Bedazzled is the comedy from my youth that my memory clouded my judgment.
Bedazzled is a comedy starring Brendan Fraser as socially-awkward IT worker Elliot Richards who is given seven wishes to get the girl of his dreams when he meets up with a very seductive Satan (Elizabeth Hurley). 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 must put her own little twist on each of his fantasies.
I’m uber picky on my comedies (well movies in general) and after rewatching this 2000 comedy I had a few laughs, not many but a few. Bedazzled falls into the large category of you gotta like it/be there category. A few movies in this area are: Dude, Where’s My Car, Scary Movie 2, Little Nicky, The Ladies Man. All (somewhat) popular movies with one or two funny jokes but when you ask a person of a certain age, they might say they loved movies X,Y, and Z when they were young. So those ancient opinions are forever member berries.
Thank you South Park.
So a movie with most of the jokes falling flat, aside from the scene where Brendan Fraser played a genius and watch at your own peril. The film is chock full of lazy jokes and a cuck the audience is supposed to get behind from beginning to end.
In case you have reservations that I’m a revisionist who doesn’t believe movies from a bygone era are no longer funny due to their insensitive nature I’ll stop you there. Some of my favorite comedies are Ghostbusters, Animal House, Blazing Saddles, Kingpin, Fargo, Shaun of the Dead, Office Space, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys.
With a cast of “I know that guy/girl” of actors in the early 00’s, led by a then rising (and soon falling) Brendan Fraser, who’s Canadian blood helped him to do a great job of being awkward on screen. The uber sexy, Elizabeth Hurley played Satan. The two have some insane chemistry together. Hurley goes through about 19 wardrobe changes in an Hour and a Half. And the final actor seen in countless movies from the era is the now missing, the great role player of 2000’s cinema Orlando Jones.
The 93 minute run time is a blessing, as this movie breezes through and feels like you’ve been through a black hole with 30 mins of missing time. If there’s one thing I love about Harold Ramis is the guy knows how to edit a movie much better than James Cameron.
Bedazzled is a watch it and forget it kind of Saturday fall asleep on it movie. The movie is fine and I won't judge anyone for loving it. Bedazzled gets 1 devil horn out of 5.
Reviews -
The big surprise was Elizabeth Hurley. As certain as Vivien Leigh was meant to play Scarlett O'Hara, no one could have done a better job playing The Devil...in this case a sly, brilliantly cunning, sexy devil who playfully torments Brendan by dooming each of his wishes with unintended, nasty surprises. She effortlessly leads him along like a puppy dog on a leash.
Bedazzled exudes a positive, good-natured warmth, and is proof that comedy doesn't have to depend on silly sophomoric antics, pratfalls, or foul language. - Pachl
It is not exactly original or brilliant, but it basically succeeds at being entertaining. Some of the scenarios in which Fraser's character found himself are really very funny and work quite well at achieving their comic effect, even though a number of parts aren't all that funny or intelligent
. - Wulfstan10