I wasn’t
expecting to enjoy Bedazzled as much as I did when I saw it
again. Elizabeth Hurley’s portrayal of the devil wasn’t something I thought I’d
enjoy, but seeing it again, I actually did. The movie’s unpredictability in how
the wishes played out was the gem for me.
Even though, after the first two wishes out of seven, you can kind of guess how
things will turn out, you’ll still wish Brendan Fraser’s character, Elliot,
would be a lot smarter the next time he opens his mouth—but he isn’t. Another
gem in this movie for me was how the wishes got twisted in the end.
I have to give kudos to the writing and directing of the late Harold Ramis for
this. This dark comedy could have gone many ways, and even though I haven’t
seen the original 1967 movie it was adapted from, I have to say this one is
fun.
This remake of
the 1967 film of the same name is a comedic take on the Faust legend.
The movie’s plot revolves around the devil looking for the perfect person to
play a game with—one that will cost them their soul in exchange for seven
wishes.
The person of interest is Elliot (Brendan Fraser), a nerdy, overzealous man
who’s madly in love with a woman named Allison (Frances O’Connor). This love is
getting out of hand, as Elliot is ready to do anything to win Allison over, and
it’s that desperation the devil zeroes in on.
Elliot is picked
and offered seven wishes in return for his soul. He agrees to the deal and
starts wishing.
The trick is, the devil never plays fair. She knows if you get what you want in
the first wish, you won’t need to wish again. According to the deal, your soul
is tied to you making all seven wishes, so the devil twists reality to make
your wish backfire.
This forces the person to make another wish, this time thinking they’ve covered
all the ways it could go wrong. But there’s no such thing as a perfect life or
world—there’s always something you miss, and it’s that something the devil uses
to make the wish worthless.
Bedazzled wasn’t
a commercial or critical success, but it will always be a movie I enjoyed
watching. The acting wasn’t spectacular, and the costumes and makeup weren’t
anything to give an A+ for, but like I said, it’s the way the wishes got
twisted that always makes me smile.
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