The film
The modern film adaptation based on the television hillbillies of Hazzard County, Georgia, fails to make an impact on the big screen. Jay Chandrasekhar, famed for his contributions to the equally as poor Beerfest (2006) and Super Troopers (2002) tries hard, and does have some success with the slick one-liners and chortles at the normalities of redneck culture, but the film is ultimately a failure with his reduced directorial skills and the uncaring attitude of his leads blaringly obvious. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott as Luke and Bo Duke, respectively, justify their goofball typecasting further by acting like two idiots on the rampage. Uncle Jesse, played by Willie Nelson, tries to deliver a 'joke' to Knoxville whilst on the run from Boss Hogg's (Burt Reynolds) men, and the singer's dreadful acting, coupled with the latter's terrible fake laughter after the punchline, made me cringe. Reynolds picks up a paycheque with little difficulty, and is probably the highlight of the film, taking the Hogg character to new serious depths unexplored in the television series. Meanwhile, Jessica Simpson as the iconic Daisy Duke provides more tabloid fodder for her obvious beauty whilst still maintaining the no-ability factor with her overt dumbness.
Defenders of the film will state that this is how a Hazzard-based feature should pan out and that Stifler and Mr Jackass were never going to be Olivier and Brando. Like any interpretation of a populist vehicle, fans will have mixed feelings, but I can assure you that for sheer entertainment value I struggle to see any fun. Speaking of vehicles, the fascination with American symbols of culture like the 'General Lee' fail to capture my imagination because of its utter ugliness!
The extras
A 'Daisy Dukes' clothing featurette is mediocre, with the funny realisation of the costume designers actually using a Barbie doll (of all things) as a model of Simpson when she wasn't available in pre-production! Being English, the General Lee doesn't turn me on, but seeing the impressive jump from the film broken-down is interesting when you consider how the car had to fly 175 feet in four seconds. The additional scenes, bloopers, and 15 minute documentary are good for a budget disc but everything is so short. Also, avoid the Jessica Simpson music video!
The summary
This is such a dim-witted affair and should be a last-resort for any filmgoer. Dukes doesn't even try to elevate its stars or material, and was probably distributed to earn money off gullible youths on an executive whim which backfired horrendously.
