Ben 'Cooter' Jones calls for "Dukes" boycott

[The Penguin]

Ben Jones, the former congressman and Cooter Davenport from the Dukes of Hazzard TV series was making the talk show rounds today talking about his encouraging fans to boycott the new Dukes of Hazzard movie unless it is cleaned up to be suitable for the kids who still enjoy the TV series to this day. Here is the post he made on his website about it...

CootersPlace.com (http://www.cootersplace.com/news_movie.asp)
THE DUKES MOVIE:
DON’T GO UNLESS THEY CLEAN IT UP!

Hey Y'all,

I thought this would be a good time to let everybody know my feelings about the upcoming "Dukes of Hazzard" feature film, since if it weren't for the "Dukes" fans, our show would have been long since "put out to pasture." The folks who love our show have kept it alive and well, despite the lack of respect it has been shown by "Hollywood."

Websites like ours have been an extraordinary means of communication for the "Dukes" community. The power of the internet has enabled us to not only keep the show viable, but to help make it a hit show all over again. CMT is getting record ratings and the kids of America think it is a new show. In our business, it doesn't get much better than that.

Like our fans, those of us who worked on the show have a special affection for it. For over 25 years we have cared about it, nourished it, and fought for it. And it seems to me that it is time for us to have our voices heard again. From all I have seen and heard, 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 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.

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.

When CMT brought our series back on the air in February of this year, 23 million viewers tuned in on that first weekend. Very few, if any, movies have ever matched those kind of numbers for an opening weekend. Our show is a hit right now! Very young children have fallen in love with the "Dukes" on CMT, just as their parents did 25 years ago. They love the positive values of our show, its wholesome friendliness, and the fact that Bo and Luke are heroes who always make the right moral choice. How can the producers of this film be so cynical, so jaded, so out of touch with America's heartland as to trash a great family show in this way?

Well, there may not be much we can do, but we have to do all we can. Let's send them a message: "If you don't clean it up, we're not going to see it." Maybe a kick in their pocketbook will get their attention.

[langden alger]

so there's no cameos by any of the original shows cast in this movie?? not right at all for the producers to shun them like that if they're supposedly making an homage to the show...as far as his anger about the vulgarity...well hey, the film is really just a new excuse to put out yet another big action adventure guy flick in a slightly new package...if owen wilson wasn't busy crashing weedings he would've been on board i'm guessing...so your gonna have your basic toliet/sex humor as with all the latest lazy remakes out there...i can understand his feelings but your always gonna have the raunch in there w todays flicks especially w a daisy duke on screen alot..it's beggin for the jokes...

[shoujoaifan]

Good to see that not everyone is looking forward to this movie. I've got no problem with a PG-13 Dukes movie (The show was all-ages, having something for both young and old. Going from TV-PG/TV-14 to PG-13 is something it could handle.) and poking some fun at the show IF its good-natured wouldn't hurt anything.

THAT being said, I don't like the looks of it, not because of "edgier" content (its generic teen sex comedy), but because it looks like it does ignore alot of the actual material its based on:

1. Bo and Luke may have been simple country folk (NOT saying all people in the country are simple. Some aren't; some are.) but they were NOT idiots.

2. Also, while a few sex jokes would NOT hurt, Daisy was always using her looks for distractions to help the boys out. HELL, there's an episode where the plot is that Boss Hog is trying to keep her from winning a pagent show! BUT let's also face this: You KNOW that more likely than not Hollywood won't hold back and will make this into a teen sex comedy, when the sex jokes were NOT the main focus of the show.

3. The people behind the movie not having anything to do with the people from the show. C'mon, even "Starskey & Hutch" had the orinigal actors in for a scene, and alot of people have said its a terrible adaption and the characters were based more off the actors' previous roles rather than the show (I've never seen the show, so I wouldn't know. And for the record I like Wilson and Stiller.)

I MIGHT go to this if the reviews are good (IF they are, it would be the first time I would want someone else's opinion to judge on going to a movie or not. But I'm not holding my breath for this to be good.)

[shoujoaifan]

One-"Possible"-Good-Thing-About-This:

I can't remember exactly where the article was on the net (I'll try finding it later.) but anyway, in an EARLY script there was a plot that MAY or MAY NOT have made it into the movie concerning the Confederate Flag on the General Lee.

WB didn't want to offend neither black people or the fans of the show, so the Confederate flag in the early script is painted on by the Movie Cooter, who is a Civil War buff. The Dukes don't know its there (I have NO idea how that's possible, a Dodge Charger is shorter than a person.) and wonder why they either get cheers or jeers.

