The Dukes Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

The Dukes Blu-ray Movie Review

A heist film for the over-50 crowd...

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater June 23, 2010

An independent, low-budget caper comedy for wistful baby boomers, The Dukes is a passion project of long-time character actor Robert Davi, whose pitted mug and deep set eyes you might recognize from License to Kill, Die Hard, The Goonies, and Showgirls. Davi has made a career out of playing cops, crooks, and creeps, but here he takes a turn both in front of and behind the camera, directing himself—against type—as somewhat of a softie, a down-and-out former doo-wop crooner trying to make ends meet in the harsh economy of present day Los Angeles. Davi’s passion for the material certainly comes through—he’s assembled a terrific cast of fellow character actors, and everyone seems to be having a blast—but The Dukes is too slight to be anything more than a 90-minute diversion, filled with middle-aged angst, Italian-American comic timing, and more golden oldies than a Time-Life infomercial.

The Dukes...

Back in ’63, The Dukes were a hot commodity. With a chart topping hit single and gigs at Madison Square Garden for throngs of adoring fans, the doo-wop group was on top of the world. But times— as they are apt to do—change. Fast-forward nearly fifty years to the present, and former Dukes members Danny (Robert Davi) and George (Chazz Palminteri) are just trying to get by, working for their Aunt Vee (Miriam Margolyes) in a dumpy Italian restaurant—the kind with red and white checkered tablecloths—and dreaming of opening their own club, a financial impossibility. Times are especially tough for Danny, who can’t even pay his kid’s dentist bill and seems to be in dire straits with his wife (The Office’s Melora Hardin). Once veritable pop royalty, the two singers now stoop to doing degrading TV ads for a bit of cash, pimping out their hit single for a company called Dance Heads—the less said about this the better—and slumming their way through a ketchup commercial. (In a scene reminiscent of Lost’s fake band Driveshaft doing an advert for diapers, the erstwhile Dukes are forced to dress up like giant tomatoes and lip-sync to a bastardized version of their song. Funny, yes, but mostly sad.)

When the commercials go bust and the money runs out, the two Dukes and their entourage— diabetic, wheelchair-bound comedian Armond (Frank D’Amico), dope-smoking airline mechanic Murph (Elya Baskin), and ineffectual band manager Lou (Peter Bogdanovich)—hatch a plan to steal the supply of gold in a nearby dental lab’s safe. There are plenty of caper film set-ups and clichés— Danny “casing the joint,” expert advice from a semi-retired safecracker (Bruce Weitz), and a payoff that isn’t exactly what it seems—but Davi smartly makes The Dukes less about the actual heist and more about the characters’ lives. Despite the presence of Davi and Palminteri—normally typecast as mobsters—none of these guys are hardened criminals. In fact, they’re all a bunch of softies who only resort to grand larceny out of desperation. George is a chubby-chaser who devises clever ways to let down his one-night-stands so he doesn’t have to break their hearts. (He’s a sex addict, but he’s good-natured! Tiger Woods could learn a thing or two.) Murph is so paranoid about being caught that he smokes up before the heist and ends up freaking out on everyone. And Danny just wants to provide for his son and use his god-given gift—his “angelic” singing voice.

The film plods at times, fussing about with one too many false endings—really, how many times can Davi delay the big Dukes reunion gig?—and the first-timer’s inexperience as a director shows in overly showy camera movements and dialogue that could use some serious polish. (One scene with Danny’s wife is particularly cringe-worthy.) Still, it’s hard to be too critical about a film that feels like such an earnest labor of love. The worst you can say about The Dukes is that it lacks ambition, that it never even tries to stand out. This is a small, comfortable film. In its own way, it’s funny and charming—even I was cracking a smile at the end, though I’m a stickler for sappy sentiment—but there’s nothing compelling about it, no real reason to watch. The closest The Dukes comes to a selling point is the performances, which are casual and assured. Peter Bogdanovich is definitely underused as the band’s manager, but Chazz Palminteri is slyly comic and Davi himself shows unusual tenderness. The Dukes is certainly a formulaic and often poorly-constructed caper comedy, but it means well. It’s like that song you hear on the oldies station—the one that you’ve heard a thousand times and don’t particularly enjoy, but find yourself humming along with anyway.

The Dukes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray with a sub-par 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, The Dukes' picture quality is less than impressive. For most of the film, the image is incredibly soft, to the point of just barely being recognizable as high definition. (There are scenes, like the opening in the restaurant, that look worse than many standard definition DVDs.) Even in the tightest close-ups, fine detail is never more than middling, as facial texture—pores, lines, everything but the largest wrinkles, basically—goes entirely unresolved. I'm not sure if this diffused look is intentional—an attempt to give the aging actors a bit of glow—but it doesn't do the film any favors on Blu-ray. Color fares better, but just barely, looking natural but also dim and lifeless. Black levels are all over the place—sometimes crushing shadow details, sometimes seeming soupy and grayish, sometimes both—and contrast is continuously flat. On top of this, you have a mixed layer of harsh chroma noise and heavy grain that buzzes constantly, but is especially apparent—and distracting—during the nighttime scenes, of which there are many. If you're interested in watching The Dukes, lower your picture quality expectations…no, keep going, even lower…accordingly.

The Dukes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Somewhat making up for the poor video performance, The Dukes doo-wops onto Blu-ray with a solid—if workmanlike—DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. You've probably already surmised that this really isn't the type of film to feature bombastically intricate and immersive sound design, so it'll come as no surprise that this track is front-heavy and dialogue-driven. The rear channels are given some occasional interaction—restaurant chatter, saw-filled dental lab ambience, street sounds—but it's all very quiet and uninvolving. The real highlight here is the soundtrack, which rings out with golden, blast-from-the-past oldies that sound quite strong, with clean high-end and surprisingly deep and defined bass. Most of these tunes are broadcast from the front channels, but there is a bit of bleed into the rears from time to time. My only real complaint here is that some of the dialogue and effects sound slightly muffled. This isn't frequent, but there are a few instances where it felt like the audio wasn't as clear as it should've been. Overall, though, not bad, and miles better than the picture quality. Optional English SDH subtitles are available in easy-to-read white lettering.

The Dukes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Feature Commentary with Robert Davi and DP Michael Goi
Making The Dukes was clearly a labor of love for Davi, and it shows in this warm commentary track with director of photography Michael Goi.

Interviews (SD, 1:15:13)
Includes interviews with Robert Davi, Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Bard, Nic.tenBroek, Elya Baskin, Elaine Hendrix, Don Dunn, Alphonse Mouzon, Michael Goi, Eloise DeJoria, Jim Cypherd, Miriam Margolyes, Melora Hardin, James Andronica, John Paul DeJoria, and Chazz Palminteri.

Deleted Scenes (SD, 5:42)
Two deleted scenes, with an introduction by director Robert Davi.

Trailer (SD, 2:16)

The Dukes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though the The Dukes is nothing more than an inconsequential caper—decent rainy day entertainment, but nothing groundbreaking—I certainly hope Robert Davi continues to direct films. I have a feeling he's got quite a few stories to tell. This particular one, however, isn't worth more than a rental, especially considering how poor the picture quality is on this release.