Shérif, fais-moi peur

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!

I'm a huge fan of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. And I really enjoyed this flick. I enjoyed myself here a lot more than I did with other summer blockbusters.

It's funny hearing people rail against this movie with excuses like "lame plot" and "it's much cruder than the show." Does ANYONE remember the crudeness of the humor in the pilot episode? Daisy makes incest jokes and Bo says that Luke had probably fathered half the kids in the orphanage. The only reason it was cleaned up is because it changed to and earlier time slot.

And as far as the plot goes. It was the perfect Dukes plot. In fact as a remake it probably stays truer to the source material than any TV show that has migrated to the big screen.

While Sean William Scott and Johnny Knoxville aren't EXACTLY like their small screen versions, they do a great job and work very well together. I wasn't too keen on Burt's Boss Hogg though. And I would have like a little bit more incompetence from Sheriff Roscoe. In the movie Roscoe is a little... scary.

And who didn't have a smile on their face as the General Lee is racing through the streets of Atlanta and the back roads of Hazzard?

Folks, allow yourself to enjoy a movie that is just an excuse for nostalgia, bikinis and car chases, you won't be sorry. It's just a great dumb movie!

I had low expectations when going to see this film, so I wasn't disappointed: it was a lot better than I expected.

A lot of the jokes are corny and the plot is weak, but I have to say that the audience I saw it with thought it was hilarious. There was a lot of laughing throughout the film, some of it at Willie Nelson's terrible jokes (and he has a stack of them), some at the various situations and some at the antics of the Duke cousins. I was in need of cheering up and had a good cackle at this. A lot of the driving sequences were highly enjoyable.

Not Oscar winning material, but a good laugh. Don't take it seriously and you may enjoy it!

I'll start this review off with a few words of commentary; a Fiendatorial, if you will.

Ben Jones commenced a great bruja-ja here in (semi-)local Knoxville when he was present for the unveiling of this cinematic work. It seems that Mr. Jones (and while he spoke for some of the other "original" cast members, I never quite believed he was authorized to do that) believes that he should have been offered a cameo in this work. Since he wasn't, he has set about extolling the horrors of this modernized update of the beloved (?!) family series.

Okay, I'll accept that some people did LOVE this series. But the Dukes of Hazard always was a bit racy for some. Bo and Luke ran moonshine from their Uncle Jessie's still, Daisy was a little short on the wardrobe department, and Uncle Jessie was the leader of this motley hillbilly moonshine gang that any "Revenuer" worth his badge would have loved to have thrown in jail. The "boys" stayed in a constant state of trouble, and flaunted their illegal activities in the face of local law enforcement. These were NOT "good" boys!

No, there was no marijuana use in the television series. It was TELEVISION! They couldn't do that and be on television as a series.

Frankly, I never loved the series. I thought it was hokey, unintelligent, and downright stupid. It made Southerners look like we ARE inbred idiots. I detested it.

As far as this modernization goes, I found it to be a 100% improvement over the cheesy dialog and horrible acting perpetrated upon us by the series! The performances were great, the plot was in keeping with the original series, the action...wow the action!

This movie was a stunt-driver's wet dream! It was reminiscent (if only a small bit) of Smokey and the Bandit in that it was great fun to watch. And while I enjoyed Jessica Simpson's Daisy Duke far more than I thought was possible, she would have made a better Ellie Mae Clampett, in my opinion.

It wasn't afraid to laugh at itself and never took itself too seriously. Unfortunately, Burt Reynolds was a very weak Boss Hogg. I have no idea what they were thinking. The casting choice wasn't necessarily a bad call, but the direction of his character was just flaccid, as was Burt's performance. He played him too unemotional without ever coming close to hitting the level of calculated treachery Sorrel Brooke's Boss Hogg exuded. I felt that Mr. Reynolds was just...horrible in this endeavor, but Willie Nelson more than made up for that in his portrayal as Uncle Jessie.

So don't listen to the nay-sayers. This is a highly entertaining endeavor. Even those of us of the "alternative" categorization could (and did) experience a few honest belly-laughs at our own expense. Heck, we survived "Deliverance!" I'm sure we'll survive this.

The best line in the movie?

"You're hillbillies!"

"We prefer Appalachian-Americans!"

It rates a 7.6/10.

I am surprised at how low the scores are for this movie. My least favorite movie of all time has a higher score (Blair Witch 2).

But let me tell you, at no point was I tempted to walk out of the theater - I enjoyed almost every minute. I am 32 years of age and loved the show when I was a kid - if you didn't like the show, then I certainly wouldn't waste your time with this movie. And if you are going to get upset because this is a sexually charged, NON-family movie, save your cash. The Dukes are a swearing, moonshine-drinking, woman-chasing bunch. I definitely DO consider myself to be a movie snob - I appreciate good movies, and have become a huge fan of foreign / art films. I'm not saying "Dukes" is in the same ballpark as a really good movie - I certainly won't be purchasing the DVD - but don't be automatically scared away by the terrible reviews. And for what this is worth - the audience that I viewed the movie with was laughing, clapping hands, and clearly enjoyed the film.

Happy viewing!