The Dukes of Hazzard (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

 

 

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The Dukes of Hazzard truly earns a place in the hall of shame of terrible, ill-advised remakes of previously popular TV shows. Maybe, if you've never seen the show, you might think the movie is OK; the rest of us can only sit and cringe while Hollywood basically makes a mockery out of everything the show was about. The script is bad in and of itself, but the casting is a total disaster. I don't mind Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott so much, but Jessica Simpson is no Daisy, Burt Reynolds is almost the antithesis of the real Boss Hogg, Willie Nelson turns Uncle Jessie into some coarse country comedian you can't begin to respect, and Roscoe - what the heck happened to the Roscoe character? James Best was one of the real stars of the television show; he made most of the comedy happen, and most kids included a Roscoe P. Coltrane impression in their comedic repertoire. I've never even heard of M.C. Gainey, but he could never even begin to fill Best's shoes, even if the script had actually given us a character remotely similar to the original. Maybe Burt Reynolds wanted to hog all of the bad guy spotlight; I can't think of any other reason why the Roscoe character would be treated with such contempt and neglect by the filmmakers. And why is Lynda Carter even in the movie?

Calling this modern Bo and Luke good old boys is stretching the point a bit; these guys actually should be in jail for all of their shenanigans. Heck, the costs of all the property damage they inflict on Hazzard (not to mention Atlanta - which brings up another point: I'm almost sure the TV show was set in North Carolina and not Georgia) should be enough to bankrupt the county. There's really nothing good about either one of them, especially in terms of their treatment of women. It's safe to say that this film won't be found among Gloria Steinem's list of favorites. As a Southerner, I'm not too happy with it, either, as the film went out of its way several times to basically ridicule Southern culture. Then there's the fact that the Duke boys (and even Uncle Jessie) like to smoke something stronger than cigarettes. Denver Pyle must still be spinning in his grave. What's next? An Andy Griffith remake featuring a drug-dealing Opie?

The main problem with this film is the fact that it was primarily built around the General Lee and all the amazing jumps the studio guys dreamed of cramming together in one film. They even messed even that up, unfortunately. The jumps on the old TV show always looked real, but the jumps in the film are too high and too far to look like anything other than Hollywood stunts and special effects. The only two things addressed in the DVD's extras of behind-the-scenes footage are the General Lee and Jessica Simpson's shorts. Now I like watching Simpson gallivanting around in short shorts as much as the next guy, but I need a little more from a movie - something like a decent script, for example.

There are plenty of reasons why loyal fans of the show as well as Ben Jones, the original Cooter and former U.S. Congressman, basically boycotted the film. This rehash stomps on everything that made the Dukes cultural heroes of a sort and makes a mockery of every single character in the film. If there's a film school out there teaching students how not to remake an old TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard is surely the main topic of study and discussion. All you have to do is witness the General Lee hurling down the unpaved roads of Hazzard County to the music of AC/DC to know that something is very wrong here.

This movie is a waste of time and is an insult to the original Dukes of Hazard characters. Jessica playing Daisy is an insult, and Bo and Luke appeared as a bunch of college students would act on spring break. A complete insult to the original TV series.

I HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE AND I DO NOT RECOMMAND IT. THE DUKES OF HAZZARD TV SHOW IS A FAMILY SHOW, THATS A FACT. THE MOVIE IS NOT. THIS MOVIE IS A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME. BUY THE DUKES SEASON SET IF YOU LOVE THE DUKES.

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4.0 out of 5 stars How about a blu-ray version?
I think this is a good movie to watch, I want that movie on blue-ray when this comes out. Even Jessica Simpson makes a wonderful Daisy Duke. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Kevin Barton

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother
You might keep watching, because you'll think it gets better. Don't bother. What a waste of time. Hollywood has destroyed another great tv series!!

Published on Jan 22 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it, funny and entertaining
I loved it. It was funny, entertaining and great for everyone. For all of you who want to see an updated version and for those of us who were not around for the origional,... Read more

Published on Dec 30 2005

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