Cooter Speaks

Yahoo! Movies: Movie News - Well, I've been waiting to hear anything from the original cast about this new movie. Now, Ben Jones, the former "Craaaazy Cooter" on the Dukes of Hazzard TV series, has spoken out against the new Dukes movie coming in August. Basically, he calls it an insult to the original cast and show and what it stood for. Here's some quotes: "Basically, they trashed our show," said Jones, who now lives in the mountains of Washington, Va. "It's one thing to do whatever movie they want to do, but to take a classic family show and do that is like taking "I Love Lucy" and making her a crackhead or something." Jones said he read a script of the movie, which is scheduled to be released next month, and that it contained profanity, "constant sexual innuendo and some very clear sexual situations." On Wednesday, Jones wrote an open letter to fans on his web site, cootersplace.com, urging them to stay away. "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 ... ," Jones wrote. "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." Well, based on the trailer and knowing who the director is, I can't say as I'm surprised. I cringed when I heard the director of the movie Super Troopers was making the Dukes movie. Super Troopers was funny on its own, but to do that kind of treatment to the Dukes movie was off base. Then, when the only casting call they got right was Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse, things really started looking bleak. Then came the trailer. It looks fun, lots of good General Lee action, but it looks like an alternate universe version of the Dukes. I guess we just need to think of this as a much worse version of the Coy and Vance episodes...