Bedazzled
USA/Germany 2000
Reviewed by Andrew O'Hehir
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
San Francisco, the present. Elliot Richards nurses an unrequited passion for his co-worker Alison. The Devil appears to him as a beautiful woman and offers him seven wishes in exchange for his soul. He first wishes to be rich and married to Alison. The Devil makes him a Colombian drug lord whose wife detests him. He then wishes to become a sensitive man but his pathetic blubbering drives Alison into the arms of a macho creep. Next he wishes to become a basketball superstar, but both his brain and his sexual equipment are diminutive. Wishing to be a brilliant, handsome man with ample genitalia with whom Alison falls madly in love, he turns out to be a gay writer. Then, wishing to be president of the United States, he becomes Lincoln on the night of his assassination. Learning the Devil has duped him out of one of his wishes, he uses his last wish to demand a happy life for Alison. This selfless act voids the contract. Restored to his old life, Elliot asks Alison out. She rejects him, but he gets on well with his new neighbour, a dead ringer for Alison.
Review
Lacking most of the wit and style that made Stanley Donen's 1967 original a classic of its Swinging London era, Harold Ramis' Bedazzled remake settles for Elizabeth Hurley in a series of slinky designer outfits and an agreeable everyman performance from Brendan Fraser. Not that there's anything wrong with Ramis' central gambit: that of making the Devil a seductive female. Hurley is well suited for Bedazzled's genial gags and attacks them with gusto. "I think you're hot," gulps Elliot, the lovesick chump who exchanges his soul for seven wishes, after she corners him. "Baby, you have no idea," Hurley purrs.
Of course the first Bedazzled was crucially a satire of its time, matching Dudley Moore's trod-upon bourgeois bedsitter-dweller with Peter Cook's laconic rock-star Satan. When Moore asks for an ice lolly and Cook makes him buy it (thus wasting one of his wishes), we see his Devil as a prankster skewering middle-class expectations. Hurley carries no such social significance, and the transcultural translation of the ice-lolly scene - Fraser and Hurley ride the bus to a San Francisco McDonald's - only seems peculiar, as she's next seen giving him a lift in her Lamborghini.
Not that Ramis and his co-writers (Larry Gelbart and Peter Tolan) had any aspirations to satirise contemporary US mores. Instead their film creates a series of elaborate set-pieces for Fraser's good-natured goofballing. Hurley and Fraser actually have few scenes together after their promising initial encounter so the enjoyable sexual tension between them is frittered away. By the end of the film they seem like best pals rather than erotically charged adversaries. An able physical comedian, Fraser is at his best in the earlier, pre-Lucifer scenes, playing Elliot as a loser whose desperate desire to be liked only makes him intolerable. The character has a close kinship to Jim Carrey's information-driven nerd in The Cable Guy; when Alison, the girl he dotes on, can't remember having spoken to him before, Elliot clarifies matters: "It was the first week of June, three years ago. I said it was really wet out."
As Elliot's various wish scenarios play out, Bedazzled labours ever harder for diminishing returns. The drug-lord sketch is modestly amusing, but the scenes in which Fraser plays a weepy beach poet in natural fabrics and an oversized NBA superstar with a mini-manhood are no better than second-rate television sketch material. His turn as a suave gay writer is depressingly obvious, and the scene's attempt to lampoon a Manhattan literary party is embarrassing, especially for writers with Ramis and Gelbart's connections. The Lincoln gag is a one-liner, but at least it's a gag; it would work better if it were as brief as the convent scene in Donen's film.
This Bedazzled won't show us Elliot and his love object as lesbian nuns, nor does it depict the memorable confrontation between Satan and God seen in the original. Indeed, Hurley doesn't seem much like the genuine Devil to me; perhaps Elliot has gotten tangled up with a saucy, slightly wayward angel who's trying out some of her uncle Lucifer's tricks. She seems positively chipper when Elliot frees himself from her clutches and sends him on his way with a nugget of New Age wisdom that serves as this simple-minded remake's coda: "You don't have to look hard for heaven and hell. They're right here on earth."
Credits
- Director
- Harold Ramis
- Producers
- Trevor Albert
- Harold Ramis
- Screenplay
- Larry Gelbart
- Harold Ramis
- Peter Tolan
- Director of Photography
- Bill Pope
- Editor
- Craig P. Herring
- Production Designer
- Rick Heinrichs
- Music
- David Newman
- ©Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/
Monarchy Enterprises B.V./Regency Entertainment (USA) Inc.- Production Companies
- Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises present a Trevor Albert
- production
- In association with Taurus Film
- Executive Producer
- Neil Machlis
- Co-producer
- Suzanne Herrington
- Line Producer
- London Crew:
- Nigel Wooll
- Production Co-ordinator
- Cynthia Hochman Price
- Production Manager
- London Crew:
- Leila Kirkpatrick
- Unit Production Manager
- Michele Imperato-Stabile
- Location Managers
- Kokayi Ampah
- San Francisco Crew:
- I. Lampton Enochs Jr
- 2nd Unit Director
- John Moio
- 2nd Unit Director of Visual Effects
- Richard Edlund
- Assistant Directors
- Michael Haley
- Mark Tobey
- Bradley Morris
- 2nd Unit:
- Amy Schmidt
- Barbara Lontkowski
- San Francisco:
- John D. Pontrelli
- Kenny Roth
- London Crew:
- David Tringham
- Visual Effects:
- Amy Schmidt
- Script Supervisors
- Judi Townsend
- 2nd Unit:
- Randi Feldman
- London Crew:
- Nikki Clapp
- Casting
- Sheila Jaffe
- Associate:
- Julia Kim
- London Crew:
- Jeremy Zimmermann
- ADR Voice:
- Loop Troop
- Directors of Photography
- 2nd Unit:
- Lowell Peterson
- London Crew:
- Phil Meheux
- Camera Operators
- Kim Marks
- 2nd Unit:
- Robert Hillman
- San Francisco Crew:
- Joe Chess
- Steadicam Operators
- Colin Anderson
- Joe Chess
- Spacecam Operator
- Ron Goodman
- Visual Effects Supervisor
- Richard Edlund
- Visual Effects Producer
- Tom C. Peitzman
- Co-visual Effects Supervisor
- Ron Simonson
- Visual Effects Director of Photography
- Ron Simonson
- Visual Effects Co-ordinator
- Kim Doyle
- On-set Supervisor
- Shyam V. Yadav
- Comp Magic Operators
- David Allen
- Robert Sterry
- Visual Effects Storyboard Illustrators
- John Mann
- Anthony Zierhut
- Visual Effects Concepts/
Board Illustrator - Philip Keller
- Visual Effects
- Rhythm & Hues Studios
- Special Effects Co-ordinator
- Alan E. Lorimer
- Special Effects
- Jan Aaris
- Greg C. Jensen
- James Lorimer
- John Peyser
- Lambert Powell
- Paul Stewart
- Floyd Van Wey
- Mike Wever
- Gary Zink
- Special Creature Effects
- Alec Gillis
- Tom Woodruff Jr
- Amalgamated Dynamics Inc.
- Model/Miniature Production
- Grant McCune Design Inc.
- Graphic Designer
- Martin T. Charles
- Sports Graphics
- Reality Check Studios
- Supervising Puppeteer
- Alec Gillis
- Puppeteers
- Garth Winkless
- Andy Schoneberg
- Christine A. Papalexis
- Gary P. Martinez
- Motion Control Operator
- Les Paul Robley
- Production Designer
- London Crew:
- Brian Morris
- Art Director
- John Dexter
- Set Designers
- Jann Engel
- Kevin Ishioka
- Darrell Wight
- Set Decorator
- Garrett Lewis
- Illustrator
- James Carson
- Lead Sculptor
- James van Houten
- Costume Designer
- Deena Appel
- Costume Supervisor
- Valerie O'Brien
- Wardrobe Supervisor
- London Crew:
- Dulcie Scott
- Make-up
- Key Artist:
- Cheri Minns
- Prosthetics
- Matthew W. Mungle
- Prosthetic Lab Work
- Clinton Wayne
- Ryan McDowell
- Key Hair Stylists
- Yolanda Toussieng
- Susan Schuler
- London Crew Chief Hair/
Make-up Artist - Lesley Lamont-Fisher
- Main Title Sequence Design/Production
- Imaginary Forces
- End Titles
- Scarlet Letters
- Opticals
- Pacific Title
- Orchestrations
- Alexander Janko
- Music Editors
- Tom Villano
- Curt Sobel
- Scoring Mixer
- John Kurlander
- Scoring Sound Designer
- Marty Frasu
- Scoring Consultant
