Another Great British comedy that you should check out! Starring Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, the film is called The Duke. It’s about Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver who was accused of stealing Goya’s Portrait of the Duke of Wellington. And I have to say that this was a charming film that made me laugh and certainly appreciate the Great performances of Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent.  Honestly, have they ever made a bad film! British comedies like these are always great for American audiences because it’s usually about something that we didn’t know much about and in a lot of cases, can relate to. Kempton was a humorous character who was always fighting for the common man, he would get fired from jobs because he stood up to bosses who treated minorities poorly. He would protest the government for unnecessary taxes. One of the most popular British taxes was on the ability to watch the BBC, you had to have a license which would be the equivalent of NBC CBS, or ABC charging to watch their stations if you had a simple TV antenna… Sometimes we don’t appreciate the fact that in other countries you had to pay to watch all TV and no TV station was completely free. But he became famous for the alleged crime of stealing a priceless painting and his trial brought shockwaves throughout British society in the 60s. He’s the type of character that we can all appreciate because he fights for the rights of the working man.

I enjoyed this movie. It’s not the best movie ever seen, but it’s a heartwarming and charming film with great performances. The entire cast does a great job in telling this funny and inspiring story that happened 60 years ago. I would say that Jim Broadbent is perfect for this character if you’ve ever watched any old footage of Kempton Bunton… He gives a delightful performance that will keep you laughing all the way to the end of the film. Overall, the pacing is good and the film doesn’t drag on. It’s only about 90 minutes so you won’t feel like you’re sitting there too long watching this movie. The movie doesn’t really need to be any longer than it is for you to know the basic story. And like most period films that are set in England, you will get a great history lesson of what it was like at that time, especially the political climate. In a lot of ways, it kind of reminds me of Pirate Radio.

But the film isn’t without its problems. Like all films that tell a true story, especially a historical one, there’s only so much of the story that you can really tell within a 90 or 120-minute run time. There’s obviously more to this story than what we’ve seen in the film. While I enjoyed the film immensely, it did leave me wanting to know more. It left me with more questions about the main characters and the aftermath of what happened. Sometimes a documentary works better in telling the overall story. I wonder if a documentary about what happened would not have been better. But a documentary can’t capture wonderful performances by great actors. The film’s biggest flaw is not pacing or unlikable characters that can distract you from the overall story, it’s that the film only centers on a small part of the overall story. I feel like as an audience we need to know more about these characters and how they got to the point where the painting was stolen. And we certainly want to know more about them after the trial, but the film only gives us a glimpse. If there’s one thing that this film does very well, it will make you curious enough to go do research on the characters and the whole story… Maybe that’s the point. After all, there’s only so much story you can tell in 90 minutes so it’s a bit of a catch-22. If it feels like a perfect 90-minute movie, it’s only part of the story.

Overall, it’s a good film, made great by the performances of Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent. They create such likable characters that you root for them throughout the film and you want to know more about the real characters in the story. As I said before, the film is charming, and it will keep you laughing. It’s a nice distraction if you’re having a bad week. But I do think that a documentary about the whole story would be better. Then again, I don’t really want that because it can’t capture the great performance of Jim Broadbent who brought the character of Kempton Bunton to life. It’s definitely worth the price of a matinee at the theater with a nice glass of wine, but you certainly wouldn’t be wasting your money if you rent it on demand for dinner and movie night. There are so films that are a waste of time, this one is not so I encourage you to check it out… You will not be disappointed, even if you only watch it once!