"The Dukes of Hazzard" is simply the most astounding film of 2005 so far, a slapdash, super-loud collage of screeching cars, girls in skimpy outfits and moonshine-guzzling good ol' boys breaking the law without a care in the world. It is proudly, purposely stupid from start to finish.

The plot, which centers around Boss Hogg's evildoings and the boys efforts to thwart him, is mainly an excuse to travel from one roaring, crunching car race to another, the characters are hillbilly cliches and the actors all seem to be laughing outright at the idea they're being paid to appear in such a self-conscious calamity.

Amazing. Incredible. Unbelievable. Astonishing. Painful. All these words come to mind in just the first 10 minutes of viewing this film, none of them in a good way. And then the movie goes on to repeat itself over and over until the end.

Understand, a great many people will likely find this experience immensely enjoyable. A great many people like seeing muscle cars fly through the air. A great many people like watching the sort of barroom brawls where everyone gets punched but no one gets hurt. A great many people like seeing fat white men walk around in dirty underwear.

"Dukes" is, of course, a revival of the popular television series, which itself was something of an outgrowth of the successful "Cannonball Run"-"Smokey and the Bandit" type movies that made Burt Reynolds millions in the late '70s and early '80s. Fast cars, dumb fights, and pretty girls.

Reynolds appears in "Dukes," along with such other luminaries as Willie Nelson, Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter and Joe Don "Walking Tall" Baker, since movies like this always have self-referential cameos and supporting stars. No one does anything approaching acting because in movies like this, actors merely pretend to be their characters, not expecting that anyone will believe them for a second.

The chief pretenders in "Dukes" are Johnny Knoxville as Luke Duke and Seann William Scott as his cousin, Bo Duke. Along as garnish is Jessica Simpson as cousin Daisy Duke.

So this movie stars a guy who became famous for varying acts of physical self-abuse in "Jackass" (Knoxville), the fellow who played the eternally clueless Stifler in "American Pie" (Scott), and a teen queen pop star who couldn't tell the difference between tuna and chicken in a reality series based on the first year of her marriage.

You kind of sense the pedigree "Dukes" carries with it right away.

Actually, there are some pedigrees at work here. Director Jay Chandrasekhar did the silly "Super Trooper" movies and some nice TV, while writer John O'Brien wrote last year's "Starsky & Hutch." But where "S&H" was a self-effacing parody of the original TV show, "Dukes" is merely a louder, bigger, dumber version of its namesake.

How lame is this script? The "plot" has to do with evil Boss Hogg (Reynolds), who is stealing all the land in rural Hazzard County so he can do something evil with it. The Duke boys are out to foil his efforts.

That's pretty much it. Now start racing, boys. Jessica, honey, bend over in those shorts, willya? Knoxville, punch somebody. Yee-haw!

By the end of "The Dukes of Hazzard" you'll realize that fans of the TV show will likely love this movie. And that may make you go home, lock yourself in a closet and shiver for hours.