The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) Poster

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6/10
Hazardous Dukes
questl-185927 March 2020
Oh the days when any half way decent old TV show was getting turned into an underwhelming movie. This movie definitely isn't good, but everyone seems to be having fun with it and, despite the flaws, I find this to be pretty darn watchable background noise.
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6/10
A giggle
annie-18621 September 2005
I had low expectations when going to see this film, so I wasn't disappointed: it was a lot better than I expected.

A lot of the jokes are corny and the plot is weak, but I have to say that the audience I saw it with thought it was hilarious. There was a lot of laughing throughout the film, some of it at Willie Nelson's terrible jokes (and he has a stack of them), some at the various situations and some at the antics of the Duke cousins. I was in need of cheering up and had a good cackle at this. A lot of the driving sequences were highly enjoyable.

Not Oscar winning material, but a good laugh. Don't take it seriously and you may enjoy it!
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6/10
Was it "great"? No. Did I laugh a couple of dozen times and have fun? Yes!
ramair3506 August 2005
I am surprised at how low the scores are for this movie. My least favorite movie of all time has a higher score (Blair Witch 2).

But let me tell you, at no point was I tempted to walk out of the theater - I enjoyed almost every minute. I am 32 years of age and loved the show when I was a kid - if you didn't like the show, then I certainly wouldn't waste your time with this movie. And if you are going to get upset because this is a sexually charged, NON-family movie, save your cash. The Dukes are a swearing, moonshine-drinking, woman-chasing bunch. I definitely DO consider myself to be a movie snob - I appreciate good movies, and have become a huge fan of foreign / art films. I'm not saying "Dukes" is in the same ballpark as a really good movie - I certainly won't be purchasing the DVD - but don't be automatically scared away by the terrible reviews. And for what this is worth - the audience that I viewed the movie with was laughing, clapping hands, and clearly enjoyed the film.

Happy viewing!
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1/10
If you were a fan of the TV show...
Bschorr1 January 2006
...then you'd better not watch this movie. They've completely ruined the premise of the show. In the movie the Duke boys are idiots, Daisy is trampy, Roscoe is sinister, Boss Hogg is capable, Uncle Jessie is a criminal...only Cooter and Flash are true to the original characters. At least Enos is kinda close.

At one point they open the doors to get into the General Lee -- nuff said.

The original show may not have been great TV, but it was entertaining and the characters made sense. This movie is like Dumb & Dumber meets the Simple Life.
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1/10
Stop ruining my childhood memories!
dskay135 August 2005
Why take a show that millions of us watched and loved as children and make a complete joke of it? They ask why Hollywood isn't making the money it used to. Because they put out garbage and pay actors huge amounts of money to be garbage men and ask us to pay $10 to see their garbage. The TV show was what it was, good people in bad situations where the good IL' boys come out on top. It wasn't Gone with the Wind but it was fun. This movie is garbage! Hollywood can't come up with anything original so they take something that was good and ruin it for some $$$$. I only hope that this movie makes 10x's less than it cost to make. The only one's to have any fun with this crap are the guys who got to drive the General Lee. The audience is the victim.

