Bedazzled

Remaking the Peter Cook/Dudley Moore original is a dangerous proposal at best and this one fails in so many ways. First, all the philosophical and wickedly delicious satire that grounds the Peter Cook/Dudley Moore original are ruthlessly thrown out like yesterday's bathwater. There are no conversations, much less witty or intelligent conversations, about the nature of God, the Devil, and man. Either the writers were too dim to *get it*, didn't think the audience would put up with an intellectual dimension or most likely just couldn't top the original script. Second, I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to cast a woman as the Devil, much less a beautiful one. The whole point of Fraser's character's bargain with the Devil was to win a girl he was too shy to approach. If you don't see the incongruity of conspiring with a woman who looks like Elizabeth Hurley to win some other woman, I can't explain it to you. Sure enough, even the writers of this dreck woke up one morning and realized, "Hey, Elliot's quite likely to notice that the Devil is more attractive than any other option on his plate!", necessitating a scene where Hurley changes into a HUGE DEVIL, complete with warts, yellow eyes, and the full range of big-budget Special Effects, to squelch THAT idea. Finally, as another reviewer has noted, Elliot's wishes are just scattershot semi-random stabs at getting himself into a situation he can live with. There's no successive refinement of the wishes to take into account what happened earlier, thus no true matching of wits (the traditional essence of Faust tales) between the Devil and Elliot. The sets are opulent and the costumes exquisite. Big production values all around. Unfortunately for this empty shell of an imitation, Cook and Moore's original proves yet again that money isn't necessary to make a good movie, but brains are.

The original 1967 "Bedazzled" is not a film that needs remaking--it's simply one of the most brilliant comedies ever committed to celluloid. The only thing that Ramis & Co. seem to have accomplished in this exercise is completely subverting everything that makes the original such a pleasure to watch. Dudley Moore's bumbling yet endearing short-order cook is replaced by Brendan Fraser as a genuinely annoying computer geek--honestly, I don't know why we're supposed to like Fraser's character; I couldn't stand to be around him for a minute. Where the original "Bedazzled" ended on a beautifully dismal note, this edition opted to go with wishy-washy optimism. And perhaps worst of all, every bit of the biting British wit of the 1967 film has been replaced by a deep and abiding Californian sappiness. Go see the Peter Cook/Dudley Moore original--don't waste your time with this mess.

Once again a typical sneak religious American movie. Everything "bad" in contest is wrong! My God don't know why Liz did this movie. She is a Liberal an pro Gay an pro a World without religious mess. This is a awful movie. (I think that FOX NEWS has payed for it) LOL. Its so clear that this Movie are ordered from some kind of Christian right wing peeps. But If U r into this kinda crap, feel free. Kinda a movie for Bill R an all the peeps at Fox an the right wing. And also the Fake religious folks who loves to see a Story about the Devil! LOL LOL

The main problem with this version of "Bedazzled" is that it wants to be loved. The Peter Cook/Dudley Moore original had a cynical bite that is completely missing here. It was also concerned not just with the schlemiel's wishes, but with what makes the Devil tick. Why does he do what he does? What's his relationship with God? Unfortunately, that movie's viewpoint that God is generally far more callous and satanic than Satan is not even hinted at here. That being said, this version does what it wants to do very well. Elizabeth Hurley is hot and Brendan Fraser again proves to be a likable and versatile actor. He also convinced me: you can believe Dudley Moore as an unnoticed little shnook. But Brendan Fraser??? Well, he does it. This is a good (safe) American version of an acerbic British classic. It is well worth seeing (at matineé prices.) I just hope this means that the original will become available on DVD now. *That* one is a keeper.