By: debbie lynn elias
Okay filmmakers. Let’s repeat the mantra: “We shall think of new ideas. Remakes of movies and tv series are not a good thing.” And the latest evidence of this is “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Now folks, for those of you that don’t know me, me and the Dukes, well, we go way back to the mid 80’s. I had the good fortune of doing some occasional work on the show, had the gift of knowing and watching some incredible stunt people and have the ultimate pleasure of being friends with one of the original Duke boys. And let me tell, what we’ve got on the big screen August 5 ain’t the Dukes.
We all know the basic Duke story – Just some good old boys named Bo and Luke (plus a pretty cousin named Daisy and a country-wise old uncle named Jesse) down in Hazzard County always tryin’ to stay one step ahead of the law and Boss Hogg. . . and always takin’ time out to help a friend or a stranger in need. And let’s not forget, the Dukes’ faithful orange Charger, The General Lee (which is the best part of the film) which get them out of more scrapes than Carter has pills. For this big screen version, the Dukes have to outsmart and outwhip Boss Hogg as they try to save their farm (and Uncle Jesse’s moonshine business). Using one of the original television scripts, “Farewell, Hazzard” which dealt with efforts to strip-mine Hazzard, as their starting point, writer John O’Brien and director Jay Chandrasekhar went downhill from there, almost turning the film into an endorsement for felonious conduct.
With a storyline that is well, come to think of it, where is the storyline’ Uncle Jesse a pothead’ Bo and Luke (in these incarnations) on a college campus let alone being “lost” in a girls dorm’ The General Lee in big city traffic’ Overly tanned Burt Reynolds in a shiny white suit’ “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville takes on the role of Luke Duke. Let me tell you – Johnny Knoxville is nooooo Tom Wopat. Knoxville as Luke Duke can only be described as the title of his last film – jackass. If he was trying to mock the Luke Duke character, he did a great job. If he was trying to create his own version or imitate Wopat’s style – he failed miserably. Knoxville has no sense of comedic timing. Even worse, he has no sense of or ability to convey sincerity and comes across as nothing but a buffoon. And what is up with those aviator sunglasses” Seann William Scott turns in a better performance with his take on Bo Duke, although as bad as the film is as a whole, that’s not saying much. I’ll give him this much though, his timing is impeccable (or at least it seems to be given the haphazard nature of the project as a whole) and you can actually see some effort being put forth with his delivery of dialogue. Sadly, the script is so lacking and incomplete that it’s difficult to determine just how good he actually is. Which brings us to Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke. (Isn’t her 15 minutes of fame over yet’) I’m still uncertain as to whether or not she had a larger role which was whittled down to possibly 15 minutes of ass-shaking due to an inability to speak dialogue or was this shortcoming of hers already a known commodity and taken into account when (a) writing the script or (b) when casting the role.
Wasted in this film are the supporting talents of Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg, Joe Don Baker as the Governor of Georgia, Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse and Lynda Carter as family friend Pauline. (Not even Wonder Woman can save this disaster!) Sad to say it, but Hazzard just ain’t the same without James Best’s “Roscoe P. Coltrane” and his “little fat buddy” Boss Hogg played by Sorrell Booke.
One of the keys to the success of the original Dukes was the genuine heartfelt camaraderie of family and friends that permeated every episode – something sorely lacking here not only with each individual performance but among the entire cast. And again, this harkens back to a lukewarm, lackluster and let’s face it – lousy – script.
But, there is one bright spot – the General Lee. Still the star and center attraction, thanks to an incredible second unit and stunt team – including Steve Kelso who was a driver for 3 years on the tv series – you know that with every “yee-haw!!!!!” and blare of “Dixie”, you’re gonna see the General go flyin’ through the air with more ease, more deft and more pizzaz than any of its human co-stars. Just to show you how meticulous the filmmakers were in dealing with this pop icon (thankfully they cared about something), 26 Dodge Chargers were put to use here, including one from the original series that was called upon for some “close up” work. Interestingly, due to a shortage of 1969 Chargers, 1968 and 1970 models were converted to look like the ’69.
Unfortunately, this is a film that begs comparison to the television series and because of that draws more criticism than were it to stand alone – although standing along it still insults the intelligence of every moviegoer out there.
Luke Duke: Johnny Knoxville Bo Duke: Seann William Scott Daisy Duke: Jessica Simpson Uncle Jesse: Willie Nelson Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. Written by John O’Brien. Rated PG-13 (106 min)
