Starring: Seann William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, Burt Reynolds, Jessica Simpson
Cert: 12A
Released: 26th August 2005

Bo (William Scott) and Luke (Knoxville) Duke are 'cousins' who run deliveries of Moonshine around the area made by their 'Uncle' Jesse (Willie Nelson) and their other 'cousin' Daisy (Simpson) from an illegal still on their farm.

Bo drives his car fast and recklessly to the expense of the locals' gardens and property whilst Luke is systematically copulating with every young girl in the County.

Understandably the law authorities are eager to quash the illicit activities of this mob family but, time and again, are prevented from going about their course of duty by either the boys total disregard for human safety, loopholes within the bureaucracy of the system or the ineptitude of government officials.

Well, that's how I saw it anyway. Looking back a couple of decades I seem to recall the Dukes being forced to break the law in a constant attempt to prevent Boss Hogg and co from ruining the lives of everyone around them. Now? Gone are Bo and Luke, "Fightin' the system like a true modern day Robin Hood," and here are Bo and Luke, a couple of dumb, Southern American, red-neck boys with nothing better to do than drive through people's fences, blow-up stuff, start fights and bang any pretty girl that gives them the eye. And then try to stop Boss Hogg (Reynolds) and co from ruining the lives of everyone.

Scott William and Knoxville play the Dukes with terrible Southern drawls and more gurning and double takes than a Laurel and Hardy film. Their perpetual unshaven state is beyond macho stubble and firmly ensconced in serial killer guise. Add to that, Bo's psychotic affection for the General Lee (the car) and the premise starts slipping from light-hearted to disturbing.

As for the rest of the cast? Well, given that Reynolds is the only 'real' actor there and he's scored the best part you can bet that he steals every scene he's in and probably could have done so much more if the script had allowed him. Simpson is passable considering she is just there as eye candy and an indictment on the history and progress of feminism through the ages. Everyone else roles off their lines like it's a primary school nativity. But then again, why not, it's not as if there are any jokes to be told or any emotion to be displayed that might require a degree of experience or skilled performance.

The story is extremely poor and tells like a cast-off from one of the original episodes but eked out with lots of shots of pretty girls and the boys whooping and hollering as they defy gravity, death and the law once again.

The car chases are well choreographed but nothing that hasn't been seen before since The Blues Brothers.

But against all this comes the biggest disappointment yet; in modernising such a story appears to be the number of political correctness filters the script has gone through. Despite the almost racist connotation of the boys' impersonations and the empowerment throwback of Simpson's role we see Hogg and Jesse have been put on Atkin's diets and Cletus has lost his speech impediment and catch phrase, "Hot pursuit! G-g-g-j!" Or something like that.

As the credits roll see some out-takes of the cast giggling amongst themselves just to show us that at least someone derived some enjoyment from the film.