Don't see it, watch the reruns of the TV show instead. They still hold up 20 years later.
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1/10
Hollywood should be ashamed of themselves.
HorrorLuv_R14 August 2005
When I heard that the Dukes of Hazzard was going to be remade with current actors and a solid script, I was like, "alright, I'll give it a chance, it's not going to be better than the first, but we'll see what happens." Well, I saw what happened. I saw a great late 70's/80's show that was a classic, basically humiliated by Hollywood. It's so sad to see that Hollywood scriptwriters cannot come up with something original these days. They are seeming to take a great show that had a great target audience, and try to "REMAKE" the classic show. HEADS UP Hollywood... IT AIN'T WORKIN!!!! Anyway, more about the show. I think they could have casted a better actor than Sean William Scott (Stiffler from American Pie) to play Bo. I'm sure that John Schneider is definitely disappointed with how his character was portrayed and taken advantage of. Also, Get for real, Johnny Knoxville, as Luke Duke. How low can you go?? A crappy jackass actor to play lovable Luke. This sickens me. Also, I'll give Jessica Simpson is a beautiful woman, but her acting sucks. Catherine Bach who played the original Daisy, was smart, sexy, strong, opinionated and a good IL' southern girl. She was every little girls role model growing up! (I owned the doll and the Jeep - thank you very much!!!) Anyway, Jessica Simpson played a smart ass, 2-bit slut as Daisy Duke. Daisy never was blonde. Why did they have to cast her. Jessica Alba would have played a great Daisy Duke. She can speak with a great southern accent, and she is gorgeous, and would have done a wonderful job. Anyway, I'd like to say that this movie blew something fierce. I feel like I got ripped off by paying $8.50 for tickets, and they should refund my money. If you like the Dukes of Hazzard (the original series) don't see this movie. It'll just upset you. CMT (country music television) plays the reruns of the Dukes all the time later at night. So set your TIVO's and go with the real thing, not the imitation on the big screen in Hollywood.
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7/10
Doesn't take itself seriously, and neither should you. Great fun.
cruelshoe26 January 2018
Yes, I was once a 9-year-old who would 'yee-haw' in front of the TV every Friday night. But then I grew up and basically forgot about the Dukes of Hazzard. Years later, when I learned of the movie, I scoffed. I had zero expectations and no plans to see it. Then months later, I ran into it on HBO.

This movie is a blast. Anyone looking for a dusty museum exhibit to replay the original series for a new generation will be disappointed. But It's great fun for anyone willing to be in on the joke and go along for the ride.

Boss Hogg isn't fat. Uncle Jesse smokes weed. Roscoe is less cartoon bumbling, more cartoon menacing. Daisy is blonde. The General's paint job needs... explaining.

But the movie retains everything that made the original series work: car chases, bar brawls, short-shorts and good-hearted outlaws looking out for the good folks of Hazzard County. The movie brings back all these crucial elements... and then takes them out and gets them drunk. Buckle up for safety!

The plot is an inch deep, but gets the job done. The humor is perfectly simple and perfectly funny. And, aside from Burt Reynolds, the cast aren't winning any Oscars (ever), but they can handle these characters just fine.

Lastly, I had no idea how much I missed the General Lee. I'm not a car guy or an action-for-the-sake-of-action guy, but the car chases, crashes and jumps in this movie are incredible. Most modern action scenes are just noise and blur, but the driving-action scenes in this movie are extremely well-paced and well-executed. I could replay the car chase in Atlanta (with Bo in emotional crisis behind the wheel) a hundred times and never stop loving that scene.

I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed this movie - both times (thanks, Netflix!), with about 10 years between viewings. The big screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard actually works, and no one was more surprised than me.

Now how do you think them boys are going to top this one?
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1/10
The bikini couldn't save it!
SmileysWorld4 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
For this review,a list of good points and bad points.I'll start with the bad.

Bad points:The casting choices(especially Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg),the acting of said badly chosen cast,the storyline,the idea of setting the film in the modern day,the direction,the editing,the soundtrack,and above all,the whole idea of making a feature film out of a television series that wasn't that great to start with,despite it's popularity.

Good points:Jessica Simpson in a red bikini............that's it!

One might make an analogy here.In the scene where Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke struts her way up to Michael Weston as Enos,and asks the question,"Enos,where's Boss Hogg and Roscoe?",in his clouded judgment, tells her where they are.She might just as well have asked,"Enos,is this a good movie?",the red bikini would have clouded his judgment into saying yes,even though in his right mind he would have said,"No, not really."As good as she looked in the bikini,she could have been stark naked,and even that would not have saved this horrible piece of film-making.Stay out of Hazzard!
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7/10
C'mon folks it's The Dukes of Hazzard NOT Citizen Kane
dpalmer-131 August 2005
I'm a huge fan of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. And I really enjoyed this flick. I enjoyed myself here a lot more than I did with other summer blockbusters.

It's funny hearing people rail against this movie with excuses like "lame plot" and "it's much cruder than the show." Does ANYONE remember the crudeness of the humor in the pilot episode? Daisy makes incest jokes and Bo says that Luke had probably fathered half the kids in the orphanage. The only reason it was cleaned up is because it changed to and earlier time slot.

And as far as the plot goes. It was the perfect Dukes plot. In fact as a remake it probably stays truer to the source material than any TV show that has migrated to the big screen.

