Set in present day, the story follows the adventures of "good old boy" cousins, Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke (Johnny Knoxville) Duke, who with the help of their eye-catching cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) and moonshine running Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), try and save the family farm from being destroyed by Hazzard County's corrupt commissioner Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds). Their efforts constantly find the "Duke Boys" eluding authorities in "The General Lee," their famed 1969 orange Dodge Charger that keeps them one step ahead of the dimwitted antics of the small southern town's Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (M.C. Gainey). - skip ad - Genres: Action/Adventure and Comedy Running Time: 106 min. Release Date: August 5th, 2005 (wide). MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, crude and drug-related humor, language and comic action violence. Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

A bigger-louder-dumber take on that good ol' CBS hillbilly hit, the movie version of "The Dukes of Hazzard" starts off on the wrong foot and keeps heading, appropriately, south.

Let's be honest: The hourlong series, which ran for 6 1/2 seasons (and was even able to bounce right back after its stars sat out the 1982-83 season in a contract dispute), would never be mistaken for high, or even middling, art.

But nowhere to be found here is any of the goofy charm of the original and its indefensible ability to keep the testosterone humming thanks, generally, to the revved-up General Lee and, more specifically to Daisy Duke and her, uh, Daisy Dukes.

Instead, there are a ton of dead-end car chases and remarkably few laughs, meaning this would-be action comedy quickly sputters out on both counts.

Aside from the unknown quantity represented by those who have been aching to see if Johnny Knoxville and Jessica Simpson have what it takes to become big-screen sensations, this Warner Bros. Pictures release likely will stall upon arrival.

Called upon to fill the boots of Tom Wopat and John Schneider as hell-raisin' cousins Luke and Bo Duke, Knoxville and Seann William Scott spend an awful lot of time riding around in their trusty orange Dodge Charger, but John O'Brien's script doesn't give them any real place to go.

That goes double for the rest of the characters, including Burt Reynolds as a decidedly trimmed down Boss Hogg (played by Sorrell Booke in the series) and Willie Nelson, subbing for Denver Pyle as joke-crackin' Uncle Jesse.

After having proven himself with the offbeat cult comedies "Super Troopers" and "Club Dread," both featuring fellow members of his Broken Lizard sketch troupe, director Jay Chandrasekhar might have seemed like a good choice to put a fresh spin on the material.

But he seems lost without the rest of his team (who manage to pop up in assorted cameos), demonstrating a tin ear for the purported comedy and a lead foot for the daredevil sequences that wouldn't have cut it on an installment of "Jackass."

Recruited to fill out that item of apparel made famous by the underrated Catherine Bach, meanwhile, Jessica Simpson and her attire make equally brief appearances. More of her actual performance might turn up on DVD, but the bits that make it into the theatrical version play like outtakes from her more entertaining "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' " video.

Speaking of outtakes, those that show up in the end credits prove to be a lot funnier and feature cooler smash-ups than anything in the main event.

Pulling double duty, Nelson also covers the show's memorable theme song, "Good Ol' Boys," which was made famous by his old buddy, the late Waylon Jennings.