Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Elliot Richards, a socially awkward IT worker, is given seven wishes to get the girl of his dreams when he meets a very seductive Satan. The catch: his soul. Some of his wishes include being a 7 foot basketball star, a wealthy, powerful man, and a sensitive caring guy. But, as could be expected, the Devil puts her own little twist on each of his fantasies.
Bedazzled (2000) is a lightweight remake of the 1967 Peter Cook/Dudley Moore comedy that swaps wit for broad slapstick. The plot is purely episodic — a repetitive wish-goes-wrong formula that grows tiresome well before its conclusion. Elizabeth Hurley is charismatic as the Devil and Brendan Fraser commits gamely to his multiple personas, elevating the acting above the pedestrian material. Cinematography is functional studio comedy work with no distinctive visual ambition. Novelty suffers from being both a remake and a formulaic Faustian comedy with each sketch following an identical twist structure; the gender-swapped Devil is a mild update but not transformative. The ending is predictably redemptive and telegraphed from the opening act. A passable if forgettable popcorn comedy.