While Sean William Scott and Johnny Knoxville aren't EXACTLY like their small screen versions, they do a great job and work very well together. I wasn't too keen on Burt's Boss Hogg though. And I would have like a little bit more incompetence from Sheriff Roscoe. In the movie Roscoe is a little... scary.

And who didn't have a smile on their face as the General Lee is racing through the streets of Atlanta and the back roads of Hazzard?

Folks, allow yourself to enjoy a movie that is just an excuse for nostalgia, bikinis and car chases, you won't be sorry. It's just a great dumb movie!
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1/10
The Dukes of Hazzard Movie took something that was great and made it worth no more then a big pile of dog crap!!!!!!!!!!!
A-Teamfan0110 August 2005
I am a huge fan of the original Dukes of Hazzard TV show, so I was really happy when I found out that it was going to made into a movie. Well all of my excitement disappeared quickly during the first five minutes of the movie. In that short time I realized that the director and writer of this movie really screwed up the whole point of the original TV show. For anybody who has seen at least one episode of the Dukes of Hazzard, they know that Uncle Jessie is a very respected man who was a very strong father figure to Bo, Luke, and Daisy. He would give the world if it would save his family from getting in trouble. Heck he gave up running Moonshine so Bo and Luke would not spend the rest of their lives in prison. Well in the movie all Uncle Jessie is a old man who rather smoke weed, run moonshine, or cuss all day then do anything else. Willie Nelson's version of Uncle Jessie was definitely not the strong Christian father figure who kept the Duke family together by teaching them great morals and being that positive role model in their lives--like Denver Pyle was. I can safely say that the late Mr. Pyle would be greatly upset if he was still with us today, to see how bad Hollywood has turned the DOH into a sleazily trashy film. I officially am boycotting this horrible mockery of what was and is still today a great family orientated piece of American History, the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. THANKS FOR ROYALLY SCREWING UP THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. It is very clear to see that you have not seen the show, and never understood it and what made it so great in so many people's eyes over the years. You should be ashamed of yourselves for making such a horrible movie with so much trash and crap in it that it is not even funny. You had a great opportunity to make a great clean family film that still would make a lot of money in the theaters. This movie did not need all of the cussing, sexual references, and drug related stuff to sell it. The original Dukes of Hazzard concept would of been more then enough to sell this movie. Evidently the director and writers of this film do not understand how much of a following the original show still has today twenty something years after it's debut. If they did they would understand that they are only hurting themselves by destroying what made the original show so great. I can guarantee that all of the die hard Dukes of Hazzard fans will not buy this movie when it comes out on DVD/VHS because you really screwed it up so bad.
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9/10
Loved it
btreakle28 October 2020
Love it! Great movie and great cast. Highly recommended
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7/10
Too Ignorant to Love, Too Funny to Hate...
FiendishDramaturgy24 February 2006
I'll start this review off with a few words of commentary; a Fiendatorial, if you will.

Ben Jones commenced a great bruja-ja here in (semi-)local Knoxville when he was present for the unveiling of this cinematic work. It seems that Mr. Jones (and while he spoke for some of the other "original" cast members, I never quite believed he was authorized to do that) believes that he should have been offered a cameo in this work. Since he wasn't, he has set about extolling the horrors of this modernized update of the beloved (?!) family series.

Okay, I'll accept that some people did LOVE this series. But the Dukes of Hazard always was a bit racy for some. Bo and Luke ran moonshine from their Uncle Jessie's still, Daisy was a little short on the wardrobe department, and Uncle Jessie was the leader of this motley hillbilly moonshine gang that any "Revenuer" worth his badge would have loved to have thrown in jail. The "boys" stayed in a constant state of trouble, and flaunted their illegal activities in the face of local law enforcement. These were NOT "good" boys!

No, there was no marijuana use in the television series. It was TELEVISION! They couldn't do that and be on television as a series.

Frankly, I never loved the series. I thought it was hokey, unintelligent, and downright stupid. It made Southerners look like we ARE inbred idiots. I detested it.

As far as this modernization goes, I found it to be a 100% improvement over the cheesy dialog and horrible acting perpetrated upon us by the series! The performances were great, the plot was in keeping with the original series, the action...wow the action!

