Nuked Review | A Raunchy Good Time in the Apocalypse

Summary

• Nuked
  combines raunchy humor and heartfelt truths about relationships with a likable ensemble cast and lots of cannabis.
• Couples gather at an opulent dinner party and face a nuclear crisis, leading to surprising honesty and revelations.
• The film may be contrived and stretch believability in its plot, but still delivers an entertaining and thought-provoking experience.

In Nuked, a podcast host and her husband throw a birthday party while they’re trying to conceive; the consequences are explosive. Nuked tickles the funny bone with raunchy humor, obscene language, and silly sight gags, but also delivers heartfelt truths about being honest in relationships. A likable ensemble cast overcomes the script’s glaringly predictable aspects. There’s no doubt about the overall conclusion once the characters are introduced and the premise takes hold, but good chemistry and the slapstick laughs go a long way.

Jack (Justin Bartha) and Gill (Anna Camp) get down to fornicating business in the opulent bedroom of their rented, rural California mansion. The procreating deed is barely done before Gill whips out her cell phone to document the occasion for her millions of followers. The former teacher has amassed a huge fan base from her popular podcast, “Marriage in the Middle Ages.” The couple has been married for 20 years. They’ve decided to take the next logical step and become parents, but have had trouble getting pregnant.

Jack despises having their personal lives broadcast to the public. Gill loves her newfound fame and its monetary benefits. She reminds him they could never have afforded such luxury to celebrate their birthday weekend. Gill dresses Jack in a loud shirt and skintight leather pants to welcome their besties from college. Queer couple Damien (Stephen Guarino) and Ishaan (Maulik Pancholy) are the first to arrive, followed by famed rockstar Logan (Ignacio Serricchio) and his former flame, Mo (Tawny Newsome), who gave up on their music for government work. The final guests are the British couple, Sam (George Young) and Penelope (Lucy Punch). She just had a baby and had zero interest in coming to the party.

A Birthday to Remember

Nuked (2024)

3/5

Nuked follows several couples as they gather at a luxurious estate for a cannabis-infused birthday dinner party, but they get sudden phone alerts about a nuclear missile headed straight for them.

Director Deena Kashper

Runtime 1h 26m

Pros

• Nuked is genuinely funny in many raucous and raunchy places.
• Likable characters and earnest themes about honesty makes this an entertaining treat.

Cons

• The action is completely contrived and the characters’ decisions make little sense.

Jack and Gill surprise their guests with the first bit of naughty fun. They’ve hired a noted cannabis chef, Sasha (Natasha Leggero), to spice up the evening meal. She promises full bellies and high times with her rigid presentation protocol. Their second reveal catches everyone even more off guard. This will be an unplugged party. Jack dutifully collects their phones, but Penelope tries to resist. She has a newborn at home with a babysitter. There’s no chance she’s giving up her phone. Sam convinces Penelope to provide her sister’s number as back up. They’ll only be gone for a night. What could possibly go wrong?

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Nuked leaps headfirst into the dirt with every character hiding a big secret. Director/co-writer Deena Kashper, known for her TV shorts Cannabis Moms Club and Baby Love, does a sharp job of opening exposition in her feature debut. The audience knows within minutes that the primary characters aren’t being truthful to each other. Their guests also have skeletons in the closet with obviously guilty looks at seeing old friends. These people have a lot of history together. The weed and booze bonanza begins to erode the collective wall of shame.

Kashper’s message is loud and humorously clear. Decades don’t mean candor. Jack and Gill were college sweethearts. She remarks out loud that they’ve been together longer than apart. They should know each other like the back of their hands. Hilarious trouble erupts when a cataclysmic event forces the group to the basement in absolute terror. They’re stuck together with no place to go, and drum roll please, little time to express what needs to be said.

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The End Is Nigh: Let’s Get Real

Dandee Films

Panic, fear, and regret loosen lips when the end is nigh. What would be your last words to loved ones if doom was imminent? Nuked gives light to that awful scenario by smartly not being too ridiculous. The characters aren’t drug dealers or mass murderers hiding bodies in shallow graves, but they’ve all been living a lie to some extent. Getting this sizable weight of their collective chests hits each with a different blow. The reactions vary widely, from absolute disgust and betrayal to genuine connections and understanding. Nuked takes a serious turn in a thoughtful climax, but gets back to the frivolity quickly. Kashper doesn’t deflate her narrative by wasting the established comedy.

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Nuked might require an edible brownie or two to facilitate willing suspension of disbelief. You don’t have to be a genius to turn on a television or radio. The characters at any point in time could easily get to the bottom of what’s happening. Kashper’s cover for the collective ineptitude is that they’re all high as a kite. That’s a tough sell given Penelope’s very real concerns about her baby’s safety. She’d undoubtedly act differently in reality. Kashper should have added magic mushrooms to Chef Sasha’s cannabis feast.

Dandee Films

Nuked thoroughly entertains in its breezy, 86-minute runtime. There’s never a dull moment, even though the action’s contrived and takes place in a confined setting. Kashper’s dialogue between the couples rings sincere. You can be with someone every day and lie continually to make them happy. That isn’t a foundation for success. The truth never stays buried.

Nuked is a production of Dandee Films, Hardball Entertainment, Rockhill Studios, and Tandem Pictures. It premiered at New York City’s Village East by Angelika Theatre during the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.

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