Let me just say that I miss Tom Wopat and John Schneider. I grew up watching the Duke boys sticking it to Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, and when it comes to nostalgia, my loyalty doesn't get much more vicious.
Jay Chandrasekhar's The Dukes of Hazzard, starring the original Jackass and Stiffler is a ridiculously fun effort. Almost everyone involved seems to understand what made the original work so well, and Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott as the titular Dukes chemistry works almost as well as Wopat's and Schneider's. These two are out to have fun, and if they film a movie in the process, well... so much the better.
As for the rest of the cast, Jessica Simpson is disgustingly perfect as Daisy Duke. I may be in the minority on this, but Simpson is articulately funny for a girl who's main job is to wear shorts shorter than my big toe. She knows how to work what she's got for the camera, and her southern soul, and her short shorts, are a great re-invention of the inimitable Catherine Bach.
Willie Nelson, however, is another story. It was Denver Pyle's original Uncle Jesse that was the heart of the Duke family. A sweet southern Moonshiner of a man whom the Dukes not only protected, but you understood wanted to make proud. In this version, the Duke boys don't so much look for approval, as they do just look to get laid, and if they can deliver a few jars of southern comfort at the same time, well that's okay too. Also, it doesn't help that this new Uncle Jesse wants to go behind the barn with Wonder Woman, smoke an apple, and bend her over a bale of hay (though I am dissappointed a deleted scene with Linda Carter hurling innuendoes back and forth with Nelson was not in the final cut).
Recently the original Cooter blasted this update due to its "un-family friendly" subject matter. While I'm not a Christian, nor do I particularly care about nudity and non-PG language in film, I can honestly see his point. What was fun about the original was its childishness; it's ability to be enjoyed by a 5 year old and and his parents at the same time.
This version is slightly perverse (and if you check out Nelson's deleted protracted joke scene, you may be left slightly slackjawed). It was made for the kids who used to watch the series who are now in their 20's or 30's, and will pay to see college girls gone wild. I understand the approach, and there is a part of me (and not a minor part either) that does appreciate the more adult imagining. Yet, my loyalty does go to the original.
As for the real star of this movie, stunt driver Rhys Millen perfectly inhabits the soul of the General Lee. As you will see from "The General Lee Lives" and "How to Launch a Muscle Car 175 Feet In 4 Seconds" in the special features, no one is about to argue that most people came to this movie to see the General fly again, and Millen not only pays homage to the original '69 Charger, but makes this dog do a few new tricks.
If you want to relive the nostalgia of the original Dukes, rent the original series on DVD. If you can stand to see a new version, and can get past seeing anyone other than Wopat and Schneider behind the dash of the General Lee, then this disc is a fun ride. Just remember to breathe when Simpson visits Enos in a hot pink bikini.
David Fallo
The Dukes Of Hazzard
Let me just say that I miss Tom Wopat and John Schneider. I grew up watching the Duke boys sticking it to Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, and when it comes to nostalgia, my loyalty doesn't get much more vicious.
Jay Chandrasekhar's The Dukes of Hazzard, starring the original Jackass and Stiffler is a ridiculously fun effort. Almost everyone involved seems to understand what made the original work so well, and Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott as the titular Dukes chemistry works almost as well as Wopat's and Schneider's. These two are out to have fun, and if they film a movie in the process, well... so much the better.
As for the rest of the cast, Jessica Simpson is disgustingly perfect as Daisy Duke. I may be in the minority on this, but Simpson is articulately funny for a girl who's main job is to wear shorts shorter than my big toe. She knows how to work what she's got for the camera, and her southern soul, and her short shorts, are a great re-invention of the inimitable Catherine Bach.
Willie Nelson, however, is another story. It was Denver Pyle's original Uncle Jesse that was the heart of the Duke family. A sweet southern Moonshiner of a man whom the Dukes not only protected, but you understood wanted to make proud. In this version, the Duke boys don't so much look for approval, as they do just look to get laid, and if they can deliver a few jars of southern comfort at the same time, well that's okay too. Also, it doesn't help that this new Uncle Jesse wants to go behind the barn with Wonder Woman, smoke an apple, and bend her over a bale of hay (though I am dissappointed a deleted scene with Linda Carter hurling innuendoes back and forth with Nelson was not in the final cut).
Recently the original Cooter blasted this update due to its "un-family friendly" subject matter. While I'm not a Christian, nor do I particularly care about nudity and non-PG language in film, I can honestly see his point. What was fun about the original was its childishness; it's ability to be enjoyed by a 5 year old and and his parents at the same time.
This version is slightly perverse (and if you check out Nelson's deleted protracted joke scene, you may be left slightly slackjawed). It was made for the kids who used to watch the series who are now in their 20's or 30's, and will pay to see college girls gone wild. I understand the approach, and there is a part of me (and not a minor part either) that does appreciate the more adult imagining. Yet, my loyalty does go to the original.
As for the real star of this movie, stunt driver Rhys Millen perfectly inhabits the soul of the General Lee. As you will see from "The General Lee Lives" and "How to Launch a Muscle Car 175 Feet In 4 Seconds" in the special features, no one is about to argue that most people came to this movie to see the General fly again, and Millen not only pays homage to the original '69 Charger, but makes this dog do a few new tricks.
If you want to relive the nostalgia of the original Dukes, rent the original series on DVD. If you can stand to see a new version, and can get past seeing anyone other than Wopat and Schneider behind the dash of the General Lee, then this disc is a fun ride. Just remember to breathe when Simpson visits Enos in a hot pink bikini.