This movie was a stunt-driver's wet dream! It was reminiscent (if only a small bit) of Smokey and the Bandit in that it was great fun to watch. And while I enjoyed Jessica Simpson's Daisy Duke far more than I thought was possible, she would have made a better Ellie Mae Clampett, in my opinion.

It wasn't afraid to laugh at itself and never took itself too seriously. Unfortunately, Burt Reynolds was a very weak Boss Hogg. I have no idea what they were thinking. The casting choice wasn't necessarily a bad call, but the direction of his character was just flaccid, as was Burt's performance. He played him too unemotional without ever coming close to hitting the level of calculated treachery Sorrel Brooke's Boss Hogg exuded. I felt that Mr. Reynolds was just...horrible in this endeavor, but Willie Nelson more than made up for that in his portrayal as Uncle Jessie.

So don't listen to the nay-sayers. This is a highly entertaining endeavor. Even those of us of the "alternative" categorization could (and did) experience a few honest belly-laughs at our own expense. Heck, we survived "Deliverance!" I'm sure we'll survive this.

The best line in the movie?

"You're hillbillies!"

"We prefer Appalachian-Americans!"

It rates a 7.6/10.
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1/10
The differences in opinion are understood, but not to the degree to rate this movie higher than a 5.
joneske10 August 2005
I honestly thought that this movie was awful. The only thing that may have swayed my opinion in the least was Daisy. I Think that is why the ratings of people in the younger age group rated it higher than the older groups.

This in my opinion was not a movie that I would want my kids to see. I would not be hurt if they did see it, but it is not by any means a "family" movie. Their was no reason for this movie to be made other than to stuff the budget and the pocketbooks of the film industry. It appears to be a low budget movie, with actors that are known to have lame parts, or have not been in better movies.

For the people who enjoyed the stupidity of the jacka@@ movie might enjoy the mentality of this movie. I have to say that you could tell that Johnny Knoxville appeared to do his own stunts though.

Anyone wanting to see this movie because they loved or even liked the television series will hate this movie. It is not at all like the series. This movie portrays Bo and Luke as a couple of idiots that have no clue what is really going on in life. Bo is a "womanizer" and Luke is infatuated with his car. I enjoyed seeing Willie Nelson as Uncle Jessie, but as you know Willie is not renowned for his acting.

I wanted my money back after seeing this movie, and would even have been upset to have spent the money to rent it. I think anyone would only be pleased about getting it when they can find it as a bargain rental for 1 dollar.
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1/10
Don't See this piece of garbage
chaleon5 August 2005
Never in my life have I seen a bigger piece of garbage... And here is a few reasons why...

1) If you are going to see this film because of Jessica's rear, Stop! It's not her ass, it is a padded pair of shorts, and it is pretty gosh darn obvious when she is moving.

2) Wow! What incredibly Poor acting, I would rather watch Tony Danza try to play Hamlet than a single one of these "actors" attempting to play a one dimensional early 80's sitcom character.

3) The Story line is completely awful... an eight year old could have and probably did come up with this one.

4) Any good press or posting about this movie are by people that have some form of investment in this massacre, or the completely brain washed. A la Ashleeturf, a term invented describe the fake press that Joe Simpson created for his other no talent, lip synching, little waste, moron, daughter, Ashlee.

Save yourself some money and quit a few brain cells, go see Wedding Crashers. I guarantee you will laugh your ass off!

