The Dukes of Hazzard

Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg (Burt Reynolds) intends to make a fortune by strip-mining Hazzard Count for its coal, but when moonshiners Bo and Luke Duke (Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville) get wind of his nefarious plan, they decide to throw a spanner in the works, with a little help from Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson), and Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter).

I was never really a fan of the TV series of The Dukes of Hazzard, despite hailing from the South (of England, that is), so I'm not going to complain about this big screen adaptation crapping all over my childhood memories. I am, however, going to complain that the film lacks charm, a decent plot, memorable performances and any real sense of fun, director Jay Chandrasekhar merely going through the motions, delivering what he expects fans want to see, but doing so with seemingly little love, imagination or enthusiasm.

Knoxville and Scott might get top billing as good ol' boys Bo and Luke, moonshine runners and general troublemakers of Hazzard County, but the real stars of the film are General Lee, their muscle car, which is involved in numerous silly chase scenes in which the vehicle continues to function despite preposterous chassis knackering jumps and crashes, and Jessica Simpson as delectable Daisy Duke, whose bodywork is absolutely stunning and who, I imagine, handles like a dream.

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'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.

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".

Oh the days when any half way decent old TV show was getting turned into an underwhelming movie. This movie definitely isn't good, but everyone seems to be having fun with it and, despite the flaws, I find this to be pretty darn watchable background noise.