Bedazzled Review
by Susan Granger (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)October 20th, 2000
http://www.susangranger.com/
Susan Granger's review of "BEDAZZLED" (20th Century-Fox)
We all want to be loved and respected, but how far are we willing to go to achieve that? Tech-support nerd Elliot Richards (Brendan Fraser) is a sad, lonely man in search of popularity. Plus, he's totally besotted by a co-worker (Frances O'Connor), so when he sighs, "I'd give anything to have that girl in my life," it seems like an open invitation to sell his immortal soul to the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley) in exchange for seven wishes. But the Princess of Darkness has a great sense of mischief. When he asks to be rich and powerful, he becomes a Colombian drug lord. When he wants to be a star NBA player, he's more Dennis Rodman than Michael Jordan. He's equally dismayed as a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and as President of the United States (Abraham Lincoln going to the Ford Theater). Versatile Brendan Fraser's dexterous physical transformations into these characters are impressive; as the various incarnations of the woman he desires, Australian actress Frances O'Connor's dialects are on-target; and sophisticated supermodel Elizabeth Hurley embodies a wickedly witty, lusty Lucifer, saucily dressed as titillating male fantasies (nurse, cheerleader, cop, French maid, etc.). Orlando Jones, Miriam Shor, Paul Adelstein and Toby Huss lend strong support. But, beneath the glossy hi-jinks, the screenplay by Larry Gelbart, Harold Ramis & Peter Tolan, based on a story by Peter Cook (which was made into a 1967 movie with Dudley Moore), is little more than an amusing series of comedy sketches. While director Harold Ramis knows how to milk a gag 'till it's dry, this is no "Caddyshack" or "Animal House." On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Bedazzled" is a sinfully silly 6 as the pathetic hero's dreams become nightmares - and stay for the closing credits.
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