By the way... if the movie tanks this weekend Johnny Knoxville and Jessica Simpson are expected to admit to having an affair. Yeah! No more Nick "no talent" Lachey(actually pronounced "Lack E")
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1/10
What a Joke
coderedjr27 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Let me start by saying that my husband gave me "The Dukes of Hazzard" movie for a gift. We were open minded about it and hoped that the critics were wrong. However within the first 10 minutes we could see why it was panned. This movie barely kept our attention with the lame jokes and comments. What got to me most was the sexual comments made constantly during the movie. In my experience watching the original series, not once did I ever hear Daisy say that she "would have to shake her butt in front of someone to get Bo and Luke out of trouble". It was known in the original series that Bo was a kind of ladies man, but not once did it show frontal nudity or even show him doing anything disgusting. This movie, in my opinion was nothing more than a peep show for guys that have nothing else better to do. The sexual comments and obvious reason why Jessica Simpson was cast disgusted both my husband and myself. It was obvious that Miss Simpson was cast for sexual pleasure not acting talent. The two actors who played Bo and Luke were terrible; no chemistry period. They portrayed Bo and Luke as idiots and if I were part of the original cast, I would be livid at the portrayal of the lovable characters. Now, on to the General Lee-now in the first shots of the car, it looked great. However, when they shot the interior it was obvious that certain pieces of the interior were not stock to the original Charger. The least the creators could've done was to keep the General Lee all original seeing that they couldn't be bothered to keep the characters even close to the original guidelines. Now, I've heard that it's a new movie and not to compare it to the series. How can you not compare it to the series? We grew up watching the original series and this movie is a complete joke and disgrace. The writers should be ashamed of the butchering they did to the "Dukes". In closing, I couldn't wait until the movie ended. My husband apologized to me for buying it and said "I didn't think it would be that bad".
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1/10
No Plot, No Jokes, No Point!
marymorphine5 August 2005
I knew this was going to be horrible. Not the fact that of course the script was going to be bad, but just at the fact that there are NO real actors in the movie.

Did the producers seriously think Stifler, the guy from Jackass, and a mediocre pop singer could carry the legacy of the Dukes of Hazzard? Basically, Sean William Scott plays his typical 'Stifler' character and Johnny Knoxville plays...well....Johnny Knoxville.

And Jessica Simpson is a horrible actress. If a southern woman can't pull off a southern accent, she is indeed a bad actress. She sounds like Carol Burnett doing her Scarlet O'Hara impersonation. Fortunately, her role isn't as big as promotion is making it seem.

1 out of 10. Please don't waste your money on this movie and go buy the Dukes of Hazzard Season 1 DVD.
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7/10
Fun Movie, Much Better Than Expected
imdb-647228 August 2005
Having read some of the other comments here I was expecting something truly awful but was pleasantly surprised. REALITY CHECK: The original series wasn't that good. I think some people remember it with more affection than it deserved but apart from the car chases and Daisy Duke's legs the scripts were weak and poorly acted. The Duke boys were too intelligent and posh for backwood hicks, the shrunken Boss Hog was too cretinous to be evil and Rosco was just hyper throughout every screen moment. It's amazing the series actually lasted as long as it did because it ran out of story lines during the first series.

Back to the movie. If you watch this film in it's own right, not as a direct comparison to however you remember the TV series, then it's not bad at all. The real star is of course the General Lee. The car chases and stunts are excellent and that's really what D.O.H. is all about. Johnny Knoxville is his usual eccentric self and along with Seann William Scott as Cousin Bo the pair make this film really funny in a hilarious Dumb-And-Dumber sort of way the TV series never achieved. The lovely Jessica Simpson is a natch as Miss Daisy, Burt Reynolds makes a much improved Boss Hog and M.C. Gainey makes a believably nasty Rosco P. Coltrane, the way he always should have been.

If you don't like slapstick humour and crazy car stunts then you wouldn't be watching this film anyway because you should know what to expect. Otherwise if you want an entertaining car-action movie with a few good laughs that's not too taxing on the brain then go see this enjoyable romp with an open mind.
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5/10
Another 'classic' TV series makes it to the big screen.
BA_Harrison6 November 2016
Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg (Burt Reynolds) intends to make a fortune by strip-mining Hazzard Count for its coal, but when moonshiners Bo and Luke Duke (Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville) get wind of his nefarious plan, they decide to throw a spanner in the works, with a little help from Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson), and Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter).

I was never really a fan of the TV series of The Dukes of Hazzard, despite hailing from the South (of England, that is), so I'm not going to complain about this big screen adaptation crapping all over my childhood memories. I am, however, going to complain that the film lacks charm, a decent plot, memorable performances and any real sense of fun, director Jay Chandrasekhar merely going through the motions, delivering what he expects fans want to see, but doing so with seemingly little love, imagination or enthusiasm.

