Bedazzled [M]

Elliot is a hapless romantic and desperately lonely computer technician who one night has the good misfortune to cross paths with an inexplicably sexy and sassy woman in red who later turns out to be the devil. Promised a guaranteed way to get the girl of his dreams, Elliot makes a deal and sells his soul for seven wishes. However, the devil isn’t called the ‘Princess of Darkness’ for nothing and as each wish slowly turns Elliot’s life into a living Hell on Earth, he soon comes to realise that wishing just doesn’t work. 

I used to love this movie when I was younger and still do to this day. It’s a fantastic, fresh, sassy, and sizzling romantic comedy that really has a lovely message to it and doesn’t caricature or distinguish the sides of Good and Evil. A certain level of romanticism and humanity is injected into the story and its characters, which makes Bedazzled quite a fun and memorable movie. 

Elliot is a hapless romantic and desperately lonely computer technician who one night has the good misfortune to cross paths with an inexplicably sexy and sassy woman in red who later turns out to be the devil. Promised a guaranteed way to get the girl of his dreams, Elliot makes a deal and sells his soul for seven wishes. However, the devil isn’t called the ‘Princess of Darkness’ for nothing and as each wish slowly turns Elliot’s life into a living Hell on Earth, he soon comes to realise that wishing just doesn’t work. 

As I mentioned before, there is a great level of humanism injected into this film. The fact that the devil’s a woman plays with a whole load of gender identities and connotations. On the side of Evil, she’s seductive, mischievous, and very persuasive and then on the side of Good she’s attentive, nurturing, and surprisingly turns out to be the best friend that Elliot’s ever had. The whole Good and Evil thing is levelled out painting a picture of morals, choice, and human instincts and perceptions that blurs the black and white distinctions of the two Sides. I think that’s what’s particularly fascinating and special about this film. 

Brendan Fraser stars as Elliot and he’s cute. The poor dear tries so hard and he just can’t take the hints. When we first meet him he’s all upbeat and quite good and hiding just how much he hurts inside, but then in the company of the devil his meekness, loneliness, and desperation break through. And then he gets to play all these various characters as part of his wishes, which is where his skills as a comedic actor come in to play. He’s a lot of fun to watch. 

Elizabeth Hurley is the Princess of Darkness herself and she’s great. Sizzling, sassy, but with a quite a pronounced human touch blended with this adorable cheeky streak. She does rather command the screen time and bend it to her will, she’s great. 

Starring Frances O’Connor, Miriam Shor, Paul Adelstein, Toby Huss, Gabriel Casseus, and Orlando Jones, Bedazzled is a fun little movie that’s filled with action, romance, comedy, and sass. It’s not one that I could watch over and over, but rather a great one to come back to sporadically. Each time I see it, it puts a smile on my face.