Bedazzled Review by Tim Wick
Watching Bedazzled is a lot like eating cotton candy. It's pretty good
while
you are eating it, but it looks like there is more there than there really
is
and it just doesn't stay with you once you are done.
Now although I think this film is pretty much mid grade fare, I have to
point
out two things that make it worth a look if you are looking for a good
bargain matinee or second run film.
The first thin that makes this film worth watching - at least if you happen
to be a heterosexual male (which I fortunately am) - is Elizabeth Hurley as
the devil. She's a good actress able to ham up a role that desperately
calls
for serious amounts of ham and she has the added bonus of looking very good
in red. Now I'm not going to tell you to watch a film for the babe factor
because that would be wrong. You should watch the film for other reasons
and
the babe factor will be a bonus!
Now the other reason this film is worth a look is Brendan Fraser. He plays
an annoying weasel who just wants to be liked. Perfect fodder for the
devil.
If he just played that role, the movie wouldn't be worth it. But because
the film is all about Fraser trying to improve his life through wishing, he
gets the chance to play several other roles as well(more like different
facets of the same personality).
When Fraser isn't acting in moronic fare like Dudley Do Right, he has
shown
some ability as an actor (Gods and Monsters is a good example). His
versatility is very evident here and it is a treat to watch how he
approaches
each of his flawed personalities.
So given the two leads were pretty good, why doesn't this movie stack up?
I'm not really sure. The script is pretty bland feel good Hollywood
schlock,
but that was what I expected. It could be that this should have been a
slapstick comedy and it didn't quite want to go all the way. The audience I
was with rarely laughed out loud and I really didn't blame them. While I
had
a smile on my face most of the time, I just never really crossed over to
laughing all that often.
Even now, I can't really recall any jokes I hadn't seen in the previews. I
remember how Fraser and Hurley played their way through their roles, but
nothing much about what they were doing.
Bedazzled is a remake
of a 1967 film that many have said is much better than
this version. Since I've not seen the original, I guess I'll have to take
the time to check it out for myself. Fact is this movie tasted good while I
was in the theater, but the taste was gone fifteen minutes later. I guess
that makes it good escapism, but not a great movie.
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