Knoxville and Scott might get top billing as good ol' boys Bo and Luke, moonshine runners and general troublemakers of Hazzard County, but the real stars of the film are General Lee, their muscle car, which is involved in numerous silly chase scenes in which the vehicle continues to function despite preposterous chassis knackering jumps and crashes, and Jessica Simpson as delectable Daisy Duke, whose bodywork is absolutely stunning and who, I imagine, handles like a dream.
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7/10
High paced, non-thinking action/comedy
Enchorde1 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Recap: Moonshining family Duke is in trouble. Local businessman and crook, Boss Hogg, is confiscating land all around the local town of Hazzard. And he got the local police doing his dirty work. The Dukes got to take matter in their own hands. But first they must find out what Hogg is really up to. And don't forget, the annual Hazzard race is about to go down too, and Bo Duke has his eyes set on the cup.

Comments: I have not seen Moonshine (1975), neither have I seen the series or played the computer games. So, my comments will be based solely on this movie, and not on its connections or how it handles the legacy. But the movie, on its own, stands tall. It is a high-paced action comedy movie with laughs around every corner. Sure, it is a complete no-brainer, it might actually hurt the experience if you involve the thinking machine. This is a movie that should be seen after a day of hard work, when you are really tired and the brain need some time to rest. But the movie does what it intend to do. It entertains, it made me laugh. A lot. True, some jokes are better than others, and there are some unmotivated scenes with hardly dressed young girls. But still, it's funny. However you look at it, the conclusion in the end is that it is funny. Mission accomplished.

The cast do a good work. Knoxville and Scott are two very good choices for Bo and Luke, and they work nice together (check some of the outtakes). Nelson as Uncle Jesse is a nice choice too. Finally some opinion about Daisy aka Jessica Simpson. She is a good choice for the part, but the character don't require much other than beauty so it is not possible to predict Simpson's future acting career based on her performance. Though she do Daisy real well.

Well all in all, watch and laugh.

7/10
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1/10
The Worst Movie I've Ever Seen
supr_man20005 August 2005
This movie is a shame and a disgrace to the Duke family name. I was a huge fan of the show. HUGE. But this was the worst movie I've ever seen in my life. John Schneider must be spitting nails to see Stifler in his driver's seat. Calling this film the Dukes of Hazzard was a poor smokescreen for selling a bad film. No matter how hard they tried, none of those jokers are, or will ever be, Dukes. Daisy Duke (played by Catherine Bach) was hot, smart, and sassy. Now don't get me wrong, Jessica Simpson is one of the hottest women alive, but she is no Daisy Duke. Her Daisy was a bimbo who just walked around in a bikini all of the time. Also, I love Willie Nelson, but he wasn't Uncle Jesse, he was Willie Nelson. All in all, this film turned my stomach and did a great dis-service to the name of the Dukes of Hazzard. Nice car and jumps though.
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8/10
Fun! Fun! Fun!
BillyNoMates177627 December 2021
Let me start off by admitting that I did not know what I was missing out until I watched this movie courtesy of Netflix. To be honest, I am guilty. Guilty of the sin of Hubris. I have never seen the original TV series but I love this film version. Lock, stock & one hundred barrels. With respect to the generation that grew up watching the show, this film is not a bastardisation. In my opinion, this film is a standalone & a cult.

Full of life, laughter & car chases because the chemistry between Sean William Scott & Johnny Knoxville as Cousin Bo & Cousin Luke create a boisterous duo.

Jessica Simpson as Cousin Daisy might not be on the same level as Catherine Bach (original Daisy) but she nailed the role as her own with her suave & finesse.

To summarise, this movie is a blast. I had a great time watching it. It might not be a masterpiece, but this film has that special variable as it was adventurous & it made me laugh.

Grab a couple of bottles, order a steaming bucket of chicken or whatever, sit back & enjoy the film!
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7/10
So bad it's good!
Mr_PCM10 April 2007
The Dukes of Hazzard, the big-screen remake of the popular TV show, is pure trash. The plot is pure hokum, the acting is laughable, and Jessica Simpson is out-acted by her shorts. Yes, the film is pretty bad. But somehow, through all the crassness, it gets to 'so bad it's good' status. The Dukes of Hazzard is probably the very definition of the film cliché 'a guilty pleasure' The plot is real simple stuff. The dastardly tycoon Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) is buying up all the land of Hazzard county and has a dastardly plan for said land. It's up to the Duke cousins to foil said dastardly plot by throwing punches, driving very fast and screeching yee-haw a lot. Meanwhile cousin Daisy Duke walks around in very short shorts and smiles a lot. That is about all that needs to be said about the plot – if it can be called that. Simple would be an understatement, yet there is even a narrator the help the hard of understanding along. In amongst that are car races, bar room brawls and lots of scantily-clad (or sometimes not at all clad) nubile young ladies – the plot obviously sponsored by Zoo magazine.

