Like you, I haven’t seen the film, but I have read the script, I’ve talked to a lot of people who worked on the set, and I’ve seen the raunchy t.v. commercial. Frankly, I think the whole project shows an arrogant disrespect for our show, for our cast, for America’s families, and for the sensibilities of the heartland of our country.
Unless they clean it up before the August 5th release date I would strongly recommend that true blue Dukes fans hold their noses and pass this one up. And whatever you do, don’t take any youngsters to see it. As plain as I can put it, the only thing this movie shares with our show is the title. Oh, they do have the General Lee flying through the air, although according to the New York Times, they didn’t even use stunt drivers. —Ben “Cooter” Jones —The Dukes Movie: Don’t Go Unless They Clean It Up! (Cooter’s Place)
Oh, well… I wasn’t a huge Dukes of Hazzard fan, but since my wife was a teenager near Dallas during the height of the show, she absorbed it via the ether down there in Texas.
I felt the same way when I first started hearing about the Battlestar Galactica remake, which I hear is a great show, just not one that I’m planning to watch with my son.
The movie is out now, and as a proud owner of the movie, I can say that this guy wasn’t very good in the original and the “re-make” is much better. I grew up on this show. I was one of those children that woud sneak down the stairs and sit on the third stair of the landing watching Dukes of Hazzard as my parents watched it. This guy is simply aggitated because he didn’t have a hand in the re-make. Some people need to put a deal less stalk in the words of has been actors.
SIDE NOTE: DO NOT WATCH THIS WITH YOUNGER CHILDREN. TOO MUCH ADULT CONTENT
Lou, “Cooter” was the mechanic on The Dukes of Hazzard. The actor had a post-acting career as a state senator (Democrat).
Of course I don’t expect the movie to be exactly like the TV show, but I also don’t want to expose my kids to movies that are geared towards older audiences.
Honestly, once you have kids, everything changes. It’s something that happens on the cellular level. I don’t have to explain to another parent why it’s a big deal that I don’t want to take a seven-year-old who loves cars to a movie that contains raunchy language. I might actually go see the new Star Wars myself, to see if it’s appropriate for my son, but our next family movie will probably be The Love Bug.
“Cooter”‘s point was that the reason the movie’s being made in the first place is that fans of the original TV show bought the videos and DVDs in order to show to their kids, leading the producers to decide the franchise is still viable. And it’s that segment of the population that won’t enjoy a show that’s a lot raunchier than the original. The author of the piece I blogged is speaking about the script, so it’s possible when the movie actually comes out that he might have been exaggerating or grandstanding (I did note that he might have an ulterior motive for hoping the movie flops).
He says that the movie isn’t like the show? Well of course it’s not! This is 2005, not 1965! or 1975! or even 1995!
Luke, Bo, Daisy, and even Uncle Jess had to learn that their ” classic family show with positive values, great action, wonderful slapstick comedy, mighty fine country music” was passe to today’s standard.
I personally say, fine, boycott the movie. Let Sean William Scott and Johnny Knoxville and Jessica Simpson ruin what your old memories bring you. I’ll be buying a ticket for the movie, if anything to see Simpson in Daisy Dukes–kidding! I’d actually be seeing it to compare the shows–much like I’ve done with Dracula the movies vs the book.
Why do people make a big deal? Honestly, I know “re-makes” means that its supposed to be a remake of the orginial–but that doesn’t mean that the people who make the movie have to stick to WORD-by-WORD of the orginial.
BTW, who the heck was Cooter anyways?
Modernization of classic shows is not always a great move, either, no matter what time period. One recent example is _Bewitched_ with Nicole Kidman. Although the movie deals with some of the same themes from the show, it is not a true representation that wins approval with fans.
Retro television shows? Dennis, what an awesome father move! I grew up with cable, but my childhood was filled with endless hours of Nick at Nite, recorded on VHS since those shows were on after my bedtime. Nevertheless, shows like Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Gilligan’s Island, Patty Duke, Dobie Gillis, Waltons and many others reinforced moral lessons that my parents wanted me to learn. Those shows were clean, virtually no sexual innuendos, and were funny! A far cry from today’s television that is saturated with reality shows.
While it’s true that the general public assigns far too much weight to the opinions of celebrities, But I wouldn’t say he shouldn’t offer his opinion — especially on his own website.
All my point, Dr. Jerz, was that he isn’t the one paying for people to go see the movie, so he shouldn’t really be saying whether to go see it or not.
I can see his point; however, he wants the movie to remain wholesome like the TV show. That I can understand. The same with your not wanting to expose your children to that type of stuff. I can understand that fully-hearted, and am in agreement–if you have little kids–dont take them to see garbage. Heck, I still go see kids movies if I think their good.
My point was, if you don’t want to go see the movie, don’t let some washed up actor turned politician tell you not to though.
Because we don’t get cable, we don’t have access to many reruns at all. I do have copies of most of the original Star Trek shows, and all of B5. If we don’t have all of the Star Wars videos, we get them from the library regularly enough.
Peter knows about Babylon 5, though he hasn’t watched any yet… we’re holding them for a rainy day. I think if I were to sit down to watch them with him now, I might be annoyed by the constant barrage of questions he’s sure to fire… since I haven’t seen most of these shows for about five years, and since I won’t have time to watch them on my own first before showing them to him, I think we’ll hold off.
A few weeks ago, my wife got a Gilligan’s Island CD from the library, and then she got The Brady Bunch… so there’s plenty of retro TV to show him.
I should note that, because none of the original Dukes of Hazzard cast had much (if anything) to do with the movie, Cooter might have an ulterior motive for hoping the movie does poorly at the box office. Of course, he’s entitled to his opinion, and it might be that I share it (I don’t know what rating the movie’s getting).
Dennis, I suppose Babylon 5 reruns, all of the Star Treks, and Star Wars are also out of the question for Peter?