The Dukes of Hazzard

Hazzard County Georgia is a place where life just seems to be a little slower…unless your last name is DUKE. Yee-Haw! I’m sorry for that outburst but I’m only an hour or so removed from seeing this movie and it is just that kind of infectious fun. I went into this movie expecting, oddly enough, great things because of the cast and director. Usually this is a bad sign as when I get my expectations up few movies can meet them, and if you can’t tell already this one did. Of course I wasn’t expecting this to be one of the greatest movies ever just a really fun cinematic ride in the General Lee – delivered.
In case you live under a rock or something this movie is a cinematic version of the popular (?) television series of the late seventies and early eighties. The real star of the show is the nigh invulnerable 1969 Dodge Charger that carries the moniker of “The General Lee”. Coming in second is Daisy Duke’s cleavage, (it was her ass in the show but you know creative silence and such) and Jessica Simpson is on hand to provide that as well as an entirely overly accentuated accent. Of course I don’t think the producers cast her for her acting ability we both know she is there to look pretty, which incidentally is her only talent. Taking on the roles of Bo and Luke are Sean William Scott and Johnny Knoxville respectively and they do a great job, I wouldn’t really call portraying the Duke boys acting but whatever it is they do it well. It is all comedic timing and just going with the material, the actors and director were able to maintain this fantastic cheesy vibe and fun atmosphere. Throw in Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse and Burt Reynolds as a rather calm Boss Hogg and you have your cast.
Boss Hogg was the bad guy from the series and he retains that title here but as I already mentioned he is pretty calm when compared to his television counterpart. The story is kept pretty simple but I seriously doubt that you were expecting a taught tension filled script from this. Basically Boss Hogg is trying to turn the town into a strip mine. It also revolves around this Hazzard County Road Rally; Boss Hogg has brought in a former champ and now professional racer to distract the town so that he can pass an ordinance to mine the town. The Duke boys find about it and by golly they manage to thwart his dastardly plan. Oh, and there are a shitload of car stunts.
The main reason that I really wanted to see this movie was the director Jay Chandrasekhar. He is the director of the Broken Lizard movies (Super Troopers and Club Dread) and that alone was enough to get my money. Actually he brought along the whole troop so if you are looking you can find all of them in this movie. One of the little in-jokes is actually is Erik Stolhanske and him doing a bit of their routine from the opening of Super Troopers. Jay manages to string together these great comedy pieces, driving stunts, in-jokes, and the lighthearted bravado of the series all the while maintaining a great chemistry between not only his main stars but supporting cast as well. That is what I think the main strength of this movie is that nothing (aside from Jessica Simpson’s “acting”) feels odd or out of place, he manages to cull the best parts from the series and interject a little of his own style in it making a superior amalgam.
Well I had fun, and that is all I was looking for – 85(B).