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YEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWWWW!
THE DUKES OF HAZZARD IS FLAWED BUT FUNNY
It's all about the car, isn't it? If you
like seeing the General Lee blow the Dixie horn and jump through the air
while being chased by 20 cop cars, you won't be disappointed. The movie
version of The Dukes of Hazzard is better than the TV source material in
some ways, and not in others. But it's ultimately a pretty funny and
charming movie that's pretty hard to hate.
What's Better Than The Show?
Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott
are hilarious as Luke and Bo Duke (respectively). They have a more
youthful exuberance and great chemistry that Jon Schneider and Tom Wopat
never had.
Though it's no great task to act better than Caterhine Bach, Jessica
Simpson gives exactly the type of performance that Daisy Duke requires. A
variety of drool inducing outfits combined with a sexy southern drawl and
a high beam smile do the trick nicely. It'd be nice if she filled out
those cutoff jeans a bit more, but seeing her sweet talk Enos in an insane
pink bikini makes up for any shortcomings you'd dare to nitpick about.
The General Lee is driven by some kickass
stuntmen that really know their shit. If you loved the car chases and
stunt work on the show, you won't be disappointed here. There's some jaw
dropping car action in here that ranks among the best car work ever
captured on film. And every stunt uses real cars and drivers with no
CGI at all. Make sure you stick around for the bloopers during the
closing credits to see great some crash mishaps.
The soundtrack is mostly great, too. You get Waylon's original theme at
the beginning, and lots of great southern shit-kicking music to accentuate
the chases throughout the movie.
What's About the Same?
Willie Nelson is funny as Uncle Jesse, but I'll give the nod to Denver
Pyle for ultimately being better in the role. Nelson is more than capable,
and isn't a distraction, but his character could have disappeared after 5
minutes and you'd hardly notice. He's pretty must just playing
Willie Nelson.
What's just Bad?
MC Gainley is a horrible Roscoe P. Coltrane. James Best's original
portrayal of the character on the TV series was legendary. An overly eager
cop with goofy quirks that put him right up there with Barney Fife.
Gainley's Roscoe is just a big giant thug tough guy with no faults save a
bit of a gut. They threw the dog Flash in there so you might connect him
to the original Roscoe, but he doesn't even talk to the fucking dog in the
movie. Just once I wanted him to make Roscoe's "cooo coooo coooOO"
sound, but he didn't!
Burt Reynolds also sucks as Boss Hogg. He
has a few lines that get some laughs (one of which you've already seen in
the preview) but his bullshit sleazy persona wears awful thin. Sorrell
Brooke was fantastic as JD Hogg on the show, and Burt doesn't come
anywhere close to matching him. I wish they would have got some over the
top fat slob to play the part instead. Danny Devito would have been
perfect.
Overall I really liked the movie, though. Knoxville and Scott make it a
riot.
Make sure you watch the bloopers during the closing credits for some
honestly hilarious outtakes, including one where Scott gets stuck
upside-down on a fence, and Knoxville walks up and rubs his dick in his
face (seriously!). It looks like they got along well and joked around non
stop during the filming.
I'd say it's a bit better than Starsky and Hutch, but not as good as
Schindler's List. (But has better car chases).
Oh yeah, I'll go ahead and spoil the ending
for you, The Dukes save the town!
-Robert Berry
rberry@retrocrush.com
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