I know . . . you’re thinking, “What about Jessica Simpson?” Well, we took our chances. We thought we’d have to glance away for a few quick scenes. Let me just cut to the chase with this review: DON’T GO SEE IT! Not only will you be wasting your money, but you will also be supporting something far from family-friendly. I only wish I had heard about Ben Jones and his reservations earlier. Ben Jones is the original “Cooter.” He has his own web site. I want to allow his words to strongly reflect my own feelings:

“The Dukes movie is a sleazy insult to all of us who have cared about the Dukes of Hazzard for so long... You probably know that the creators of this film wanted absolutely nothing to do with the original members of the cast. Doesn't that seem strange to you, given how popular our show is right now, and how popular our cast still is? After all, our huge success for so many years is the reason they are making the film, and the film, after all, is about us.

In the last few years I reckon I've done many hundreds of interviews around the country on radio and television and for dozens of newspapers. I always tell them that ours is a classic family show with positive values, great action, wonderful slapstick comedy, mighty fine country music, and a very gifted cast who had great chemistry. America could tell that we were clearly enjoying what we were doing and for that hour folks could forget their troubles and just have fun along with us. It is exactly the kind of entertainment that families crave right now.

Lately most of the interviewers want to know my opinion of the movie version that is coming out in August. I've always tried to be candid with my opinions, and when it comes to this film, I think it would be a mistake for me to pull the punches. 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 TV 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.

Sure it bothers me that they wanted nothing to do with the cast of our show, but what bothers me much more is the profanity laced script with blatant sexual situations that mocks the good clean family values of our series. Now, anybody who knows me knows that I'm not a prude. But this kind of toilet humor has no place in Hazzard County. Rather than honoring our legendary show, they have chosen to degrade it.”

He’s right!! Never once did I hear Bo Duke use profanity in the TV series. In the film, however, I’m pretty sure they didn’t write a line of script for him that didn’t include a few “flying colors.” Jesse (Willie Nelson) was a dirty old drunk with dozens of bad jokes to tell. He smokes “weed” with the Governor. He even butchered the original version of the theme song that Waylon Jennings made into a classic. Burt Reynolds can’t hold a candle to the original Boss Hogg. In fact, I’m not sure he could act his way out of a paper bag. When Bo and Luke were not cussin’, they were getting’ drunk, fightin’, or acting like a couple of thirteen year-old boys who couldn’t control their pubescent fantasies (many sexual references and situations). Sheriff Rosco was a big “ox” of a man with a low voice and no humorous bone in his 250 lb. body. Some woman in Atlanta traffic “shoots the bird” at the boys for having a rebel flag on their car. In truth, Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke was the only character that stayed true to the original character. Aside from a couple of silly lines, and a bit more cleavage, Simpson’s part closely resembled Katherine Bach’s character. No kidding! What we thought we would have to worry about became the only redeeming factor in the whole shootin’ match!

To end this rambling, let me just say: WARNING . . . THIS MOVIE COULD BE “HAZZARD”OUS TO YOUR FAMILY’S HEALTH!

For more from Ben Jones, check out Cooter’s Place at http://www.cootersplace.com/news_movie.asp