The Dukes Of Hazzard Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
August 20th, 2005
~{!0~}The Dukes~{!1~} Ride Again
by Homer Yen
(c) 2005

With a rip-roaring ~{!0~}Yee-hawwww,~{!1~} those
two good-ol~{!/~}-boys-never-meaning-no-harm has graduated from TV land to the big screen with the
same kind of good-natured, dumb fun that was a
staple of Friday nights in the early 80s. The
Duke cousins, Bo and Luke (Seann William Scott
and Johnny Knoxville), are the local heroes and
the well-meaning aristocrats of Hazzard County, Georgia. It~{!/~}s a little piece of backwards country where the biggest industry might just be
the production of illegal moonshine and the
biggest thrill for them Duke boys is flirting
with the pretty farm girls and hitting each other
with a telephone book. With hardly a paved road
or any home that has central air conditioning,
the entire area might as well be turned into a
strip mine.

For them Dukes, their fun-loving ways continually interfere with the scheming ways of the
plutocratic Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds). And he
has come up with yet another bodacious plan to
swindle the citizens of Hazzard. With his key enforcer, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane (M.C. Gainey)
and a troop of dimwitted smokeys, they might just
have enough manpower to complete their nefarious
goal. But thank goodness that the Duke cousins
have a few great allies. They include the
beloved Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), whose
moonshine also serves as great explosive weapons; adept mechanic Cooter (David Koechner) who can
fix anything; and the prurient cousin Daisy
(Jessica Simpson) who has a talent for
distracting cops long enough for the Duke boys to escape. Also equally important is their
marvelous '69 orange Dodge Charger who fans
happily refer to as the General Lee. With its super-charged hemi engine and its 20 inch wheels,
this automotive fantasy can reach speeds and
altitudes that remind you of a cannonball being
shot.

Now the boys are ready to try to discover
Hogg~{!/~}s plans. And the film wisely sends
these bumpkin cousins into downtown Atlanta where their fish-out-of-water ways yields lots of
chuckles. Great fun is had when they go the city~{!/~}s university. They meet cute girls
while masquerading as scientists to gather some
needed information. It~{!/~}s just a goofy time
that is more charmingly lowbrow than screamingly funny. And when it~{!/~}s time to move on,
usually because the local cops are closing in,
they jump into their car, barrel around corners,
and fishtail their way to safety. The spirit of
the original TV series is happily preserved in
this big screen offering as it follows the
nostalgic formula of crashing police cars,
barroom brawls and other country-boy
clich~{(&~}s.

Of course, just like the Hazzard citizens, the
film is unpolished in several areas. The biggest question that remains is: Can Jessica Simpson
act? She can smile. She can swagger. She can
flirt. But, she~{!/~}s not given anything to do.
More puzzling is the inclusion of Lynda Carter
as sort of a benevolent neighbor. But, her
character seemed completely unnecessary. And
what of Deputy Enos who seemed meek but
ultimately loved Daisy (we remember that from the
80s show)? I would~{!/~}ve liked to have seen
him slightly more heroic. Yet, like the Duke
boys themselves who have humble aspiration, so to
does this film. ~{!0~}The Dukes of Hazzard~{!1~} never tries to overreach. It just aims to
provide a little bit of Southern comfort. And it accomplishes what it sets out to do. Yee-haw!

Grade: B

S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3

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