The Dukes of Hazzard

Growing up, The Dukes of Hazzard was a weekly staple in my television viewing. But while I watched it week in, week out I couldn’t tell you the plot of any one episode or quote many lines beyond “Yee, hah!” and Roscoe’s kooky little laugh. That’s because every episode was the same: the Dukes piss off Boss Hogg, car chases and ramp jumps ensue, Roscoe ends up spun out in the bushes and Boss swats his white hat into the ground. End of story. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. The Dukes was simple entertainment, comfort for my young ‘un soul. And that’s why I found myself chuckling through its big screen adaptation – it’s everything the show was with a little extra cussin’ to take advantage of the more liberal format. Sure, it’s simple but for a longtime Dukes of Hazzard fan, it’s a funny and nostalgic dose of Southern comfort.

The story’s the same: Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) is looking to take over Hazzard county, buying up farms and turning them into coal mines. Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke Duke (Johnny Knoxville) are out to save their Uncle Jesse’s (Willie Nelson) farm and win the big race at the same time. Lots of chasing and hoodwinking ensues, cars get airborne, dust is raised.

There’s little originality to The Dukes of Hazzard and that’s the point. It’s merely an updated episode stretched out to feature length. This time it’s all told with a wink and a nudge, much like the two Brady Bunch movies. A lot of the TV show’s staples are accentuated this time around. Daisy Duke (Jessica Simpson) is flaunted as flesh rather than merely hinting at it, the confederate flag on the roof of the General Lee is seen to symbolize an openly racist past and toilet humour is the order of the day.

The casting is, dare I say, perfect. Close at the very least. Knoxville and Scott share great chemistry as the dimwitted daredevil cousins; Simpson is meant to be eye candy but she does show some attitude without taking herself too seriously and Nelson is perfect as the big hearted moonshiner. From the lead cast, the only misstep is Reynolds as Boss Hogg. While the character is meant to be over the top, Reynolds is more Captain Kirk than a corrupt Southerner.

Normally I loathe films like this. It’s sexist ideology is primitive, it’s jokes are easy and there’s absolutely no character development. So why did I enjoy it? Comfort food. As a fan of the show I get the winks and nudges, I’m the target audience. Plus it sends me back to simpler times when the challenges in life were to make sure I was home in time for the latest jump. Director Jay Chandrasekhar of Broken Lizard fame taps into what The Dukes of Hazzard was all about – car chasing and hollering. That’s it. It’s not rocket science or even art. This is a film that exists for simple entertainment for fans of an old show. And because it captures the essence of what made it worth remaking in the first place, it works.