The Dukes of Hazzard

Just the good ol’ boys, never meanin’ no harm.

Thank god, this movie turned out to be pretty good! I was looking forward to seeing it and was worried that it would completely disappoint me. But no, Dukes of Hazzard, much like its characters and setting, is simple and fun with moments of clever humor, but mostly consisting of good ol’ fashioned entertainment. The choice to cast Seann William Scott as Bo Duke and Johnny Knoxville as Luke Duke was perfect, and they interacted with each other and their surroundings with the perfect amount of innocence and recklessness. There are of course, numerous car chase scenes, and each one was exciting and held my attention—some were better than others obviously, but none of them were overly long. Daisy Duke’s (Jessica Simpson) sole purpose in the movie, at least from what I can tell, is to wear the “Daisy Dukes” as well as a multitude of other skimpy outfits in order to distract whichever authority has the boys in a bind at any particular moment. Simpson fits the bill, however, and did precisely what she was supposed to do. It worked perfectly for the film, and I’m sure that guys will appreciate her scenes.

The movie felt somewhat like an extended episode of a tv show, where Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) cooks up a nefarious scheme to strip mine Hazzard County, and Bo and Luke Duke are more than happy to engage in a series of hijinks in order to thwart him. They are constantly chased by various police departments along their way, including one especially humorous run-in with college campus police. Having graduated from college only a few years ago, I found the parody to be dead-on and extremely funny--anyone who is currently or was recently in college will definitely appreciate the humor in that scene. The film also manages to briefly but humorously address the subject of the controversial confederate flag, which is painted on top of the car at one point, unbeknownst to the Dukes. I was actually quite impressed with the way the filmmakers dealt with this issue, because they maintain continuity between the movie and the show, while demonstrating that not only is the confederate symbol no longer acceptable like it was back in the 70’s, but that it is also only displayed these days by backward thinking hilljacks. The only problem I had with the movie was the wrap-up of the plot, which I thought was just a little too cheesy and abrupt. Then again, it could be argued that this is a fairly typical ending for a television show.

Bo and Luke Duke have ridiculous car chase scenes, get into bar fights, blow stuff up, womanize, and have a hell of a good time doing it. The characters are extremely likable and seem to have fun with their misadventures and improbable car jumps. The movie doesn’t take itself seriously, and the audience certainly isn’t meant to take it as being anything other than a goofy and fun parody of life in a small southern town. I’m sure that this film appeals to a very specific demographic, of which I am part, so I don’t doubt that many people will not see the same humor or lighthearted qualities that I did. But, in the end, it’s just a good ol’ movie, never meanin’ no harm.