Johnny Knoxville and Sean William Scott are the Duke cousins, and seem to be in competition with each other for who can overact the most – a competition Scott just about shades. Jessica Simpson meanwhile is little better than decoration, her acting at times cringingly bad. Burt Reynolds on the other hand is clearly having a whale of a time as pantomime villain Boss Hogg, with more ham on show than the entire cast of Animal Farm. The supporting cast just play along with the standard country hick stereotypes – dumb blondes and rednecks, with little real character development of anyone to invest in.

Predictable almost to the extent that the screenplay writes itself, with plot curves really telegraphed, but in amongst the predictability is a slight but enjoyable story. The film is almost literally a pantomime for adults, or at least teenagers, complete with car chases and scantily-clad women. And at the end of a hard day at the office, a simple enjoyable film can be just what the doctor ordered.
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1/10
ATTN: Hollywood -- Stop Making Our TV Shows Into Movies NOW. Please!!
Steve_Nyland8 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Hollywood now has officially gone too far and I really hope that this travesty of a motion picture creates a genuine backlash against their crap machines, in spite of the good box office returns. If you are an industry person reading our comments looking for hints on what to do next, STOP. Stop making our TV shows into these repellent, stupid, money grubbing waste of time movies that suck. By doing so you are proving one thing: Hollywood is out of ideas, and going to see the movies they churn out only perpetuates the cycle of disgust. What's next -- You guys gonna go & ruin The Bionic Man??

The film is just plain wrong, and manages to get the most stupid, simple fact of the show totally incorrect by forgetting (or ignoring) that Tom Wopat & John Schneider's Bo & Luke Duke were *REFORMED* moonshiners. They had been busted, learned their lesson, gone straight, and were there to help people and be good neighbors who just happened to shoot dynamite tipped arrows from hunting bows & drive like Steve McQueen. Denver Pyle's Uncle Jessie was also the moral center of the family, always insisting that the Boys do good, even at their own expense or embarrassment while he made sandwiches and coffee for when the chores were done. They always did the right thing and had a sort of earnest naiveté about them that was quite appealing. We wanted to be more like them than we were, sorta. My favorite gimmick from the show was how they always buckled their seat belts before roaring off, which was apparently too moral for this film.

By transforming the Duke family into a pack of leering, wisecracking, criminally minded, redneck baiting, misogynistic losers the movie has no moral standpoint, where the show was all about how honest or incorruptible the Dukes were -- Are the Duke boys in this movie supposed to come off as good guys? I wanted to punch them both in the nose. They seem to have a lot of free time on their hands that could be spent doing chores back at the farm and end up pursuing less than noble ends, if not acting like a pair of 14 year old boys who haven't grown up. There should be no marijuana use, no gawking at buxom, nubile coeds & their breasts, no shenanigans involving the Brothers in da Hood. All of it looks like the work of a marketing consultant who took a poll at the mall of what 14 year old boys like to see in movies. The problem being that 14 year old boys cannot possibly remember the show, IMHO shouldn't be seeing this movie either, and the parents who might feel nostalgia for the show will be disgusted by what the writers, director & producers did to our collective memories just to part us from our money, which is exactly how I feel. What were they thinking???

And boy did they *EVER* get Daisy wrong. Jessica Simpson all dolled up like a Pamela Anderson mall slut may be the only reason for anyone to see this disgrace, but you can service your needs just fine downloading some promotional stills of her, printing them up & pinning them to the wall in a restroom. She is hardly in the film at all (which is the movie's only saving grace), and the ten minutes or so they used her was STILL excessive. Catherine Bach's Daisy may have had the same kind of shorts, and long legs that make people feel funny just looking at her, but the Daisy she played was a *PERSON*. The pratfalls she elicited by simply being who she was had an almost natural ring to it. She remains one of the most outrageously sexy pop culture icons ever created but there was somebody at home. And most importantly she was a sweet, caring person who couldn't help it if the guys went Ga Ga over her.