They stop at a college and ask some black students for some directions. One goes "Is this a joke? Some kind of reality show?" Bo replies how Coot is a Civil War buff and had put it on, and that he thinks its cool. Luke then tells Bo that some might find it offensive due to its historical ties to slavery. Bo says "I don't want to oppress anyone" which is apparentally enough for the black kids and they let them park.

That MIGHT NOT have made it into the final version though. Hopefully it did, or they got a suitable equivalent. I do not, I repeat, I do NOT think that the Dukes were promoting racism, I do NOT think that in the least. But it was the late 70's/early-to-mid 80's. While I think some political correctness IS taken to some extremes, especially after the SuperBowl/Wardrobe incident, there IS times when we do need it. The "General Lee" and its flag could ONLY work if its tongue-in-cheek and pokes fun at it being from the less careful 70's/80's.




P.S. To the Mod Squad: I'm not talking about politics, but political correctness in a movie. But I can understand if this violates the no politics rule and you guys think this post needs to go.

[SSJPabs]

I saw him interviewed on the Today Show this morning, explaining why it was wrong to Lauer. I was eating breakfast and I had to turn it off after about 5 minutes because what he was saying on TV was so ludicrous to me. I have no particular interest in the Dukes of Hazzard (as a matter of fact, I find Ashlee Simpson more attractive than her older sister so the Daisy Duke thing doesn't work on me) but c'mon. You sound a little high strung there buddy. Or maybe it's just 'cause I'm a Union man myself... Rebels...

[The Weed Of Cri]

What "good clean family values" is he talking about in the original series? The incessant and flagrant disregard for traffic laws? Reckless endangerment in the use of a motor vehicle? Destruction of police property? Plastering the Confederate Flag all over your car? Talking like an inbred Southern-fried illiterate? The series was ALL ABOUT criminality and rebellion!

[Master Moron]

I might take this more seriously if he had actually seen the movie.

[Mr. Pedro]

Since I've long been boycotting anything involving Jessica Simpson or CMT, it seems I'm already a few steps ahead of Ol' Cooter. :D

[Michael24]

Good ol' Cooter. But I was already boycotting the movie months ago when they announced the cast. And then seeing the trailer awhile back just made me want to beat up everybody in the movie with a 2x4.

[Hades]

Oh please, no one is going to listen to him just because Jessica Simpson is in it. That is the only reason people will go see it, and that is just plain sad.

[langden alger]

Good ol' Cooter. But I was already boycotting the movie months ago when they announced the cast. And then seeing the trailer awhile back just made me want to beat up everybody in the movie with a 2x4.07-16-2005 06:09 PM

just wait until next week when hundreds of people who havent even probably seen two eps. start saying how much better it is than the original;)

[Harley_Quinn]

Since I've long been boycotting anything involving Jessica Simpson or CMT, it seems I'm already a few steps ahead of Ol' Cooter. :D
I think the general horridness of this movie will help movie goers boycot this flick.

It currently has a ROTTEN ("]RATING:[/url] [url=") READING: ("") 25% on a certain tomato movie site

[Fone Bone]

I'm not sure how a show with a Confedrate flag on the car can be considered a moral show or one with family values. Cooter is talking out of his butt.

[EinBebop]

I'm not sure how a show with a Confedrate flag on the car can be considered a moral show or one with family values. Cooter is talking out of his butt.Political correctness had not fully set in in 1980, so there was very little outrage directed toward a symbol that few still associated with slavery.

[Harley_Quinn]

Political correctness had not fully set in in 1980, so there was very little outrage directed toward a symbol that few still associated with slavery.
Yeah the whole PC movement started more in the 90's.

However, I agree, I never thought of the Dukes TV show as a family show.

[MonkeyFunk]

I live in England, and the marketplace in my town sells Confederate flags, along with English and Scottish flags.
I have no clue why.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Regardless of the quality of the film, I pretty much disagree with what he said, mainly because movies and TVs are different, and the fact that this movie should mainly appeal to those 80s kids who grew up.

Although I will note that "Dukes" was generally marketed at kids after one season. I had several Dukes of Hazzards toys and action figures when I was a kid, not to mention that car...

Still, Catherine Bach's Daisy was more innocently sexy than Jessica's, who is more overt sexy. Different times, but while the TV series was more about boyish adventure-action, the movie is marketed more like a fetish for fast cars and sexy girls--another take on this whole Fast and Furious craze

[Strollymonster]

The show is about two guys with a Confederate flag on the roof of their car running from the law, as well as countless negative depictions of police officers as people who shouldn't be trusted...to be honest, I think that's a lot more dangerous to kids than a few semi-sexual moments with friggin' Jessica Simpson. Heck, she's tame compared to a lot of the other stuff out there.

[Lord Dalek]

If Cooter is leading a crusade for family values, then I'm gonna lead a crusade for good movies. Spend your money on the penguin film and not this garbage.

