"Bedazzled" - A Devilishly Fun Time by Homer Yen (c) 2000
Reflecting on "Bedazzled," a lively comedy about the Devil who seeks to possess the soul of a pathetic loser, one sinful thought remains in my mind. If Hell means having to spend an eternity with Elizabeth Hurley (who portrays the fiery demon), then use that pitchfork and point me the way. With her pouty lips, irresistible British accent, and wild display of haute couture, Hurley crackles with naughtiness and fills your mind with temptation. It's practically impossible to turn this Beelzu-babe down.
Her next target is Elliot (Brendan Fraser), a tech support geek who is clumsy, awkward, and just too eager to please. To aptly picture him, you would have to remember a Saturday Night Live skit featuring "Steve the Copy Guy" who effortlessly irritated his co-workers with his unpolished social skills. Eugene, thus, is loathed and feared by his co-workers, who do their best to stay out of his way. Yet, beyond his annoying mannerisms, he's a lovable oaf. He wishes that he could get closer to Allison (Frances O'Connor), a co-worker with whom he is infatuated but who has never taken notice of him. However, the odds of him getting together with her are about the same as a snowball's chance in Hell. "Dear God," he prays. "I would give anything to have that girl in my life." Guess who then shows up?
She makes an offer that is too hard to refuse. "Seven utterly fabulous wishes for one piddling little soul." There's even an escape clause. If Elliot's wish doesn't go exactly the way he likes, he need only 'beep' her (one guess as to what the three-digit number is) and he gets to start over.
The remainder of the film consists of Elliot's various fantasies that incorporate his personal desire to have enormous amounts of wealth, power, fame and Allison's love. But when he makes sweeping statements such as "I want to be very, very powerful and very, very rich and married to Allison", he'll soon learn that the Devil is in the details. For example, (and we've seen this several times in the trailers), he is granted his wish, but finds out that he's a Columbian drug lord and that Allison, while married to him, has her eyes on someone else. Apparently, the Devil is just as eager to skew his fantasies as she is to possess his soul. His other wishes also end up with some strange but funny twist that short-circuits his new life. Soon, Elliot wishes that he had never made that deal.
Given the mischievous nature of the Devil, "Bedazzled" has many amusing moments. A lot of the credit goes to Fraser who turns in a great comic performance. He ably assumes various personas. His funniest segment is when he wishes that he could be the most sensitive man in the world. Allison becomes so frustrated with him that she practically urges him to take advantage of her. Hurley also heightens the humor quotient, especially in the transitional scenes when Fraser waits to start his next wish after bailing out of the previous one. It's clear that she's having a good time with it all. Yet, while the filmmakers work hard at creating funny scenes, they conspicuously avoid developing the allegorical underpinnings between good and evil that could have added more heft to this story. But that would be playing with fire. What they've got works, so you can easily accept it for the pleasant little comedy that it is.
Grade: B
S: 1 out of 3 L: 0 out of 3 V: 1 out of 3
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