Dukes of Hazzard Review

Yes, I was waffling on whether or not to see The Dukes of Hazzard Movie. When Friday night came, I realized that it was my responsibility to see it. Like K-ball said, "Youpromised your readers." My other reason was best said by Bob, “What guy doesn’t want to see a movie with flying cars?” Exactly. I had to see the “flying cars.” So what about the “flying cars?” Oh they fly. The movie opens with a solid chase scene with a nice jump across a broken bridge, which was Hazzard TV staple. I then checked my watch to time when the next chase would happen. Ten mintues passed and I waited. Thirty minutes passed and I waited…and I waited. I waited over a damn hour for the next chase! How the hell can you expect the audience to sit through a Dukes of Hazzard movie yet wait over an hour for the General Lee to show up again? This is where I needed a girlfriend, that I would bribe with a nice dinner, to wake me up when the cars start flying.

You might be asking, "Is it funny at all?" Let me say that the only funny part of the movie is the outtakes they run during the credits. Sad isn’t it? There are the jabs at the show such as Dukes visit a University and Dukes in "black face." There is also a gag about the fact that there’s a rebel flag on the car. None of them are really that funny. Knoxville is passable. Sean William Scott really tries to make it work. Jessica Simpson just scares me. I know she’s supposed to be beautiful and/or “super hot,” but her profile is frightening. What was I reminded of?

She’s awful too. Surprising isn’t it? At least Catherine Bach portrayed Daisy with a brain. The old Daisy wasn’t stupid or at least not as nearly as stupid as Simpson. The movie was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar who directed all the Broken Lizard movies like Super Troopers. Many of the Broken Lizard troupe make guest spots, but no Dukes of Hazzard vets show their face. I don’t know what this means to you. I know some people swear by it. The movie does stay rather true to the TV show, particularly the narration which is done by Junior Brown. I repeat it is Junior Brown not Willie Nelson. Many reviewers keep saying it is Willie Nelson. Are they deaf? It is clearly Junior Brown. Willie Nelson is left spewing a bunch of jokes that weren’t funny the first time I heard them in a Mike’s Hard Lemonade commercial. Oh…and he likes weed…alot. But what about the flying cars? Ok. Ok.

Finally, more than halfway through the movie the General Lee finally gets to shine. The whole third act is nearly all driving, which almost saves the entire movie. Is it Ronin good? No. I would say it is probably a step above Fast and the Furious. It’s the outstanding jumps that puts it over Fast And Furious. They only really went airborne once in Furious. The chase through downtown Atlanta is the highlight Dukes. From the exceptional drift around the circle to the leap onto the freeway, it all left me with a wide smile on my face.It’s not perfect though. There are moments where it looks like they didn’t have the time or the money to get all the angles of the chases on film. I guess it costs more than I thought to get Knoxville. It still though ably satisfied my flying car fix. So, should you go see it? Probably not. I’d wait for rental. You could see another movie that lets out before the third act of Dukes begins. That way you could sneak in and see most of the “flying cars.” You could also watch the first chase sequence, set your alarm, and take a nap for an hour and 13 minutes. The only reason you should even think of paying movie theater price is if you really like to watch "flying cars."

Movie w/o chases: D+
Chases: B+