DVD Review: The Dukes of Hazzard (unrated)
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::Movie review
The Dukes of Hazzard is the latest network television show to be converted by Hollywood into a feature film.
For those who missed this show, it began in the late 70's in response to the Smokey and the Bandit craze and ran for 5 seasons. The basic premise was that "good ol' boy" cousins, Bo and Luke Duke, attempt to avoid the law while running moonshine in Hazzard County, Georgia. However, the undeniable star of the show was the Dukes' car, a 1969 Dodge Charger called the General Lee. It was a car that every pre-teen boy in America went crazy over. In fact, the show ultimately became so popular with the younger crowd that the network quickly downplayed the moonshine outlaw aspect of the show, and instead made it a point to introduce a "criminal of the week" for Bo and Luke Duke to outwit.
Given the other TV shows to receive big screen adaptations, it was probably inevitable that The Dukes of Hazzard would get their turn. When I heard that Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott were chosen for the lead roles, I actually felt good about the film. In my mind, there was simply no way to take this material seriously, and Knoxville and Scott each have just the right absurd personas to pull these characters off.
Unfortunately, I think these guys weren't allowed to be enough of themselves. They seem just a bit too reigned in, making much of the humor seem forced. Knoxville and Scott should have been cracking each other and us up -- in short, doing what they've done best in their careers. Instead they're reduced to ineffective, juvenile sex and racial jokes created by writers who will never, ever be as funny as the two stars can be just making faces at the camera. I believe this would have been been a much better film if all of the scripted Bo and Luke scenes were replaced by Knoxville and Scott outtakes.
Burt Reynolds plays Boss Hogg, which on the surface seems like another inspired casting choice. However, once again, we're treated to an actor that is severely under-utilized. Reynolds is never really given the chance to really chew up the scenery in a way that might have actually been entertaining. Instead, he's reduced to little more than a mean buffoon. Granted, this is true to the television Boss Hogg, but why waste an actor and character like Burt Reynolds?
The only actor in the film who was really allowed to be interesting is WIllie Nelson. His Uncle Jesse departs from the source material by becoming a dirty joke telling, grizzled moonshiner who gets some great one-liners. Jessica Simpson also is tolerable in the role of Daisy Duke, but I suspect that this is largely because she's given little else to do but look good.
The Dukes of Hazzard does get one crucial element right, and that is the star of both the television show and the film: The General Lee. I was happily surprised to find, in this day of "let's do it with computers," that all of General Lee's stunts were performed by a real car. There is a genuineness to actually catapulting a 1969 Charger over traffic and onto a freeway that just can't be duplicated by a computer. And when the General is gridlocked and skidding around a round-about, it's obvious that a real stunt driver is doing this without the aid of trickery. Unfortunately, while impressive to watch, the stunts simply cannot save the film.
I haven't really mentioned the story, mainly because it is irrelevant. This film should have been about poking fun at the absurdities of the television series -- something it tries to do, but doesn't quite succeed. Still, the basic story is that Boss Hogg has discovered coal in Hazzard County and he has a master plan to kick people off of their properties so he can strip mine. Naturally, the Dukes come to save the day. If only they'd been a little quicker with their rescue, they might have saved this film from being strip mined by Hollywood.
::Video
Overall, the video presentation on The Dukes of Hazzard is acceptible. The colors are fine, but I would have preferred to see them a little brighter. Contrast levels are fairly strong. It did seem like there were a few places where the image seemed unnaturally soft and I think I noticed a touch of artifacting here and there. Edge enhancement was minimal.
::Audio
I felt that this soundtrack needed a bit more punch. There isn't really anything technically wrong with it. Surround channels are used effectively, particularly during the many car chases, and the dynamic range is adequate. It just seemed like this track needed more oomph.
::Special Features
Warner has put together a handful of extras for this release.
First off are three shorter featurettes, How To Launch A Muscle Car 175 Feet In 4 Seconds, The General Lee Lives and Daisy Dukes: The Short Short Shorts. These are all fairly brief and to the point. I found the most interesting one to be How To Launch A Muscle Car, because as I mentioned in the review, it was nice to know that all of the stunts were real. The Daisy Duke featurette is, like Jessica Simpson herself, mostly fluff, and it makes a rather lame stab at humor utilizing Barbie dolls modeling "proof of concept" shorts.
A longer featurette is The Hazards of Dukes: Go Behind the Scenes. It runs a little over 14 minutes and features interviews with various members of the cast and crew, including director Jay Chandrasekhar's motivation for bringing the Dukes of Hazzard to the big screen.
Next up are a series of deleted scenes and outtakes. Since this is the unrated version of the disk, there are 2 versions of each: unrated and PG-13.
Jessica Simpson's video for These Boots Are Made For Walkin' is also included.
Rounding things up are a theatrical trailer, as well as trailers for other Warner titles.
::Bottom Line
The Dukes of Hazzard certainly did not suffer from a lack of potential. It features one of the most famous cars in entertainment history, and two stars who are likely funny in their sleep. Unfortunately, Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott aren't allowed to do enough, creating a film with a few good car stunts, and nothing to hold them together. The Dukes of Hazzard isn't outright terrible, but it isn't very good, either.
Buy The Dukes of Hazzard at Amazon.com
| Movie |  |
2 / 5 |
| Video | |
3.5 / 5 |
| Audio | |
3.5 / 5 |
| Extras | |
3 / 5 |
| Family Friendly | |
0.5 / 5 |
| This review is of the PG-13 version of the film, which apparently adds a few moments of foul language and topless scenes. Undoubtedly, the PG-13 version would be far safer for the kids. | ||
| Overall | |
2.5 / 5 |
- Robert Wurth, ©2005
::Technical Specs
Studio:
Warner Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release:
2005
Disc Format:
1 single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Region Encoding:
1 (North America)
Sound Format:
Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time:
107 minutes
Director:
Jay Chandrasekhar
Stars:
Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson
MPAA Rating:
Unrated
Disc Supplements:
- How to Launch a Muscle Car 175 Feet in 4 Seconds featurette
- The General Lee Lives featurette
- Daisy Dukes: The Short Short Shorts featurette
- The Hazards of Dukes behind the scenes featurette
- Deleted Scenes
- Outtakes
- Jessica Simpson's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" Music Video
- Theatrical Trailers
