The Georgia Peaches (1980 TV Movie) User Reviews

Tanya Tucker and Dirk Benedict in moonshine running movie

[lightninboy · 6/10 · 12 May 2005]

This is not a really great movie, but it's an appearance of Tanya Tucker the country singer and Dirk Benedict before he became famous as Faceman on The A-Team. Dirk plays Dusty Tyree, a moonshine running fool if there ever was one. He's also somewhat of a beekeeper. He has a '79-'81 Firebird set up to haul moonshine in a tank. He runs stop signs and does 180s and drives fast backwards and when he's about to get caught, he dumps the moonshine out and ignites it, like in The Last American Hero. But he gets caught somehow sometime, and the Feds have him and the two young women in this story at their mercy. The three have to go undercover for the ATF to break up illegal cigarette smuggling. Some good Tanya Tucker music in this movie.

Not Bad For What It Is

[abbazabakyleman-98834 · 7/10 · 28 May 2021]

This unsold pilot for a possible TV series isn't exactly that bad, even if it's in the same vein of The Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit, but the three main leads are likable. Tanya Tucker and Terri Nunn are sisters who operate a auto garage in the rural south. Their best friend is Dusty Tyree (Dirk Benedict), a local moonshiner always making fools out of the local cops. However, they find themselves in hot water with local crime boss Vivian Stark (Sally Kirkland), who plants hot merchandise in their garage and take the fall for it. To avoid having their garage condemned and a lengthy prison sentence, the three go undercover with bumbling treasury agent Randolph Dukane (Lane Smith) to bust Stark's operation. The supporting cast is pretty solid for a TV movie: Noble Willingham as a wealthy playboy smitten with Nunn and Burton Gilliam and David Hayward as Stark's flunkies. There's enough car chase action to keep the viewer tuned in and Tucker performs a few songs, as well.

Amiable nonsense for fans of hicksploitation.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 30 March 2018]

Roger Corman executive produced this pilot to a proposed TV series. Obviously patterned somewhat after 'The Dukes of Hazzard', it combines action, comedy, sex appeal, and country music, and is pretty easy to take. There's very little unpleasantness; other than assorted fights and punches thrown, there's hardly any violence. Cormans' longtime colleague Daniel Haller, a former production designer and art director who did some of his best work in that capacity on Cormans' Edgar Allan Poe series, guides things with reasonable efficiency.

A number of familiar faces are featured in this story about two sassy Georgia sisters, Lorette and Sue Lynn Peach (played by singers Tanya Tucker and Terri Nunn). Lorette, Sue Lynn, and their hunky moonshiner friend Dusty (Dirk Benedict of later 'A-Team' fame) are framed for crimes by conniving kingpin Vivian Stark (Sally Kirkland), and in order to avoid going to prison, agree to cooperate with special agent Randolph Dukane (Lane Smith).

Predictably enough, this gives country star Tucker and Berlin front woman Nunn a few opportunities to belt out some numbers, but the music is quite engaging, as is the pilot itself. It amuses the viewer without being really memorable, but it does put Ms. Tucker into some uncomfortable positions (dragged behind a boat, stuffed into a freezer). Fortunately, you can never keep our upbeat hero and heroines down for long, and they're ready to give the bad guys plenty of ass-whuppings.

Also putting in appearances are top character actors like Dennis Patrick ("Joe"), David Hayward ("Nashville"), Burton Gilliam ("Blazing Saddles"), Noble Willingham ('Walker, Texas Ranger'), David Tress ("Stone Cold"), Ed Bakey ("The Sting"), and Bob Hannah ("Coal Miner's Daughter"). Incidentally, Elijah Christopher Perry (a.k.a. Jerry Rushing) has a small role; Mr. Perry was a key inspiration for 'The Dukes of Hazzard', and also acted in things like "Whiskey Mountain", "Wise Blood", and "Final Exam".

There's nothing special here, but it will still likely provide you with some amusement if you like the Dukes and other Southern set action flicks from this period. Just be aware that since it's made for TV, there is no sex, nudity, profanity, or blood.

Six out of 10.

Ho-hum good ol' boy movie

[Wizard-8 · 20 December 2011]

In recent years, B movie producer Roger Corman has been making product for television networks like the SyFy channel, but not many people know that he had started making product for television several decades earlier. "The Georgia Peaches" was made for American television as a series pilot. Seeing it, it isn't hard to figure out why this wasn't picked up for a subsequent TV series. The movie has decent production values (it was shown in theaters overseas), and Dirk Benedict, Tanya Tucker, and Terri Nunn make appealing leads. But the majority of the movie is dull. There isn't that much action, and with it being made for TV there is no swearing, sex, or nudity on display (though the female leads don't appear to be wearing bras in some scenes.) Watching it, you'll wonder why this TV movie was resurrected for DVD when there are so many better made-for-TV movies out there that are languishing on shelves.

