The Dukes of Hazzard - The Beginning (2007)

When mischievous teenaged cousins Bo Duke (Jonathan Bennett Mean Girls) and Luke Duke (Randy Wayne ABC's Sons and Daughters) are arrested both boys are paroled to the care of their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) in Hazzard sentenced to a summer of hard work. It's not long before the Duke boys learn of Boss Hogg's (Chris McDonald) plans to foreclose on Uncle Jesse's farm. Together with help from their frumpy cousin Daisy (April Scott) Bo and Luke vow to save the family's property and its storied history of producing the best moonshine in all of Hazzard. Driving through Hazzard in the "General Lee" blasting its famed Dixie horn the Duke boys join forces to make Boss Hogg's life miserable concocting one crazy scheme after another.Running Time: 95 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 012569830455 Manufacturer No: 83045 Product Description

RUINED

THIS MOVIE WAS AWFUL. IT'S LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS MOVIE NEVER SAW A SINGLE EPISODE OF THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. THIS IS NOT HOW THEY ENDED UP IN HAZZARD. IF THEY HAVE WATCHED SOME OF THE ORIGINAL EPISODES OF THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, THEY WOULD HAVE NOTICED WHAT BROUGHT BO, LUKE AND DAISY TO LIVE WITH THEIR UNCLE JESSE. IF THEY ARE GOING TO TRY AND UPDATE THE MOVIES TO TODAY YOUTH, THEN THEY NEED TO WATCH SOME OF THE ORIGINAL EPISODES AND STOP TRYING TO CHANGE THE PERSONALITY OF THE CHARACTER. I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO ANYBODY WHO IS A TRUE FAN OF THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. March 6, 2008

Good Old Boy's

I Thought This Movie Is A Good Version Of The Origanal One. Even If It's A Remake It Still Has A Good Portrail Of What The Show Is Like ? August 20, 2007

Worst prequel ever

Avoid this piece of garbage at all costs. It is horribly acted and none of the characters are even like they were on the tv show much less that stupid movie with Jessica Simpson. August 7, 2007

If you thought the first movie was bad...

Ugh. The 2005 movie wasn't great and this prequel is far weaker than that movie in every way possible. Most of the characterization is unbelievable. Many of the script elements are unbelievable (a pig on a roof?) One would expect to be able to count on the Dukes to, at the very least, deliver interesting car stunts. Alas, no, not here. I wasn't expecting anything very good from this, but I wasn't expecting to be so bored either. August 1, 2007

Better than the first movie -- but that's not saying much

Surely, there must be a way for all of us fans of the real Dukes of Hazzard to get together and stop Hollywood from making these stupid movies that spit upon the traditions of the television series. Maybe you're wondering why I would even bother to watch this straight-to-DVD "prequel." Well, I'll tell you - I just had to see if it could possibly be even worse than the first movie (and, uh, April Scott was looking mighty fine on the DVD cover). Much to my surprise, I think this film might actually be a smidgen better than the first one. That's not to say that this one doesn't stink like all the manure on Uncle Jessie's farm, though, because it does. It did make me laugh a time or two, though, so I think I'm being rather generous in giving the film two stars.

Apart from Willie Nelson, this film sports an all-new cast, with Jonathan Bennett and Randy Wayne taking on the roles of Bo and Luke, respectively. Both cousins, who haven't seen each other in several years, are sent to work on Uncle Jessie's farm in order to keep them out of trouble (Luke's a pyromaniac and Bo's an all-around menace to society). Daisy (April Scott) is also there, but she surely isn't the Daisy I was expecting. This Daisy is a good girl who dresses in frumpy clothes, does basically nothing with her hair, and can't get any man to notice her (except for hall monitor Enos). The movie's halfway over before she transforms herself and breaks out the Daisy Dukes I know I was looking for. Even then, she's no Catherine Bach, but she's certainly prettier - and a much better actress - than Jessica Simpson. Christopher McDonald plays this younger version of Boss Hogg. He's certainly a step up from Burt Reynolds, but why in the world they go out and get a tall, lanky guy to fill the definitive shoes of the short and stocky Sorrell Booke is still a mystery to me. James Best will always be the one and only Rosco, but I guess Harland Williams does OK in the role, especially for a comedian turned actor. Finally, the filmmakers apparently didn't appreciate Ben Jones, the real Cooter, telling fans not to watch the first movie because they turn Cooter into a complete idiot in this movie.

Basically, this film supposedly shows us the origin of the Duke Boys. Uncle Jessie and Boss Hogg are actually buddies at the start, but these fellow moonshiners part ways when Boss Hogg demands a bigger cut of Uncle Jessie's business. The Duke farm is soon on the line as Boss Hogg declares Hazzard a dry county and sics Roscoe on all of the moonshiners in the area (especially the Dukes). Bo and Luke volunteer to distribute the moonshine - but first, they need a fast car (enter the General Lee). Daisy wants to help out by getting a job at the Boar's Nest, but first she has to stop dressing like a schoolmarm and come up with a new, sexy look. From that point on, it's just a matter of getting through a bunch of stupid plot points and shenanigans on the way to the most predictable of endings.

Let me also say a few words about the women in this movie. Hazzard County is supposedly in North Carolina, the state I've lived in all of my life, and I just have to say that (apart from April Scott) the women in this film, especially the peroxide blondes Bo and Luke keep chasing, can't hold a candle to the true Southern girls of North Carolina. Carolina girls are the best in the world, but you wouldn't know it from watching this film.

I for one hope the Dukes of Hazzard movies will stop at two. Neither of them have been loyal to the spirit of the show, especially when it comes to Uncle Jessie, and there are plenty of other dumb scripts floating around out there in La-La Land full of the same dumb jokes and toilet humor you'll find here. July 18, 2007

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