Dukes of Hazzard (2005) is a poorly done remake of a classic TV show. Remakes are nothing new but when you miscast, and lose the core of what made the characters good you end up with a mess of a film that is just Dukes of Hazzard in name only.
So let us first get the obvious out of the way: The original show, while one of my favorites growing up, is really nothing more than a real-life cartoon, but it had heart and a decent troupe of actors.
So what exactly went wrong with the film? Characterization and casting. Most every actor is completely miscast in this film. In fact, the only person who even remotely is close is, ironically, Johnny Knoxville as Luke. Even I found it odd that the problem with this film is not the guy from Jackass. Sean William Scott's Bo is a dimwit, Jessica Simpson's Daisy is a caricature, and for some reason they made Uncle Jessie (Willie Nelson) into a pot smoking joke telling wise cracker. They took the moral center and patriarch of the Duke clan and made him into a joke. Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg could have been OK but unfortunately he brings nothing to the table and ultimately doesn't feel like he is even trying. The car seemed to be the only thing they really got right but then they went out of their way to make it a PC problem.
So let us first get the obvious out of the way: The original show, while one of my favorites growing up, is really nothing more than a real-life cartoon, but it had heart and a decent troupe of actors.
So what exactly went wrong with the film? Characterization and casting. Most every actor is completely miscast in this film. In fact, the only person who even remotely is close is, ironically, Johnny Knoxville as Luke. Even I found it odd that the problem with this film is not the guy from Jackass. Sean William Scott's Bo is a dimwit, Jessica Simpson's Daisy is a caricature, and for some reason they made Uncle Jessie (Willie Nelson) into a pot smoking joke telling wise cracker. They took the moral center and patriarch of the Duke clan and made him into a joke. Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg could have been OK but unfortunately he brings nothing to the table and ultimately doesn't feel like he is even trying. The car seemed to be the only thing they really got right but then they went out of their way to make it a PC problem.
I'd like to find something redeeming in this movie but thid one should necer have gotten out of the planning stage. Just watch the original TV show instead.
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