by Philip Ellwood 5th September 2005
When a movie comes along with a universal press slaughtering it is normally advised to proceed with caution. ‘The Dukes Of Hazzard‘ is one such movie. It has been panned by every critic in most corners of the world for just about every reason you could possibly think of. If it‘s so bad then why I did I really enjoy it?
The plot is a bit thin on the ground but the basic idea is that cousins Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke Duke (Johnny Knoxville) along with their cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) and Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) attempt to stop Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) from destroying Hazzard County to use the area as a mine.
Now to go back to my earlier question I found ‘The Dukes Of Hazzard‘ silly, stupid and in many places laugh-out-loud. The reason why it won me over was because you get the impression that the cast and crew of the movie are having a laugh. The end result is real chemistry with the actors. Johnny Knoxville and Sean William Scott bounce off each other and recapture the buddy banter of the original TV series. Jessica Simpson lights up the screen and puts on a smouldering performance as the very sexy Daisy Duke. There is even an appearance from the original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter as Uncle Jesse‘s love interest Pauline.
It is true that a lot of people will go to see this movie to see if Jessica Simpson can actually act. Whilst she is hardly Julia Roberts she puts in a great performance for a feature debut. Oscar-worthy this film is not but if you fancy kicking back, having some fun and putting your brain in neutral for 2 hours then you could do a lot worse than this. Can I get a ‘Yeehaw!‘?
Cast
Sean William Scott
Johnny Knoxville
Jessica Simpson
Willie Nelson
Burt Reynolds
Lynda Carter
Director - Jay Chandrasekhar
Distributor - Warner Bros
UK Release Date: 26th August 2005
Celebrities Worldwide Rating: 7 out of 10
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
