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THE DUKES OF HAZZARD

What You Need To Know:

DUKES OF HAZZARD is an exceptionally lame, offensively stupid rehash of the 80s television series. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott play Bo and Luke Duke, cousins who routinely harass and get harassed by the county commissioner Boss Hogg, played by Burt Reynolds. When Boss Hogg tries to take the Duke family property, Bo and Luke find out that he is trying to strip-mine Hazzard County. Now Bo and Luke have to break up the dastardly plan before Boss Hogg’s men throw them back into jail.

The television series has been called family friendly, but the DUKES OF HAZARD movie is aimed for audiences who enjoy crude, drug-fueled comedies. There is plenty of foul language, lots of jokes about and references to sex, and gratuitous shots of women in their underwear. Also, the two heroes smoke marijuana in one scene glorifying drug use. Aside from the moral objections, most of the gags are pathetically uninspired and predictable. The plot is unintelligible, a little of which is forgivable for a dumb comedy like this one, but it looks like the filmmakers didn’t even try. DUKES OF HAZZARD is another unfunny comedy from the Hollywood machine.

Content:

(Ro, E, LLL, VV, SS, N, AA, DD, MMM) Romantic worldview in which morality is reduced to getting what the individual wants, with a strong anti-authority bent, and some pro-environmentalist content regarding strip mining; over 74 obscenities, 15 profanities, many of them strong, three rude gestures, and crude bathroom humor; action violence with car chases and collisions, explosions, men punched, men caught on barbed wire, and man rides on object tethered to car; lots of sex references and innuendo, plus bawdy jokes told; young women in underwear, young woman wears revealing shorts and man in underwear; drinking, plus main characters illegally make moonshine; marijuana use; and, very strong miscellaneous immoral content and worldview problems, such as negative Southern stereotypes, local government is extremely crooked (including the police), frequent lying, frequent stealing, destruction of property, disrespect for authority, men escape from jail and evade police, and some product placement.

More Detail:

DUKES OF HAZZARD is an exceptionally lame, offensively stupid contemporary rehash of the 80s television series.

Johnny Knoxville (of MTV’s JACKASS) and Seann William Scott play Bo and Luke Duke, cousins who routinely harass and get harassed by the Hazzard County Commissioner Boss Hogg, played by Burt Reynolds. Boss Hogg condemns their Uncle Jesse’s property because he runs a moonshine still, so Bo and Luke set out to get back the family land. During their mission, they uncover a massive scheme: Boss Hogg is condemning as much land as he can so that he can strip-mine Hazzard County and become rich. Now Bo and Luke have to break up the dastardly plan before Boss Hogg’s men throw them back into jail.

Although the television series has been called family friendly, the movie adaptation is aimed for the same audience who enjoyed last year’s crude, drug-fueled comedy HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. There is plenty of foul language, lots of jokes about and references to sex, and gratuitous shots of women in their underwear, not to mention Jessica Simpson in the series’ famous “Daisy Duke” shorts. Also, Bo and Luke smoke marijuana in one scene glorifying drug use. The M.O. for these characters is, “Do what feels good.” They appeal to no higher authority than themselves and what they think is right.

DUKES isn’t desirable in any way, however, as most of the gags are pathetically uninspired and predictable. Most of the humor is insipid, straightforward bathroom humor. The plot is unintelligible, a little of which is forgivable for a dumb comedy like this one, but it looks like the filmmakers didn’t even try. One can imagine seeing this movie in the middle of the night on Comedy Central in a couple years.

The movie’s depiction of the South is annoying, too. Several scenes take place in Atlanta, and, writing this review from Atlanta, we rarely meet people who speak with the deep fried, Foghorn Leghorn drawls that nearly every character in this movie uses. (Jessica Simpson’s accent might be the phoniest, and she is actually from the South.) Here, Southerners are still good natured, witless and outside the law. Of course it’s “just a dumb comedy,” but perpetuating insulting stereotypes increases our misunderstanding of each other, as any minority group who has complained about their portrayal in the media can attest.

Another unfunny comedy from the Hollywood machine, DUKES OF HAZZARD is one that most audiences will want to ignore.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.