The Dukes of Hazzard

Alright, I've never actually taken the time to write up a review for a movie.. but after reading some of the other reviews over this movie, I had to. Tons of people claim this movie sucked, yet tons claimed it was alright.. I personally enjoyed the film.. sure it wasn't a 10/10 but it had its moments. I think everyones main problem about the movie was that they went and expected to see something completely different. That is what happened to me and a few others i went to see the movie with. However, After watching the movie, everyone thought it was a pretty decent movie and had a lot of good laughs.

Sure a lot of the jokes and whatnot have been done in other movies, but they picked some good actors for the roles of this movie. Although I gave it a 6/10, its definitely a movie that is worth watching if you want a good laugh.

The Dukes Of Hazzard wasn't a bad movie unto itself, but it wasn't a masterpiece ahead of its time. I to was a fan of the original series, I own season 1-5 on DVD and watch the reruns of it on CMT or where ever they may air, but I didn't have a huge problem with it. Broken Lizard could have done a lot worse than what they did with it, it was just a movie which was unrestrained free to say or do whatever they wanted and go in direction thy like to see. If Broken Lizard and Jay Chaz (or however you say his name or spell it) wanted to, he could have made this the biggest piece of white trash garbage that he wanted it to be, he could have made Daisy Duke a complete dits and Bo and Luke white trash, barefoot country bumpkins who never left Hazzard and gone to the big city. I thought the movie was very entertaining, it didn't make me double over with laughter, but it was what it was which was a "leave your brains at the door" type of movie which isn't that bad. Most people wanna say that it was disrespectful to the original series, but let us not forget that the first season of the original series had Bo Duke making a joke about how if he and Daisy weren't related he'd marry her and she cracks back by saying "That's never stopped anyone in this family before" and another having Boss Hogg convince Bo and Luke to transport a dangerous criminal and not caring if they got killed. Yes the characters in the movie could have stayed truer to the characters of the TV show, but for what its worth it wasn't as bad as I or maybe everyone else thought it was. The movie had some hit and miss moments but over all I would watch on TV or maybe buy it on DVD if it was on sale because as I said it was a very entertaining movie, not a great Oscar award winning movie of course, but just something fun to watch.

I'll start this review off with a few words of commentary; a Fiendatorial, if you will.

Ben Jones commenced a great bruja-ja here in (semi-)local Knoxville when he was present for the unveiling of this cinematic work. It seems that Mr. Jones (and while he spoke for some of the other "original" cast members, I never quite believed he was authorized to do that) believes that he should have been offered a cameo in this work. Since he wasn't, he has set about extolling the horrors of this modernized update of the beloved (?!) family series.

Okay, I'll accept that some people did LOVE this series. But the Dukes of Hazard always was a bit racy for some. Bo and Luke ran moonshine from their Uncle Jessie's still, Daisy was a little short on the wardrobe department, and Uncle Jessie was the leader of this motley hillbilly moonshine gang that any "Revenuer" worth his badge would have loved to have thrown in jail. The "boys" stayed in a constant state of trouble, and flaunted their illegal activities in the face of local law enforcement. These were NOT "good" boys!

No, there was no marijuana use in the television series. It was TELEVISION! They couldn't do that and be on television as a series.

Frankly, I never loved the series. I thought it was hokey, unintelligent, and downright stupid. It made Southerners look like we ARE inbred idiots. I detested it.

As far as this modernization goes, I found it to be a 100% improvement over the cheesy dialog and horrible acting perpetrated upon us by the series! The performances were great, the plot was in keeping with the original series, the action...wow the action!

This movie was a stunt-driver's wet dream! It was reminiscent (if only a small bit) of Smokey and the Bandit in that it was great fun to watch. And while I enjoyed Jessica Simpson's Daisy Duke far more than I thought was possible, she would have made a better Ellie Mae Clampett, in my opinion.

It wasn't afraid to laugh at itself and never took itself too seriously. Unfortunately, Burt Reynolds was a very weak Boss Hogg. I have no idea what they were thinking. The casting choice wasn't necessarily a bad call, but the direction of his character was just flaccid, as was Burt's performance. He played him too unemotional without ever coming close to hitting the level of calculated treachery Sorrel Brooke's Boss Hogg exuded. I felt that Mr. Reynolds was just...horrible in this endeavor, but Willie Nelson more than made up for that in his portrayal as Uncle Jessie.

So don't listen to the nay-sayers. This is a highly entertaining endeavor. Even those of us of the "alternative" categorization could (and did) experience a few honest belly-laughs at our own expense. Heck, we survived "Deliverance!" I'm sure we'll survive this.

The best line in the movie?

"You're hillbillies!"

"We prefer Appalachian-Americans!"

It rates a 7.6/10.

Yes, I was once a 9-year-old who would 'yee-haw' in front of the TV every Friday night. But then I grew up and basically forgot about the Dukes of Hazzard. Years later, when I learned of the movie, I scoffed. I had zero expectations and no plans to see it. Then months later, I ran into it on HBO.

This movie is a blast. Anyone looking for a dusty museum exhibit to replay the original series for a new generation will be disappointed. But It's great fun for anyone willing to be in on the joke and go along for the ride.

Boss Hogg isn't fat. Uncle Jesse smokes weed. Roscoe is less cartoon bumbling, more cartoon menacing. Daisy is blonde. The General's paint job needs... explaining.

But the movie retains everything that made the original series work: car chases, bar brawls, short-shorts and good-hearted outlaws looking out for the good folks of Hazzard County. The movie brings back all these crucial elements... and then takes them out and gets them drunk. Buckle up for safety!

The plot is an inch deep, but gets the job done. The humor is perfectly simple and perfectly funny. And, aside from Burt Reynolds, the cast aren't winning any Oscars (ever), but they can handle these characters just fine.

Lastly, I had no idea how much I missed the General Lee. I'm not a car guy or an action-for-the-sake-of-action guy, but the car chases, crashes and jumps in this movie are incredible. Most modern action scenes are just noise and blur, but the driving-action scenes in this movie are extremely well-paced and well-executed. I could replay the car chase in Atlanta (with Bo in emotional crisis behind the wheel) a hundred times and never stop loving that scene.

I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed this movie - both times (thanks, Netflix!), with about 10 years between viewings. The big screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard actually works, and no one was more surprised than me.

Now how do you think them boys are going to top this one?

I just watched this movie tonight on DVD with my 17 yr old daughter, and we both thought it was a riot! Cute boys, hot cars, GREAT car chase sequences, hillbilly humor...what's not to love? It's not Ingmar Bergman, but it WAS highly entertaining, and the sound track ROCKED. Not a serious film, but sometimes we just need to kick our shoes off and laugh! Sometimes I think that we take our movies too seriously. They can't all be Academy Award caliber. Never was a fan of the original series, myself, but I really enjoyed this. Makes me want to trade in the Subaru for something loud and fast! Even Jessica was tolerable and I really can't stand her. All in all, an enjoyable "ride".