The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007)

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.

Director:

Robert Berlinger

Writer:

Shane Morris

Stars:

Randy Wayne, Jonathan Bennett, April Scott

Cast

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

Storyline

In this prequel re-telling of the famous 1979-1985 TV series of the same name, the teenage mischievous Duke boys, cousins Bo and Luke (Jonathan Bennett and Randy Wayne), are arrested for reckless driving and possession of illegal fireworks. They are sent to live with their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) at his farm in rural Hazzard County in an unnamed southwestern state. Bo and Luke's orphaned dowdy cousin Daisy (April Scott) soon joins them hoping to find a place in her life. Jesse is also a moonshiner who struggles to make ends meet and soon employs a willing Bo and Luke to be his runners to deliver his 'special' White Lighting whiskey to all parts of the county after observing their driving skills using a fixed-up orange-painted 1969 Dodge Charger which they named 'The General Lee'. But it doesn't take long for Bo and Luke to find a worthy opponent in the form of the cigar-chomping J.D. 'Boss' Hogg (Christopher McDonald), the corrupt city commissioner of the nearby small town and ...

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Plot Keywords:

prequel | 1969 dodge charger | based on cult tv series | second part | bloopers during credits | 

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Taglines:

These are the Duke boys... from the beginning

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual humor and dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

ABC Family [United States] Official site [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Dukes of Hazzard 2

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Premiere, Gerber Pictures, Hollywood Media Bridge

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene at the town square where Boss Hogg is about to give an election speech, the narrator says that Boss Hogg's favorite saying is "Vote early and vote often." This saying actually exists and is attributed to "Big" Bill Thompson, the notoriously corrupt mayor of Chicago during the 1920's who was bought off by Al Capone. Whenever possible, Capone would rig the Chicago elections in order to ensure Thompson's victory.

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Goofs

When the General is pulled out of the water the flag is already painted on top, However in next scene when Luke is setting on window there is no flag on the General.

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Quotes

Cooter: Shit, I'm willing to try anything. Except guy on guy.

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Crazy Credits

We can see many outtakes during the end credits.

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Connections

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

Don't Leave Me
Written and Performed by Johnny Childs
Courtesy of Lovecat Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Worst.Movie.Ever

In short - offensive, painful to watch and not even remotely entertaining. As witless as the original Dukes of Hazzard TV series was it was at least wholesome/entertaining/witless fun with mostly talented and likable cast members. No such thing can be said about this direct to video 'prequel' to the TV series. As a person who (sadly on so many levels) remembers and enjoyed the original series I was trying to keep an open mind and hoping for a new spin on the old and 95 minutes of entertaining fluff and car chases with the General Lee. The choice for script material, acting, childish/offensive language, music, sound effects, editing and the actors themselves make the old series seem like Masterpiece Theater by comparison. Christopher McDonald and Harland Williams as Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane respectively will go down in movie history as possibly the two worst replacements for the talented Sorrell Booke and James Best from the series. Rather than good, family fun this movie is another in a long series of horn-dog teenage films with more in common with Porky's or American Pie. Full of crude language and sexual innuendo (even in the rated version) and references, likely only to get an 'R' rating, as a replacement for actual humor or storyline. I won't even comment on the pointless and excruciating to watch cross-dressing scene. Even the sound is poorly done with, in one scene, the exhaust noise from the General Lee coming from the left (hood) side of the screen as it was started for the first time. Don't buy this movie, don't even rent it - go out and buy/rent one of the first 2-3 seasons of the series.