GEORGIA PEACHES

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 30 April 2019]

This is the title of the European version of Corman's TV pilot "Georgia Peaches." The story is about a moonshiner (Dirk Benedict) driving a hot Trans-Am being able to out run the local cops and roadblocks in a town where everybody knows everybody and they all go to the dentist regularly to have their teeth whitened. He is aided by two girls, one of which is an auto mechanic and the other is her sister Tanya Tucker. Together they sing as the Honeysuckle Sisters.

Vivian Stark is a competitor in the moonshine business who is also running cigarettes. The Feds enlist the help of out trio to go after Vivian.

Gross southern stereotypes. Overdone accents. Corny phrases. Shorts and tight pants. If you like to listen to Tanya Tucker and watch a younger version of her in tight pants, by all means.

Love Dirk but not this movie

[Star_Blonde · 4/10 · 3 March 2009]

I remember this movie being filmed in the town I lived in back in 1980. I was in so love with Dirk Benedict and still vividly remember the day I spent on the set that day as a little girl taking in everything and every action.

The movie, sadly, was a complete disappointment. Dirk, Noble and Lane were the real actors. Everyone and everything else about the movie is very much forgettable.

I'll keep the memories and the photos from that day but I'd rather forget the movie.

.

LOVED IT!

[shelby-6 · 10/10 · 6 February 1999]

I saw this movie as a teen. I loved it. Very comical and musically

fun. Would love to see it again & again!!! If I could find it somewhere. I think my children would love enjoy it a lot. This movie really hit home for me in many different ways as an impressionable teen.

A perfectly amiable and enjoyable car chase romp

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 18 March 2009]

Yet another Roger Corman backed Southern-fried good ol' boy car chase outing, this time with hot-tempered moonshine runner Dirk Benedict, Dirk's cute, sassy grease monkey missus Terri Nunn, and Terri's luscious, equally saucy country singer sister Tanya Tucker forced by shifty, manipulative treasury agent Lane Smith to go undercover in order to bust an into a little bit of everything crime ring run by snooty rich bitch Sally Kirkland. Capably directed by Daniel Haller, the by-the-numbers trite plot staunchly adheres to a a straight down the line predictable narrative trajectory and offers no true surprises whatsoever. However, a few nice quirky touches (for example, a friendly diner counterman who does bird calls), several sterling live music performances by the lovely and arousing Tucker (her spirited rendition of "San Antonio Stroll" is especially smokin'), the expected gas-burning, tire-tearing, pedal glued to the floor speedy and exciting automobile action, and a pleasingly slimy turn by Noble Willingham as a corrupt cheapskate nightclub owner enable this affably inconsequential diversion to efficiently kill 96 minutes in a pleasant, harmless, and totally agreeable manner.

I LOVED IT ALSO

[trolas · 19 August 2001]

This is one of my old favorite movies of all time. , I have to buy a new tape of this movie, because I have almost worn it out. One of the reasons I like this movies is of cause that Tanya Tucker play in this movie. She also play in another great TV movie: "Amateur night at the dixie bar & grill. (1979)

Hidden Gem of the Car Chase Genre

[BanditTA79 · 8/10 · 17 September 2021]

I first discovered The Georgia Peaches by accident on YouTube and after learning about, I decided to check it out. I absolutely loved it and it was a blast to watch being a Trans Am enthusiast, a Smokey and the Bandit and Dukes of Hazzard fan. I heard many negative things about this movie, more particularly from "Dukes" fans who claim it was a knock off of the series. This movie while does share some of the elements of Bandit and Dukes, it didn't feel like a knock off at all and did more of its own thing IMO. One thing that did strike me was that this movie seemed to be based off of a Dukes episode that aired months before this movie titled "Mason Dixon Girls" which had two girls and their male friend out whit bad guys, which the Dukes help out in. In the episode, they are seen driving a silver 1979 Trans Am convertible with blue decals. Georgia Peaches has a very similar format that has two girls and their male accomplice, who drives a silver Trans Am, but is an 1980 model with the 301 turbo and has red interior with the silver/red decals. Both programs were aired on CBS which makes it the more interesting.

Given the task to produce this film was Roger Corman and his studio, who mainly produce low-budget, yet very thrilling car action films with credits such as Cannonball (1976), Eat My Dust (1976), and Grand Theft Auto (1977). You can tell that they did not have a lot of money to work with this movie, but they did the very best they could and utilized it very well with great car chases, good stunt work and some car crashes, and a good cast.

Dirk Benedict was great and makes for a really great good ole boy character driving the Trans Am around and out-pacing the cops. Being a Trans Am enthusiast myself, the car was outstanding and the filmmakers added a unique feature to the car that not even the Dukes boys in the General Lee never thought of using to stop bad guys or the cops. The Trans Am here has a firing mechanism referred to as the claw that can tear out the rear axles of enemy vehicles and destroying evidence of moonshine. Tanya Tucker was great and does a good job acting considering she isn't a professional actress. Everybody was also great and gave their best in this film.

If you are a fan of Smokey and the Bandit, Dukes of Hazzard, or car chase films, I highly recommend this movie. For a low budget movie Georgia Peaches/Follow that Car was a blast to watch and its a very underrated gem of the 70's and 80's car chase genre. 8/10.