Bedazzled (2000)
7/10
Get thee in front of me, Satan.
8 January 2016
Elizabeth Hurley, still best known for her '90s relationship with Hugh Grant, and Brendan Fraser, star of Furry Vengeance, team up for this 2000 remake of Dudley Moore and Peter Cook's acerbic 1967 comedy Bedazzled: it sounds like a recipe for disaster, but even though the style of comedy is far removed from the original, Bedazzled 2000 succeeds in delivering its fair share of laughs, as well plenty of sexiness courtesy of Hurley.

Fraser plays social pariah Elliot, who finds it hard to make friends and can only dream of a relationship with the apple of his eye, work colleague Alison (Frances O'Connor). When Elliot says that he would do anything to have Alison in his life, the Devil (Hurley) seizes the opportunity and offers the luckless loser seven wishes in exchange for his soul. What follows is a series of comedic episodes that see Fraser adopting numerous different guises, allowing the actor to surprise the audience with his versatility (Fraser is almost unrecognisable at times), while Hurley is predictably wooden, but distracts the viewer by slipping into several very sexy outfits for the connecting interludes.

Of course, the devil being the devil, none of Elliot's wishes go according to plan, which leads to some very funny situations for the hapless dork, all of which are confidently handled by director Harold Ramis. This being a Hollywood film, it all works out well in the end for Elliot, who beats the princess of darkness at her own game thanks to his selfless heart, before finding love, not with Alison, but with her dorky doppelganger who just happens to have moved in next door.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for giving me the phrase 'small, wet, salty badges of emotional truth' and for Hurley's amazing array of hotter-than-hell get-ups, which include sexy nurse, sexy traffic warden, sexy cop, sexy teacher, sexy cheerleader, sexy bikini, sexy angel, sexy lawyer, and, in the deleted 'rock star' scene, sexy maid.
6 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed