Dukes of Hazzard (HD DVD)

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The good news: This is one of the best transfers yet in Warner Bros.' series of HD-DVDs; and they have chosen to provide the Unrated Edition for high definition treatment, with its several minutes of additional naughty parts, plus a bundle of extras, and a brand-new "In-Movie Experience" to boot.

The bad news: It's "The Dukes of Hazzard."

I spent the years 1979-1985 studiously and fairly successfully avoiding "The Dukes of Hazzard" television series, but it finally caught up to me. In fairness to the movie, though, it was one of WB's bigger hits of 2005, grossing over $80,000,000 at the box office, so it's got a legion of devoted fans behind it.

The unrated version of the movie is three minutes longer than the theatrical version. I don't know if that's good or bad, having never seen the original theatrical version, but I'm glad the studio decided to offer the unrated version on HD-DVD. Certainly, it is harmless enough if you don't mind a touch of the risqué.

All I remember about the old television show after twenty years is a couple of hillbillies hot-rodding around the back country in a souped-up '69 Dodge Charger. And a pretty girl. All I remember about the new movie after watching it twice (SD and HD) is a couple of hillbillies hot-rodding around the back country in a souped-up '69 Dodge Charger.

And a pretty girl.

The movie was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard. You may remember their "Super Troopers," a perennial favorite, and "Club Dread." I didn't care overmuch for either of those films, but the director infused them with an amiable, if dim-witted charm. Despite "The Dukes of Hazzard" possessing the same kind of friendly, spoofy tone, the new movie substitutes silly action sequences for the silly gags of "Troopers" and "Dread." I'm not sure either approach works successfully for a good comedy.

The old Tom Wopat and John Schneider roles as cousins Luke and Bo Duke are now played by Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott. They haven't improved with age. Luke is still romancing every girl he sees, and Bo is still more in love with his car than with anything else. They're good ol' boys who make a living delivering moonshine whiskey around Hazzard County, Georgia, for their Uncle Jesse in the aforementioned automobile, the General Lee. Neither of them has a lick of sense, so Knoxville, who created the "Jackass" series, and Scott, who's accustomed to these kind of roles, fit right in. To give you an idea of the film's level of humor, one of the highlights is when the boys make any sort of bet, the winner gets to knock the loser silly with a telephone book. Shakespeare it ain't.

Singer/celebrity Jessica Simpson in her big-screen debut plays the sexy Daisy Duke of short shorts fame. She is nice to look at and not called upon to do much more than be looked at. Willie Nelson plays the Dukes' Uncle Jesse in a throwaway role, while Burt Reynolds plays the crooked Boss Hogg with relish. Lynda Carter shows up for a few minutes as friend Pauline, another wasted role; Michael Weston is Deputy Strate; Joe Don Baker is Governor Applewhite; David Koechner is garage mechanic Cooter; Kevin Heffernan is bait-shop owner and explosives expert extraordinaire Sheev; and M.C. Gaines is the muscle-headed Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.

But don't let any of them fool you; the real star of the show is the Dodge Charger, which is featured in almost every other scene. And well it should be since the movie is primarily about car chases, car races, and car crashes. Bo is the driver; cousin Luke is the lover; and the car is the real beauty of the show.

Some small semblance of a plot kicks in after a few minutes, although it's hard to tell amid all the automobiles, girls, fistfights, and loud, screeching music. The plot concerns two interwoven conflicts: The first is the 70th Annual Hazzard Road Rally, which Bo has won the last few years straight, but in which he is now getting competition from a big-time pro racing driving, Billy Prickett (James Roday). Think of Ben Stiller in "Dodgeball" and you've got Roday's Prickett down pat. The second plot thread involves Boss Hogg's attempt to take over most of the farms in Hazzard County for his own nefarious schemes.

Since the theatrical version of the movie was rated PG-13, I can only assume that a few added scenes of toplessness and profanity got this HD-DVD version its unrated designation. Whether it was worth the bother is up to the viewer. There is nothing particularly crude or offensive about the added material, but it does not appear to offer anything of value, either.

You've got to like fast cars, pretty girls, country boys, country towns, and country music to appreciate "The Dukes of Hazzard." It's innocuous enough entertainment, but for a film done up in such high good humor, there's surprisingly little actual humor in it. In other words, expect to meet a bevy of sweet knuckleheads and put up with 107 minutes of brainless action without many laughs. Indeed, the only time I did laugh was at one of Uncle Jesse's admittedly corny jokes. That's not saying much.