By contrast, Jessica Simpson appears phony, contrived, made up, costumed, posed, aloof, bored, out of place, and I don't think she even looks that great in the outfit. She doesn't look like a person but a plot device, conjured up during a deal with someone representing her agent. Ms. Simpson would be well advised to fire that person immediately and pretend like the whole thing never even happened. Whatever the joke was, she isn't in on it and is disgracefully exploited for T&A. If that's all she wants from her career, executive produce the sequel if only to ensure yourself enough screen time at least, because this effort was just pathetic.

The bottom line is SKIP IT. For the cost of two tickets and a Slurpee to go you can pick up one of Warner Bros. excellent box set collections of the original shows on DVD and the entire family can watch them together. That was why it worked. The only real purpose I can see in the film might be it's future use as an interrogation tool at Guantanamo Bay. Twenty minutes of this & they'll be singing a choir.

1/10, and I mean it. And STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THE BIONIC MAN, you schnooks.
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3/10
The effort is weak and the results aren't very good.
christian12327 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
In Hazzard County, Georgia, cousins Bo and Luke Duke (Scott, Knoxville) and their cousin Daisy Duke (Jessica Simpson) run moonshine made by their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) while avoiding the local authority, Boss Hog (Burt Reynolds). Their problems with the Boss are only beginning as they learn he's been plotting to strip mine the town for valuable ores found below it.

I have never seen the TV show and after watching the movie, I'm not going to start any time soon. I like stupid comedies but this one didn't offer many laughs. It was a pretty dull picture with the first hour being really hard to sit through. The second part was a little better but this film was still a missed opportunity. The film focused on Bo and Luke way too much. The characters in general weren't very interesting and the actors portraying them didn't do a very good job.

The acting wasn't very good. I wasn't expecting it to be good in the first place but none of the leads were very funny. Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville both give below average performances. The latter was pretty good as Stifler but he tries way too hard here. The latter just seems to be looking for a paycheck and nothing else. Jessica Simpson isn't known for her acting nor is she really known for her singing. She's famous for having her own reality show and for saying really dumb things. She is pretty but she's a weak actor. It doesn't matter though because she doesn't really appear in the movie and the character she plays isn't complex or anything. Willie Nelson also has a minor role and he doesn't do anything special.

The screenplay was written by John O'Brien and he made two films prior to the Dukes of Hazzard. The first one was Cradle to the Grave, which was okay. The second one was Starsky and Hutch which was pretty funny. He doesn't do a good job here though as the story is a mess. He also forgot to add jokes and a few other things that would have made this film work better. The movie is also pretty long for a comedy. Okay, 106 minutes isn't exactly long but it feels so much longer because there's very little humor in the first hour. I think comedies should be kept short or else they have to find a lot of material to cover the entire running time. The Dukes of Hazzard barely has enough funny gags to keep it going for thirty minutes let alone 106 minutes. The car sequences were average and they don't save an already troubled film. In the end, Dukes of Hazzard may appeal to a few people but most people will probably find it dull and it's better if you just skip it. Rating 4/10
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1/10
I'll never get those 2 hours back
PrettyGoat20038 August 2005
If you ever watched the Dukes of Hazard you know that you never had to worry about drugs or cussing or crude behavior being seen by young children. If you've seen the movie you know that is no longer the case! This movie was HORRIBLE! Main characters doing drugs and thinking it is funny and cool is certainly not what I call entertainment. They took a wonderful show and just turned it into trash. Daisy who was a little flirtatious in the original show now looks and acts like she belongs on the street corner getting paid for her services. I was so excited about seeing this movie before it came out, 15 minutes into the movie I was ready to leave. I stayed thinking it had to get better but instead it got worse by the minute. I wish I had never seen this movie. It trashed a good show and left nothing but horrible taste in my mouth when I left. Do yourself a favor, go see something worth your money, cause it's not only a waste of money but a waste of 2 hours of your life you will never get back!
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