world.
Originally titled Boyz in the Wood, Get Duked is a fun movie, something that will help you pass an hour and half and have you laughing all along the way. This isn’t a movie that will change the world, or looks up its own ass and marvels at how important it is. This is a slight film, a comedy with lots of thrilling action and bits of terrifying horror, and it is designed to entertain you. The best thing about it is, the film doesn’t pander, it doesn’t rely on cheap, stereotypical tropes. This one keeps you guessing, and is full of spastic, youthful energy. Once it gets going, it does not stop, does not pause, does not look around; it’s full-steam ahead, with wild abandon.
★★✮☆