[EinBebop]

If Cooter is leading a crusade for family values, then I'm gonna lead a crusade for good movies. Spend your money on the penguin film and not this garbage.http://itsb.ucsf.edu/%7Evcr/Xpenguin.gif
???

[Lord Dalek]

http://itsb.ucsf.edu/%7Evcr/Xpenguin.gif
???Well Batman Returns was a good flick too but that was 13 years ago.

[The Clown Prince]

One-"Possible"-Good-Thing-About-This:

I can't remember exactly where the article was on the net (I'll try finding it later.) but anyway, in an EARLY script there was a plot that MAY or MAY NOT have made it into the movie concerning the Confederate Flag on the General Lee.

WB didn't want to offend neither black people or the fans of the show, so the Confederate flag in the early script is painted on by the Movie Cooter, who is a Civil War buff. The Dukes don't know its there (I have NO idea how that's possible, a Dodge Charger is shorter than a person.) and wonder why they either get cheers or jeers.

They stop at a college and ask some black students for some directions. One goes "Is this a joke? Some kind of reality show?" Bo replies how Coot is a Civil War buff and had put it on, and that he thinks its cool. Luke then tells Bo that some might find it offensive due to its historical ties to slavery. Bo says "I don't want to oppress anyone" which is apparentally enough for the black kids and they let them park.

That MIGHT NOT have made it into the final version though. Hopefully it did, or they got a suitable equivalent. I saw this Friday night. There were a couple of scenes that did bring up the actual Confederate flag on the car. In one scene Bo and Luke have to drive to Atlanta and they're sitting there in bumper to bumper traffic. As people slowly drive by the car, they are met with cheers from some and jeers from even more people. "Why don't you come join the 21st century?!" And then is met with a pair of middle fingers from an SUV driving soccer mom as some of the heckling the Duke boys receive. They don't know what everyone is talking about when one of the hecklers mentions the flag on the roof. You see, Cooter (who the movie does mention is a Civil War buff) and some friends overhauled the General Lee over night after it got trashed the day before, and when the Duke boys met back at Cooter's to get their car, they were met by police who came to confiscate the car. Well, when the Dukes made their escape from the law, it was night time. It was the first time they had seen the car all fixed up, but didn't see the roof because it was dark. Bo and Luke did seem embarassed and a little mad when they saw it the first time. You knew they didn't want it there. But of course it will stay.

The other scene is in fact on a street when they are approached by a group of black guys who take great offense to it. They do mention that they might be on some reality TV show, but they were being sarcastic as they ordered the Dukes out of the car to get their butts kicked, but just in time, a cop drives up.

An acutal talkback would probably be good for this, but this movie was both fun and dumb. It is what is. Nothing more. Just a fun summer popcorn action comedy movie that requires no thought what-so-ever to enjoy it. The car chase scenes/stunts, all of that was very good and entertaining if your a car guy who loves his chases in movies. In fact during the end credits, they were showing outtakes and bloopers. Among those were the results of what happened to the car in it's jumps and other stunt driving. The results were not pretty. Kids, don't jump your cars at home. Only on TV and in the movies can a car fly through the air and land with out busting all to pieces.

Jessica Simpson. Well, her looks are used to their full advantage in this movie. Nothing like Catherine Bach's sexuality in the TV series.

Willie Nelson and Burt Reynolds were actually great in their roles of Uncle Jesse and Boss Hogg. Even Flash the bassett hound was in this. And Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane was portrayed differently. He certainly wasn't the bungling idiot with all the voices and odd laughs that James Best gave his character in the TV show. And even though his role was small, a movie version of Cletus was in this as well.

The one person to get the shaft the most in terms of screen time was Linda Carter. Her character was barely in it, and she only served a purpose in that the Duke family needed to stay at her house. The "muffin" scene in the trailer wasn't in the movie, but I imagine it will be in one of two DVD releases....

I've mentioned this else where, but around the same time that when the theatrical version of the DVD hits, an R rated version will come out as well. The director Jay Chandrasekhar goes full on into this subject in this interview at IGNFilmForce (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/638/638928p1.html).

The Clown Prince

[The Penguin]

An acutal talkback would probably be good for thisWe have one, it just fell of the page right away, "The Dukes of Hazzard" talkback (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=147169). If you have seen the movie, please go there, I have left this thread open because I believe what Ben Jones had to say is still relevant, but perhaps that was not the best idea. :shrug:

[Hurricane V1]

Well I'm a Sean William Scott fan and I enjoy seeing Jessica Simpson use her 'assets', so I'd like to see this movie on TV. But there's no way I'm paying money to see it.

I'm not opposed to the Confederate flag on the car, but you know what would've been cooler instead? The symbol of the Rebels from Star Wars. Yes, yes, I'm lame.