Dukes of Hazzard only Half Right
Most of the stunts and gadgets (yes, the flaming arrows are still here) left over from the original red-neck heaven television series of the same name that ran from 1979-85 have been ressurected. The original series ran from so whatever formula they were using worked. Happily, the producers took a “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” approach to their big screen overhaul. The results are uneven at times, but there’s still plenty here that will have “Dukes” fans screaming “Hee Haw”!
The light as air plot centers around Bo and Luke Duke. The cousins, who are called closer than brothers, tear up Hazzard County at high speed in Bo’s beloved orange charger the General Lee. But if ever there was a good reason for reckless driving, the boys have it.
Town honcho Boss Hogg (played with smarmy class by Burt Reynolds) has seized their Uncle Jesse’s farm (they planted a moonshine still because they couldn’t find the real one) in a larger plot to strip the town and turn it into a coal mine. Hazzard isn’t without some law and order though. Before the strip mining can take place, there has to be a public meeting where the people of Hazzard can object. Hogg’s plot to avoid this little legal wrinkle involves championing a road race and doing everything he can to lock up those pesky Duke boys.
And what about those hill billy trouble-makers, the Dukes. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott are Luke and Bo respectively and they’re saddled with the heavy job of keeping the popcorn popping. Half of the duo gets it right. The typically goofy Scott finds the heart and humor of Bo.
He also adds just the right of amount of manic energy to the character to make all those car-jumping stunts seem perfectly reasonable – in the world according to Duke, of course. Knoxville, the prankster behind some of the more outragoues antics on MTV’s show Jackass should have been able to slide into Duke cowboy boots like a natural. However, he seems terribly uncomfortable with a real script that requires reciting dialogue while raising hell. Scott tries valiantly to carry the load for both of them, but he needs a true partner in crime.
The supporting cast ranges from inspired to insipid. Country legend Willie Nelson has acted in films before but there couldn’t be a more perfect role for him than Uncle Jesse. Whether he’s cracking jokes or turning his moonshine into fire bombs, you get the feeling that he’s having more fun than anyone else in the film. As Cousin Daisy Duke, she of the short shorts, Jessica Simpson is as limp as a dish rag.
She has no problem fitting into the shorts or a string bikini but when it comes to talking the talk to match her sexy get-up she can’t deliver. It’s almost as if she’s embarrassed to be playing the role. Did she sign up for the film without reading the script or seeing the original show? As the Duke’s foil, Burt Reynolds continues to use the smirky charisma that made him a box office king the late 1970s/early 80s to make Boss Hogg a polished grinning devil.
If you grew up watching the original T.V. show wide-eyed and grinning every time the General Lee made a leap and landed in one piece than this “Dukes” for you!
