Released: 8/5/05

Viewed: 7:15:pm 8/12/05

Starring: Sean William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, Jessica Simpson, Willie Nelson, Burt Reynolds

Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar

Ok, the car does eventually have non-working doors. It's nice actually. The movie recreates a proper birth of the General Lee we all know and love. They do a good job with it, really, but I'm not going to lie. In that opening scene where Bo grabs a case of moonshine out of the back seat, and OPENS the door?well those were a few heated moments.

I'm not a crazy Duke fan but I do have fond memories of climbing through the window of my mom's parked car and proudly drawing back on my imaginary bow as my cousin took us safely into the air off some random ramp that were always in the best of places. So the door thing is a deal breaker. But it's there.

Everything is represented pretty closely to the original. We've got a close-knit family fighting a corrupt system. The cousins are friends, Daisy is hot, I don't remember Uncle Jessie being a pothead, but I may have been oblivious in my ignorant youth. And the stunts are there. Great car chases filmed pretty damn well. It's nice when you can see what's going on. They do rely a little to heavily on this one move where the car make turns sort of sideways. It's cool? the first time you see it, but it's in every chase. You get the feeling that someone learned a new trick and really wanted to share it. Still props go out to Scott who stepped up and did a lot of the driving in Dukes. It looks awesome.

And of course the jumps are there. The best one unfortunately is given away in the trailer, but if you're seeing it for the first time, it's very much a "Holy Crap!" moment. This movie is the first big budget studio movie for Chandrasekhar who directed and co-starred with his comedy troop Broken Lizard in the classics Super Troopers and Club Dread. I love both those movies so to hear that Chandrasekhar was coming on board for Dukes gave me great hope. I wish I could report similar praise, but it didn't really have the same magic. It wasn't as mercilessly funny as his previous films. There are funny moments for sure, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that its family friendly PG-13 rating held this movie back.

I'm not na?ve. I know how target audiences work, and moves like this paid off great for Scary Movie 3 last year. That movie sucked hard, but pulled in ALL kinds of money on it's opening weekend. Duke's has since opened big and fallen hard. Could be just because of the summer competition, it could be bad buzz. But I really feel that the business of appealing to a larger audience shut down the funny on this movie.

People that are very natural with comedy are all over this movie. But the laughs never truly take off. It's really a shame because David Koechner as Cooter had me laughing for 10 minutes alone. After I realized he wasn't really going to do anything funny, I started paying attention to the plot. Maybe not the best thing in a movie about jumping cars.

I kid. It was actually a pretty good story about injustice and saving the family farm etc. Even though I wasn't busting a gut throughout there's never a dull moment. And while it very easily could have become predictable and boring, the storyline is interesting enough to make you want to see it through.

I'll admit to some hesitation about the cast. Knoxville and Scott I felt fine with. Each has proven themselves to me, sadly as costars of the Rock. I'm kidding ? I love the Rock. I was hugely worried about Simpson. But she's great. She's barely in it as a matter of fact. She comes in and shakes her ass, creating a distraction so the boys can get away, and she looks hot as hell doing it. Just like the Daisy we all grew up with. So I have no complaints with Jessica Simpson. The ad campaign for this movie makes it look like she and her "undercarriage" are the true stars, but she comes in, does her job, does it well, and gets the hell out.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. It's a great property. Family values, a hot car, a hot girl ? what more do you really need? It's a great creative team. From director to cast, this movie has comedy gold written all over it. But I really feel it was crippled by that PG-13 rating. Don't fear the R. If it's funny, they will come. Has Wedding Crashers taught us nothing? 6.5 out of 10 for a decent movie that was fun to watch, but not AS fun as we all wanted it to be.

A slight side note ? the movie shut off just as the closing credits started to roll. From what I hear the closing credits with gag real are the best thing about this movie. Good enough to bump it up a point maybe. I was pissed I missed them, but not as pissed as my girlfriend. God bless her she complained a little and got us 4 free passes. She wasn't even mean about it really. She just stated the case and a nice manager was willing to compensate. It wasn;t just the gag real either. The house lights were on at the beginning of the movie for at least 10 minutes. People were yelling like maniacs up at the projection booth. There's no one up there's morons.

It's sad because the only complaining I was willing to do was yell "Outrageous!" in a British accent when the house lights went up.

DVD worthy?: Definitely maybe. I think a repeat viewing would reveal hidden love for the more subtle moments. Plus it feels like a great lazy Sunday afternoon waste of time.

If you liked this movie check out : The Blues Brothers

A lot of people don't think of the Aykroyd Belushi classic of two blues men on the run, as being in the same neighborhood as Dukes. But a quick reexamination will reveal some of the biggest laughs and biggest car stunts of the era live in this film. Few movies burst with style and cool like Blues Brothers. Don't forget the classics!

An even bigger treat is that on August 29th there will be a nationwide presentation of Blues Brothers to celebrate the 25th anniversary. Grab your tickets now and catch it on the big screen one more time, or for the first time.

Trailer Hitch: V for Vendetta

I know nothing about the comic. But here's what I know about the trailer: *pees pants*

It looks awesome. Great sort of crazy Nazi's running all over the place. It's cool when you know the bad guys are bad. Like ? there's no doubt about it. These dudes are bad. They're bad dudes. The effects and stunts look clean and crisp as well as interesting at the same time. Fighting can become so repetitive and boring. I've been lulled to sleep by two guys punching each other. V seems to be mixing it up with more then just a couple of knives.

My plan is to avoid the comic until I see the movie. I feel like I would be let down by the movie if the written story is too good. I'm sure I'll love the comic either way, so I'm determined to give the movie a fighting chance.

For the vote incentive I drew a little picture of My girlfriend Yeo complaining to get those tickets. Isn't she cute?