'DUKES' MANAGES TO AVOID BEING A TOTAL CAR WRECK.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic THEY DIDN'T have to put much into ``The Dukes of Hazzard'' movie. And they didn't bother. Really, all you need for a feature-length version of the 1979-85 TV series are a couple of passable pass·a·ble adj. 1. That can be passed, traversed, or crossed; navigable: a passable road. 2. Acceptable for general circulation: passable currency. 3. yahoos, someone at least as sexy as Catherine Bach Catherine Bach (born Catherine Bachman on March 1, 1954) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and for playing Margo Dutton in African Skies. to fill out the Daisy Dukes and a load of '69 Chargers you're willing to wreck. ``American Pie's'' Seann William Scott and ``Jackass'' supreme Johnny Knoxville barely pass as moonshine-running country cousins Bo and Luke Duke (though Willie Nelson, as their kindly criminal Uncle Jesse, gets more laughs telling old jokes and acting stoned than either of the headliners do). Jessica Simpson, who famously worked her backside - well, not exactly off, but quite effectively - for her movie debut as Daisy, also famously flew without an acting coach on this one. Genius as her personal trainer was, he couldn't compensate for that crucial missing adviser. The car stuff is pretty durn satisfying. Some 28 General Lees fly, flip, power slide and pull reverse 180s all over rural Louisiana (filling in for mythical Hazzard County, Ga.), New Orleans and Baton Rouge (subbing for Atlanta). There are a couple of extras, but none of them adds much to this episodic, cartoony romp. The main one is Burt Reynolds, whose ``Smokey and the Bandit'' movies inspired the ``Hazzard'' series. He's brought in as the ol' boys' nemesis, Boss Hogg, and I guess he is supposed to lend the project a little cinematic cred cred Noun Slang short for credibility Noun 1. cred - credibility among young fashionable urban individuals street cred, street credibility . Hope so, because he sure doesn't bring much humor or menace to the role. The wisp (1) (Wireless ISP) An ISP that provides fixed or mobile wireless services to its customers. WISPs provide last mile access to rural areas and small villages as well as industrial parks at the edge of town. See ISP, fixed wireless and 802.11. See also WISPr. of a plot involves Hogg's nefarious plan to buy up all the land in Hazzard and the Dukes' mostly boneheaded bone·head n. Informal A stupid person; a dunce. bone  head - yet, in
the end, surprisingly shrewd - efforts to thwart him. This is as
inconsistent as most everything else about the movie, in which the
backwoods boys are addicted to cell phones and somehow spend a good
chunk of their time checking out hotties on an urban college campus.
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (``Super Troopers,'' ``Club Dread'') and reportedly rewritten by members of his Broken Lizard comedy troupe, ``Dukes'' meanders quite a ways before finally getting down to a climactic road rally/police pursuit that really delivers the mass vehicular mayhem. Chandrasekhar claims he was going for a ``Blues Brothers'' feel, and his film is certainly more persuasive as something like that than it is as a slice of rural Americana Pie. This despite all the cultural commercial connections - NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. , Southern rock soundtrack, bar brawl - that get studiously stu·di·ous adj. 1. a. Given to diligent study: a quiet, studious child. b. Conducive to study. 2. checked. There is one clever use of a Dixie signifier sig·ni·fi·er n. 1. One that signifies. 2. Linguistics A linguistic unit or pattern, such as a succession of speech sounds, written symbols, or gestures, that conveys meaning; a linguistic sign. , though. When Bo and Luke unwittingly drive a midnight-rebuilt General Lee into the big city, they not only get mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in Atlanta's horrendous rush hour, but receive endless grief for the Confederate flag they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. Cooter's painted on the roof. It's the one concession to modern sensibilities that actually seems smart, rather than just pandering. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com THE DUKES OF HAZZARD - Two and one half stars (PG-13: language, violence, nudity, drug use) Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson, M.C. Gainey. Director: Jay Chandrasekhar. Running time: 1 hr. 45 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: Serviceable update of the redneck demo derby TV show. Humor's middling, car stunts are good, kudos to Jessica Simpson's physical trainer. |
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