Rating of
1/4
Just NOT the good ol' boys
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/01/08
"Bo Duke" (Seann William Scott) and his cousin "Luke" (Johnny Knoxville) are two of "Hazzard County's" well liked "Duke" clan. But they are not as well liked by the crooked county commissioner "Boss Jefferson Davis 'JD' Hogg" (Burt Reynolds) and county sheriff "Roscoe P. Coltrane" (MC Gainey).
While "Hazzard County" is gearing up for a huge car race, headlined by local favorites "Bo" and "Billy Picket" (James Roday), "Boss Hogg" is scheming to turn "Hazzard County" into a huge strip mine. And the first thing he does to get his plans rolling is to evict the Dukes from their family farm, headed by the joke-cracking moonshiner "Uncle Jesse Duke" (Country music legend Willie Nelson).
The plot of the movie has the feel of the classic TV series, which critics hated, but the fans loved for years. In fact, much of the plot and characters, most of which were miscast, has the feel of the TV series.
However, one of the biggest problems to this movie is that the writer tried to make it different from the TV series. Knoxville and Scott have chemistry that is almost as good as Tom Wopat (TV's "Luke Duke) and John Schnider (TV's "Bo Duke"), but they, like the rest of the cast, are missing something the TV cast had. Another problem with the characters is that many of them are written dramatically different from their TV counterparts -- especially "Roscoe," "Uncle Jesse" and "Boss Hogg".
The majority of the supporting cast is downright lousy. There is little development in them, or they are written totally different from the TV versions. Another problem with the supporting cast is that the actors are totally wrong for the characters.
Two main characters that are totally wrong are "Roscoe" and "Boss Hogg". In the TV series, they were bumbling goofs. Reynolds plays "Boss Hogg" as a devious, money-hungry elected official who would steal candy from a baby, but he lacks the comedic characteristics the late Sorell Brooke brought to the same character on TV. Gainey also plays "Roscoe" wrong, and just not all that good in the role. Nelson, who does a fair cover of the classic TV theme song at the end of the movie that misses the upbeat tempo of the original tune, also fails at bringing "Uncle Jesse" to the silver screen.
Pop singer Jessica Simpson, who is one of the few authentic southerners in this film, is pretty weak in bringing "Daisy Duke" to the big screen. However, she does pretty much nail the charm Cathrine Bach brought to the same character on TV. For the most part, Simpson is eye candy.
Lynda Carter, best known for her role as "Wonder Woman" on television, plays the "Duke" family friend "Pauline." I don't recall any character like "Pauline" in the television series, but she is written like the rest of the characters as if she is suppose to be known to the audience. There is no development in this character at all from what I can see.
One drastic difference is the movie's soundtrack. It's typical movie music, and works well. However, the TV series had an instrumental country soundtrack in every episode. It would have been a more accurate interpretation if the soundtrack had an instrumental soundtrack.
Like in every episode of the original television series, the "General Lee," which looks very different when it makes its first big screen appearance due to the famed "01" on the door is slightly different than what fans are use to seeing, can move on the streets and back roads of "Hazzard County". The only problem with the movie "General Lee" is that "Bo's" love for it is played way too obsessive in an attempt for some comedy which falls flat.
"Hazzard" also just doesn't feel right. The TV version had buildings that were very close together with a nice looking town center. The movie version is sparce and just doesn't look good.
For those who remember the original television series which this movie is based on, be thankful it's on CMT and on DVD because this movie is not The Dukes of Hazzard. However, the storyline is one of the few things that has the feel of the TV series.
This is not one I would add to my collection unless all the other movies I want are sold out.
