Customer Reviews

The Dukes of Hazzard - The Beginning (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I watched the DVD of this last night, and I've been mulling over my feelings about it today, on and off. I feel a bit split down the middle about it. Ok, my initial reactions when viewing this was that it was a travesty, in Hazzard terms. The main thing that's wrong with it is the change in tone of the attitudes and depiction of *some* of the characters. Bo and Luke were always clean cut well meaning boys. They may not have been mensa candidates, but they had their smarts. The problem with this film and the previous film is that they are depicted almost like morons. I thought the casting of the two leads was ok though, better than the previous movie. The next problem is Uncle Jesse. Willie Nelson looks the part and is an OK substitute for Denver Pyle, but that's it. The fact that he isn't an actor really shows and he's patently unable to embelish the character with any of the warmth that Denver brought. Uncle Jesse never told any crude jokes in the original series either. It really lowers the tone, if you have to have crude jokes and swearing at least limit it to just Bo and Luke, leave Uncle Jesse out of it. Uncle Jesse was the heart and soul of the Dukes Of Hazzard, he was the Obi-Wan of the series.Right on to the other cast members, I thought they were OK, you're never going to find replacements for Sorrell Booke and James Best, but I thought Christopher Macdonald did quite a good job of Boss, better than Burt Reynolds anyhow. The actor that played Rosco was an interesting choice, OK I suppose, but no James Best. The girl that played Daisy, she was a bit on the thin side, but I still would.

Apart from the crudeness and some of the jokes I thought the story line was OK. It still felt like the Dukes of Hazzard in this sense. SO despite these misgivings, I wouldn't mind seeing another film with this cast.

I'm not a prude by any stretch, and I like films like Animal House and Porkys or American Pie. It's just watching that kind of humor transplanted into a beloved family franchise like this is a bitter pill to swallow.

3 stars for being an improvement on the last film, but must try harder for the next.

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.

Please, please, please, leave the Dukes alone. After it took over a year and a half to finally accept the first Dukes remake for what it was worth, along comes this slop. Thanks to todays society and brainless filmmakers they have turned a darn good action packed family T.V. series into an adult oriented movie. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing all of the nudity, sex, profanity, and violence on the big screen but not if they ruin a classic series to do it. I grew up with the original Dukes of Hazzard and it gave me great joy to buy all seven seasons on DVD so that I could show my 6yr. old and 3yr. old what quality television really was. I never thought that I would be telling my kids to close their eyes during scenes from a Dukes of Hazzard movie. Rent this movie first. It does have a few funny scenes, but not $20 worth. The poor General Lee is only allowed to do one jump and it is so poorly done that it looks like a hotwheel car flying through the air. I hear that Hollywood is also remaking The A Team, Knight Rider, and Dallas---GOD HELP US ALL!!!!!!!

This movie only gets 1 star, for getting the make/model/color of the General Lee right. Everything else was horrible. I got to see the whole movie on the ABC Family channel, where it definitely did NOT belong. This movie had lots of adult themes and situations and was not appropriate for children under 13. I feel bad for the grown-ups who loved and cherished the Dukes series when they were little and were excited to show their children this movie (which aired on prime time Sunday night) only to have to change the channel 15 minutes into the movie because of the language or the content.

For those who haven't seen "The Dukes... Beginning", don't waste your time. It's just a slightly watered down version of the 2005 movie. They've dumbed down the cousins even more, and slutted up Daisy real nice. If you liked all the T & A from the 2005 movie, this'll be right up your alley. I'm sure for this "Unrated" version, it'll probably be much worse. For those of us who remember what southern gentlemen the Dukes were and how much of a lady Daisy was, this is an insult to our childhood memories.

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.

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.

This movie achieved new lows in every way and should not be associated with The Dukes of Hazzard. The acting, writing and plot sucked. While the car looked correct, it sounded like it had a worn out 318 with bad lifters. Even the slide across the hood was contrived and, worse yet, reversed with Bo doing the slide. He couldn't even get in and out the car well. The best thing about this movie is that it was on TV before going on sale so I know to never buy this trash and to tell everyone to avoid it. Don't buy it, don't watch it and don't look back. This should never have been filmed and the cast, crew, writers and actors should quit their jobs permanently. Appallingly bad. Ben Jones (the original Cooter) said in an interview that no one should watch the 2005 film with Johnny Knoxville and Jessica Simpson. With talent (a term I use very loosely) that bad, how good could it have ever hoped to be? The Dukes of Hazzard - The Beginning makes that one look like it belongs with Casablanca as one of the all-time greats. The Dukes of Hazzard - The Beginning is beyond bad. Don't waste your time or money on it. Negative 10 stars.

"The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" is yet another unimaginative rehash of a television series that's better off left alone. This film is a prequel which explains how the Duke clan got their start as fast-driving moonshiners. The casting is interesting, with Willie Nelson cast as a stoned Uncle Jesse, the family patriarch and moonshiner-in-chief. In all seriousness Willie should stick to singing. Perhaps his infamous IRS bill makes him take work he otherwise would refuse. I hope that's the reason he's here, anyway.

Bo and Luke Duke (Jonathan Bennett and Randy Wayne) are largely satisfactory here, if a bit denser and more slapstick than necessary (the scenes in drag are rather painful), while Harland Williams as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane was a rather bizarre choice: he's a naturally funny guy, but his ad libs border on the otherworldly ("Did that manatee just swallow that cabbage whole?" was one that made it into the extras, for instance). Christopher McDonald does a decent job as Boss Hogg, while rest of the cast is mediocre at best.

The plot runs along as you would expect it would, with lots of uninspiring car chases in the General Lee, lots of bad double entendre, and subplots about an illegal ice cream facility and a pig ("Dainty") on a corrugated metal roof (which alternated between a live pig, a rubber pig, and a very hokey animatronic stunt pig, which talks in the extras). The extras are more interesting than the film, and include the birth of the General Lee, the tales of Dainty the pig, the story of Daisy Duke (which is way less interesting that you would expect), and a music video which features a country-rap hybrid about the Duke boys. Really.

Generally I don't like TV shows recycled into films, and this is no exception. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but it's plenty boring, and certainly not worth an hour and a half of your time.

Back when I was obsessed with The Dukes of Hazzard, I saw this movie. I HATED IT! It was supposed to be a prequel to the movie, and they fixed it up in this one, and in the original (which is supposed to be the next one, it's crappy and THEN they fix it up. Another thing I didn't like was the sexual tension between Luke Duke and Lulu Hogg. If you love the original Dukes of Hazzard series, trust me, DO NOT WATCH THE DUKES OF HAZZARD: THE BEGINNING!!!

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.