The Dukes of Hazzard

The good news and the bad news: The Dukes of Hazzard movie is extremely similar to the television series it’s based upon. No one ever gets hurt through all the stunts and cartoon violence, running moonshine comes off as a harmless bit of fun and most of the movie is watching amazing car stunts and ogling Daisy Duke.

It could have been a lot different: Johnny Knoxville could potentially have brought a gritty vibe, and Seann William Scott could have brought a real gross-out appeal, but except for momentary nods in that direction, the show stays mostly true to its roots.

Changing the tone more than the two leads is Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse. In a nod to real life, Jesse sneaks in a little marijuana smoking (hinted at, more than shown in the rated version, explicitly shown in the unrated version) and brings a love of silly jokes to the proceedings — the ad-libbed scenes of Willie Nelson telling Johnny Knoxville one silly joke after another, as he lobs flaming jars of moonshine behind the car is one of the highlights of the movie.

Jessica Simpson does very little in this film, but it’s exactly what you’d expect and, to be fair, she does it very well. Daisy remains sexy-but-not-slutty, just as she was in Catherine Bach’s original version of the character. The 2005 rendition just is a hard-bodied version showing even more skin.

In a nice update, the General Lee doesn’t start off with the Confederate Battle Flag on the roof of the car, and once it appears, Bo and Luke are ambivalent about it being there (and it appears to be gone in the final sequence where the car is hidden in a field), and they get an earful about it while on the highway into Atlanta, both positive and negative.

Burt Reynolds, whose Smokey and the Bandit movies are almost certainly responsible for the creation of the original TV show, is mostly wasted here, showing little of the oily charm he’s been able to show even in lesser movies, like Striptease. Still, the Bandit turning Boss Hogg is worth a look, and a definite shout-out to the fans who’ve been watching this mini-genre of movies and television shows since the 1970s.

A recommended viewing for fans of the original show or Smokey and the Bandit. A recommended purchase only for those who want to have footage of Jessica Simpson writhing around in a bikini (check the music video on the DVD for more) close at hand at all times.

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