James Best is pretty pissed about the new Dukes of Hazzard movie, and I can’t say I blame him. He showed up this afternoon on a local Dallas radio station 1310 The Ticket where he expressed his displeasure. Said James, “We made a family show and now they’re ruining it.” He’s right, the original show was family oriented, and the trailer for the new movie makes this version look like nothing of the sort. Somehow I don’t think the Bo Duke from the show would have wormed his way into a threesome with a pair of bosomy blondes.
But then that’s what you’ve got to expect that when the movie’s directed by a member of Broken Lizard (Super Troopers). James of course hopes fans will reject it, “Now they have Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse smoking dope, and the fans, they’re not going to buy that.” Really though, what bothers me most about the movie translation is the complete writing off of Roscoe. From the trailers it looks like they’ve combined Roscoe and Boss Hogg into one character… and that flat out sucks. Roscoe P. Coltrane was always the best and most endearing thing about the television show, and doing the movie without much of that character is just plain stupid. Bert Reynolds has already co-opted some of Roscoe’s catch phrases in their marketing, no doubt at some point in the film he’ll shout out “Hot pursuit”. Give it a little boo, just for James.
“We built the castle, now they’re trying to steal the furniture,” said a very unhappy James Best, and whether or not the movie is fun I’ve got to admit… he’s right. That show is the only legacy the great James Best really has (aside from a few Twilight Zone and Andy Griffith appearances), and now that seems like it’s being taken away from him.