- Krys Newman
- Soundtrack
- "Just the One (I've Been Looking For)" - Johnnie Taylor; "Stay Awhile"- Gary Schreiner; "My Family" - Banana Oil; "When I Get around You" - Terry Radigan; "Wild Thing" - Tone Loc; "Frenazo" - Tony Phillips; "Stop the Rock (Mint Royale mix)" - Apollo Four Forty; "Rust & Paprika" - Curt Sobel, David Barratt, Gary Schreiner; "Bem, Bem, Maria" - Gipsy Kings; "Mi Amor" - Javier Torres Mosley; "Pump It", "Two-Beat or Not Two-Beat" - Curt Sobel, Gary Schreiner, or "Oh Me, Oh My" - John Margolis, or "The Devil You Know" - Econoline Crush; "Dolphin Song" -Brendan Fraser; "Virtual Beat Ritual" - Meeks; "(Don't Wanna) Hear about Love" - Kati Mac; "The Way She Was" - Dave Hansen; "Rock and Roll Part 2" - Gary Glitter; "Get Ready for This" - 2 Unlimited; "Tribal Dance" - 2 Unlimited; "Bring Your Lovin'" - Robert D. Hanna; "Makambo" - Geoffrey Oryema; "Meena Devi (Goddess mix)" - Tulku; "Change Your Mind" - Sister Hazel; "Strange Disease" - Prozzak; "The Name Game"; "Tell Me Girlfriend"; "Marching through Georgia"
- Sound Design
- Sandy Berman
- Additional Sound Design/Field Recording
- John Paul Fasal
- Sound Supervisor
- Sandy Berman
- Sound Mixers
- Steve Cantamessa
- London Crew:
- Brian Simmons
- Re-recording Mixers
- Paul Massey
- D.M. Hemphill
- Jim Bolt
- Recordists
- Tim Gomillion
- Dennis Rogers
- Dialogue Editors
- David Kulczycki
- Mildred Iatrou Morgan
- Effects Editors
- F. Hudson Miller
- Aaron Weisblatt
- ADR
- Recordist:
- David Lucarelli
- Mixer:
- Charleen Richards
- Supervising Editor:
- Jessica Gallavan
- Editor:
- Nicholas Korda
- Foley
- Artists:
- Dawn Fintor
- Alicia Irwin
- Mixer:
- David Betancourt
- Supervising Editor:
- Mark Pappas
- Editor:
- Michael Dressel
- Basketball Consultant
- Norman Nixon
- Colombian Dialect Consultant
- Diego Gomez
- Russian Dialect Consultant
- Julietta Shakhbagoda
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- John Moio
- Animal Trainer
- Catherine Ann Pittman
- Helicopter Pilots
- Bruce Benson
- Cliff Fleming
- Cast
- Brendan Fraser
- Elliot Richards
- Elizabeth Hurley
- The Devil
- Frances O'Connor
- Alison Gardner/Nicole
- Miriam Shor
- Carol/Penthouse hostess
- Orlando Jones
- Dan/Esteban/beach jock/sportscaster/African party guest
- Paul Adelstein
- Bob/Roberto/beach jock/sportscaster/
- Lincoln aide
- Toby Huss
- Jerry/Alejandro/beack jock/sportscaster/Lance
- Gabriel Casseus
- Elliot's cellmate
- Brian Doyle-Murray
- priest
- Jeff Doucette
- desk sergeant
- Aaron Lustig
- Syndedyne supervisor
- Rudolf Martin
- Raoul
- Julian Firth
- John Wilkes Booth
- Iain Rogerson
- Biddy Hodson
- Roger Hammond
- William Osbourne
- play actors
- Laurel A. Ward
- Beverly Wiles
- Robert Ambrose
- Suzanne Herrington
- tech support advisers
- Bonnie Somerville
- Sadie Kratzig
- girls at beer garden
- David Bain
- McDonald's employee
- William Salyers
- elegant devil
- Tom Woodruff Jr
- biggest devil
- William Marquez
- Eduardo
- Ilya Morelle
- Russian drug dealer
- Paul Simon
- police officer
- R.M. Haley
- mover
- Ray Haratian
- Pablito
- Mickey Victor
- drug factory foreman
- Stephán A. McKenzie
- DV8 bouncer
- Lindsay Albert
- Joanna Bacalso
- Anderson Bourell
- Cara Michelle Meschter
- Jessica Anne Osekowsky
- DV8 clubgoers
- Christine Cameron
- DV8 waitress
- Michelle Boehle
- Brigid Burns
- Gigi Chavoshi
- Natalie Hohalek
- Eboni Y. Nichols
- Katy Quinealty
- Gloria Rodriguez
- Susie Shoemaker
- Joelene Walker
- Hope Wood
- cheerleaders/dancers
- Certificate
- 12
- Distributor
- 20th Century Fox (UK)
- 8,375 feet
- 93 minutes 3 seconds
- DolbyDigital/DTS/SDDS
- Colour/Prints by
- DeLuxe
- 2.35:1 [Panavision]