Bedazzled

Cute as a button and about as profound, “Bedazzled” is a remake of the 1967 minor comedy classic starring Dudley Moore and Raquel Welch (which was written by Moore and Peter Cook). This new version of the neo-Faustian tale stars Brendan Fraser, Hollywood’s most good-natured hunk, as Elliot Richards, a complete dope who is not as cool, hip, or funny as he thinks he is. Stuck in a dead-end tech support job at some anonymous cyber-firm, he is dodged and ridiculed by his colleagues, and ignored by the lovely Alison (O’Connor), upon whom he has an immense crush. Enter the Devil, played with vixenish relish by Hurley, who stokes her cover girl looks in a series of tight and skimpy outfits that may just be the wittiest thing in the picture. She has a little proposition for Elliot, offering him seven wishes in exchange for “one piddling soul.” Elliot, in the throes of heartache over Alison, gives in to temptation (and let’s face it, what red blooded male wouldn’t agree to pretty much anything that Elizabeth Hurley demanded?). The movie then embarks upon a series of vignettes detailing Elliot’s wishes, and it’s obvious that he has not studied the classics, because anyone who knows the Devil knows that she’s not one to play fair.

Elliot chooses his wishes with all the care one might lavish upon selecting laundry detergent, and it comes as no surprise to any of us that, as careful as Elliot thinks he is being, the Devil manages to find a way to turn his dearest fantasy into something like a nightmare. None of the wishes work out the way he thinks they will. (If nothing else, the picture does make us ponder what kind of wishes we would make given the chance. Could we outsmart the Devil? Well, no, because she is supernatural, but we could do better than that idiot Elliot, right?) The two stars take up most of the screen time, and they seem to be having quite a bit of fun, only some of which we share. Most of that lies in trying to guess the nefarious way the Devil is going to ruin each of Elliot’s wishes, and cause him to flee for home by pressing the “panic button” with which he has been equipped. Fraser is quite game in his various incarnations, and he shows an admirable willingness to be the butt of the jokes throughout (a quality he has brought to most of his work).

Still, I keep waiting for a role that will test him by requiring more than good looks and easy-going charm, both of which he has in abundance. The writers (who acknowledge their predecessors by having the Devil’s two dogs named Peter and Dudley in one scene) struggle to invest their scenarios with something original. I have never seen the original “Bedazzled,” but I have to believe it was more forward for its time than this one is for the year 2000. The current version is modestly amusing at best, and projects a tepid and rather politically correct tone. The picture is amiable enough, but I was hoping for something a little more subversive and edgy, especially with veteran writer Gelbart pitching in. Ramis has directed some good comedies (“Groundhog Day,” “Multiplicity,” “Analyze This”) but he puts a soft touch on just about everything; you can practically feel him wince whenever anything even slightly provocative threatens to appear. The last chance for a twist comes at the end, when Elliot’s debt is about to be called. It would have been nice if he had outsmarted the Devil, or at least fought her to a draw, but instead he survives by dint of some ridiculous and heretofore ignored clause in the weighty contract that he had signed earlier.

Talk about deus ex machina; it seems like the Devil herself could have used a better law firm. I suppose you could make the case that the film contains a lesson about being true to yourself, and recognizing that your wishes are sometimes right before your eyes. If so, it’s too little too late to raise the film above the level of fluff. In the end, everyone makes nice, Elliot bucks up his self esteem, and he tells off his annoying coworkers. He even meets a new girl, who looks remarkably like his former crush Alison, and the Devil doesn’t seem too miffed about the one that got away. If this is hell, heaven must be really something. (10/30/2000)