The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007) (TV)

Director:

Robert Berlinger

Writer:

Shane Morris (writer)

Release Date:

11 January 2009 (Sweden)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

These are the Duke boys... from the beginning

Plot:

Teenaged cousins Bo and Luke Duke spend their first few weeks in Hazzard County getting into trouble running outlawed liquor in order to save their Uncle Jesse's farm.

Plot Keywords:

Prequel | Underwear | Wolf Whistle | Waterhole | Nude Sunbathing

Cast

Jonathan Bennett	...	Bo Duke
Randy Wayne	...	Luke Duke
April Scott	...	Daisy Duke
Joel Moore	...	Cooter
Harland Williams	...	Rosco P. Coltrane
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Lulu Hogg
Christopher McDonald	...	Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg
Willie Nelson	...	Uncle Jesse Duke
Todd Grinnell	...	Hughie
Adam Shulman	...	Enos
Trishelle Cannatella	...	Ally Handy
Jennifer Hill	...	Brooke Handy
Gary Cole	...	Balladeer (voice)
Rufus Dorsey	...	DMV Examiner
Joe Gieb	...	Carnival Midget

Also Known As:

The Dukes of Hazzard 2 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual humor and dialogue.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | USA:TV-14 (cut TV version) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Singapore:M18 | USA:PG-13 (re-rated) | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Premiere

Trivia:

In this film, the General Lee's first jump was Hogg's Ravine, which was really big and nobody had jumped it before. This jump is based off the creek that made the first jump in the show, and was seen many times.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the original series, Luke was the oldest, followed by Daisy, then Bo. In this film, Daisy is the oldest, and Luke is the middle.

Quotes:

Hughie: You the boys come in in that '69 charger?
Luke Duke: The General Lee.

Movie Connections:

References The Lion King (1994)

Soundtrack:

Good Ol' Boys

Dukes in Hazzard in name only now

Growing up The Dukes of Hazzard was one of my favorite shows. The cast had charisma, and the show had an authentic, country feel to it. The 2005 movie was part of the "re-imagination" trend in movies that started with The Flintstones and continues today with this atrocity. Instead of re-imagining them in today's times they should have cast the younger Dukes in the 1960's when they would have been legit teenagers, to keep in continuity with the show. They should have done this with the 2005 movie, too. This movie is a cynical, straight-to-DVD-and-TV, bottom-of-the-barrel hack job and it barely held my attention.

The problem with the plot is that it's a low-rent version of the TV show. Aren't there any writers in Hollywood who can write an original Dukes of Hazzard movie? My guess is there are plenty, but the producers have too much contempt for their audience to think they would appreciate a gritty, true-to-the-spirit-of-Hazzard script. Fans of the original series shouldn't avoid it because of profanity, they should avoid it because it is Dukes of Hazzard in name only now.

The most important thing to me is the casting of Daisy, and they failed miserably here. In the series Daisy was a smart woman who happened to wear cut-off shorts. In 2005 she was a sexpot wearing cut-off shorts, nothing more than eye candy, playing the part as a parody. There's little to say about April Scott: she isn't even close to being a young Daisy in this movie. I'm not talking about physical proportions (although I think she's too thin for a southern Belle); I'm talking about charisma and the intangibles you need to play an iconic character. She doesn't have it.

The lameness extends to all aspects of the re-imagining. The characters have become lame caricatures of themselves, and Hazzard County is no longer the dusty, mythical Confederate backdrop it once was. There's no point in "re-imagining" the Dukes of Hazzard if you're going to get politically correct. The original series was uncynically proud to be Dixie, and that was a huge part of it's appeal. If this movie is a finger-in-the-wind to see if a new TV series will work, I hope it fails miserably in ratings and sales.

And Willie, did you really need the paycheck?