The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

I absolutely love this movie. Say whatever you want about the cast, plot, or whatever but this one is going down on my list of all-time favorites. This film did for the Dukes of Hazzard T.V. show what the Brady Bunch movies did for that classic series. While the spoofing was more subtle in Dukes than it was in the Brady Bunch movies, I honestly believe that it was meant along the same lines.
With that said, the reason that I like this movie as much as I do is for the absolute purity of the stunt driving. You can literally turn off the volume and watch this flick based on the quality of the driving alone. In this era of CGI – which is so over-done these days – seeing a knock-down, drag-out balls to the wall stunt movie is an absolute refreshing change.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a stuntman. My mother planted the seed in my head one day when I was about 8 years old. I was playing in the yard when she came outside with a T.V. Guide magazine in her hand and told me that I would make a good stuntman. She handed me the magazine and pointed out an article about the stunt world that included tips on how to get into the business, as well as how some of the major Hollywood stunts were performed. A year later I was practicing my falls and staging fake fights with my brother Ken. The dream faded over the years, but my admiration for these “crazy” people never did – especially stunt drivers.
I loved movies like Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, Bullitt, Ronin, and who could forget that scene with Gene Hackman in The French Connection driving like a mad-man under an elevated commuter train through Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Movies like The Road Warrior and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World were just as amazing for their stunt work as well.
As far as The Dukes of Hazzard movie is concerned, the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T (a.k.a. the General Lee) is the real star of the film. When Dodge introduced the Charger in 1966 it was met with luke-warm acceptance. In 1968 the body style was revamped to the more familiar style, but it was the 1969 Charger – complete with a bulletproof Torqueflite 727 3 speed tranny and an optional 426 cubic inch, 425 H.P. Hemi – that elevated this vehicle to legendary status. This was one of the most powerful and beautiful cars ever built during the 1960’s muscle car era. It dominated the competition by regularly eating Mustangs, Chevelles, and Corvettes for lunch, and looked great doing it. Nothing on the road in its day could match it – nothing. For me, this is the iconic muscle car. Watching this car being thrown (literally) through the paces in the Dukes movie is the closest thing to vehicular pornography that I can imagine. Every time the tires spun launching that car into another chase scene the hairs on the back of my neck stood up like Marines at attention. The chase sequence through ‘Atlanta’ – especially the shot of the car driving sideways the entire way around the traffic circle – was pure art in motion. The stunt drivers (including the likes of Benjamin Mullens and Cord Newman) are absolutely insane, and it was they who made this movie great.
Like I said earlier, you don’t have to appreciate the rest of it if you don’t want to, but if you love fast cars and balls-out stunt driving, put this movie on, turn down the volume, put your favorite Heavy Metal play list on the MP3 player, and enjoy. You’ll be glad you did.