![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CYzPn0RUEAEx43x.jpg\")
<\/b><\/p>\nReviewed by Elizabeth Gain. \u00a0Viewed at Metro 4 theater in Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
The Santa Barbara Shorts #1 screening contained a gloriously surprising finale. \u00a0In a category populated by student films, The Duke stood out as a professional production. \u00a0The director, Max Barbakow, is a Santa Barbara native, and the film was a final project made by students in the MFA program at American Film Institute in Hollywood. \u00a0All aspects of the production value made it shine, but the story also offered a unique and hilarious perspective on head injuries in the NFL world. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the opening sequence of this short comedy, the camera sits face-to-face with \u201cThe Duke,\u201d a burly, bald pro-athlete in rock-star sunglasses. \u00a0He radiates football swag while two interrogators try to get him to make some sense with questions about his day. \u00a0Now, I am not informed enough about football to identify any real NFL players, so I believed I was watching an actual NFL star playing himself (think LeBron James in Trainwreck). \u00a0I didn\u2019t understand why he seemed so confused, and the interrogation didn\u2019t lead anywhere, but the story soon jumped to a coherent narrative flashback.<\/span><\/p>\n The day in question is Super Bowl Sunday, and The Duke is having a barbecue at home. \u00a0Always wearing a football jersey and speaking in constant motivational speech, The Duke is nurtured by his very pregnant wife, who obviously adores him, and he her. \u00a0One might think Super Bowl Sunday would be a great day for a football player, however The Duke shows signs of anxiety. \u00a0There are obstacles to tackle in his own backyard, and he is confused about why he isn\u2019t playing football. \u00a0He imagines his future prospects, while everyone accommodates him in a non-football world. \u00a0Eventually he takes action (football action!), and the story reveals how he ended up in the interrogation room.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Duke\u201d is actually a talented actor named Lamonica Garrett, and his acting and presence, along with a very clever screenplay, are the keys to the success of this film. \u00a0The comedy comes from his portrayal of a larger-than-life football player who is also a vulnerable and fragile human being. \u00a0In many scenes, you are reminded of his football head injuries by the inappropriateness of his behavior, but you are also touched by his overwhelming drive to use his massive strength and ability to create domestic harmony with his wife (charmingly portrayed by Catherine Urbanek). \u00a0The impeccable cinematography, production and sound design seamlessly connect you with The Duke\u2019s single-minded enthusiasm and his feelings of being out of control.<\/span><\/p>\n It is this way that the film humanizes a serious affliction suffered by most pro-football players — chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). \u00a0The movie says it is based on the memoir \u201cI\u2019m The Duke\u201d by J.P. Duke. \u00a0I could find nothing about J.P. Duke, but I assume he is a real NFL player. \u00a0It is a cinematic feat that this story has been realized as a screwball comedy. \u00a0The up-and-coming filmmakers led me to sympathize with his character as a big man with a big heart living with traumatic brain injuries. \u00a0I don\u2019t usually enjoy watching or participating in the culture of football, yet I love The Duke. \u00a0It is an enjoyable story for all.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reviewed by Elizabeth Gain. \u00a0Viewed at Metro 4 theater in Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Shorts #1 screening contained a gloriously surprising finale. \u00a0In a category populated by student films, The Duke stood out as a professional production. \u00a0The director, Max Barbakow, is a Santa Barbara native, and the film was a final project made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,272,81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-films","category-santa-barbara-film-festival-2016","category-short-films"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35830\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g9r.3b8.myftpupload.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}