The Dukes of Hazzard

Yes, I was once a 9-year-old who would 'yee-haw' in front of the TV every Friday night. But then I grew up and basically forgot about the Dukes of Hazzard. Years later, when I learned of the movie, I scoffed. I had zero expectations and no plans to see it. Then months later, I ran into it on HBO.

This movie is a blast. Anyone looking for a dusty museum exhibit to replay the original series for a new generation will be disappointed. But It's great fun for anyone willing to be in on the joke and go along for the ride.

Boss Hogg isn't fat. Uncle Jesse smokes weed. Roscoe is less cartoon bumbling, more cartoon menacing. Daisy is blonde. The General's paint job needs... explaining.

But the movie retains everything that made the original series work: car chases, bar brawls, short-shorts and good-hearted outlaws looking out for the good folks of Hazzard County. The movie brings back all these crucial elements... and then takes them out and gets them drunk. Buckle up for safety!

The plot is an inch deep, but gets the job done. The humor is perfectly simple and perfectly funny. And, aside from Burt Reynolds, the cast aren't winning any Oscars (ever), but they can handle these characters just fine.

Lastly, I had no idea how much I missed the General Lee. I'm not a car guy or an action-for-the-sake-of-action guy, but the car chases, crashes and jumps in this movie are incredible. Most modern action scenes are just noise and blur, but the driving-action scenes in this movie are extremely well-paced and well-executed. I could replay the car chase in Atlanta (with Bo in emotional crisis behind the wheel) a hundred times and never stop loving that scene.

I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed this movie - both times (thanks, Netflix!), with about 10 years between viewings. The big screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard actually works, and no one was more surprised than me.

Now how do you think them boys are going to top this one?

Having read some of the other comments here I was expecting something truly awful but was pleasantly surprised. REALITY CHECK: The original series wasn't that good. I think some people remember it with more affection than it deserved but apart from the car chases and Daisy Duke's legs the scripts were weak and poorly acted. The Duke boys were too intelligent and posh for backwood hicks, the shrunken Boss Hog was too cretinous to be evil and Rosco was just hyper throughout every screen moment. It's amazing the series actually lasted as long as it did because it ran out of story lines during the first series.

Back to the movie. If you watch this film in it's own right, not as a direct comparison to however you remember the TV series, then it's not bad at all. The real star is of course the General Lee. The car chases and stunts are excellent and that's really what D.O.H. is all about. Johnny Knoxville is his usual eccentric self and along with Seann William Scott as Cousin Bo the pair make this film really funny in a hilarious Dumb-And-Dumber sort of way the TV series never achieved. The lovely Jessica Simpson is a natch as Miss Daisy, Burt Reynolds makes a much improved Boss Hog and M.C. Gainey makes a believably nasty Rosco P. Coltrane, the way he always should have been.

If you don't like slapstick humour and crazy car stunts then you wouldn't be watching this film anyway because you should know what to expect. Otherwise if you want an entertaining car-action movie with a few good laughs that's not too taxing on the brain then go see this enjoyable romp with an open mind.

Oh the days when any half way decent old TV show was getting turned into an underwhelming movie. This movie definitely isn't good, but everyone seems to be having fun with it and, despite the flaws, I find this to be pretty darn watchable background noise.

Let me start off by admitting that I did not know what I was missing out until I watched this movie courtesy of Netflix. To be honest, I am guilty. Guilty of the sin of Hubris. I have never seen the original TV series but I love this film version. Lock, stock & one hundred barrels. With respect to the generation that grew up watching the show, this film is not a bastardisation. In my opinion, this film is a standalone & a cult.

Full of life, laughter & car chases because the chemistry between Sean William Scott & Johnny Knoxville as Cousin Bo & Cousin Luke create a boisterous duo.

Jessica Simpson as Cousin Daisy might not be on the same level as Catherine Bach (original Daisy) but she nailed the role as her own with her suave & finesse.

To summarise, this movie is a blast. I had a great time watching it. It might not be a masterpiece, but this film has that special variable as it was adventurous & it made me laugh.

Grab a couple of bottles, order a steaming bucket of chicken or whatever, sit back & enjoy the film!

Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg (Burt Reynolds) intends to make a fortune by strip-mining Hazzard Count for its coal, but when moonshiners Bo and Luke Duke (Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville) get wind of his nefarious plan, they decide to throw a spanner in the works, with a little help from Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson), and Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter).

I was never really a fan of the TV series of The Dukes of Hazzard, despite hailing from the South (of England, that is), so I'm not going to complain about this big screen adaptation crapping all over my childhood memories. I am, however, going to complain that the film lacks charm, a decent plot, memorable performances and any real sense of fun, director Jay Chandrasekhar merely going through the motions, delivering what he expects fans want to see, but doing so with seemingly little love, imagination or enthusiasm.

Knoxville and Scott might get top billing as good ol' boys Bo and Luke, moonshine runners and general troublemakers of Hazzard County, but the real stars of the film are General Lee, their muscle car, which is involved in numerous silly chase scenes in which the vehicle continues to function despite preposterous chassis knackering jumps and crashes, and Jessica Simpson as delectable Daisy Duke, whose bodywork is absolutely stunning and who, I imagine, handles like a dream.