Bedazzled (93 minutes)
"Ah... well, you go out there and you give a 110%, and you wanna play good, and... you know... you hope you play good... I think we played pretty good tonight!" -Elliot Richards
This week I wanted to talk about a film that makes me feel comfy. One that feels like I’m home. So I raided my DVD collection-- yes, I have actual DVDs in my apartment-- and pulled 2000’s Bedazzled starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley from the shelves. Bedazzled was one of the first DVDs my family owned and the copy I watched this week is in fact the same exact one. (If I wanted to I could sell it on ebay and make $11, but I’ve chosen to keep it all these years.)
What has been so fun about working on this Substack is that I learn new facts for some of my most beloved movies. Today’s realization? Harold Ramis directed Bedazzled. All these years and I just never knew or noticed. At the time the movie came out I was in the 7th grade, and while I was writing movie reviews (which inspired this newsletter), I wasn’t super aware of who directed what and I honestly hadn’t quite figured out that it mattered. And now equipped with this knowledge I can see the Ramis-touch on Bedazzled. It has the same heart as Groundhog Day but isn’t as well-executed, and it manages to land some dumb jokes with only the slight risk of an eye-roll from the audience. That feels very Ramis to me…
Quick Plot Overview! If you’ve never seen this movie: shame on you and get out! Kidding, kidding… Bedazzled is loosely based on the 1967 movie of the same name. Which I’ve never seen but is generally better reviewed than my beloved turn-of-the-Millenium version. Elliot (Fraser) is a nerdy tech support representative who lives his life often mocked and rejected by his peers. Terribly in love with his colleague, Allison, Elliot exclaims he would sell his soul to the Devil for her. And poof! The Devil (Elizabeth Hurley) appears in all her glory. Elliot is granted seven wishes to live the life he has always wanted. With each wish, Elliot gets a new life and a new personality.
The plot is simple with few twists which are always perfect 90-minute movie fodder. And I’d recommend it to anyone with serious story anxiety. You could comfortably watch this one without having to Wiki the ending to ensure you don’t launch yourself into a panic attack. The schtick is fun if you’re into prosthetics and watching essentially the same joke unfold a couple of different ways-- which I totally am. Each time the Devil grants Elliot a wish, we’re jettisoned into a new life. A super-sensitive redhead, a Colombian drug lord, an intellectual, a basketball player. These characters rely on some jokes that haven’t exactly aged well, but all-in-all, Fraser gets to be a chameleon and it's fun to watch.
With that, I want to share the hill I will die on: Bedazzled is Brendan Fraser’s best comedic role. By far. My rewatch was generally spent smiling at his execution. I think the word I am looking for is pithy. He commits fully to the nerdy Elliot, while slowly evolving his character over the length of the movie. Each experience is a light course correction for Elliot, and Fraser guides this ever so carefully. For a character that could have easily come off as a creepy incel -- like Jerry Lewis’ Nutty Professor-- Fraser keeps him likable even at his lowest.
Interestingly, this movie was released between The Mummy and The Mummy Returns which was a peak Fraser moment. He was swashbuckling at the time which makes this role even more endearing to me somehow, perhaps because it feels like a role that should have happened a little earlier in his career, maybe nearer to George of the Jungle. He was picking up speed as a sex symbol (even though we know he’s at his hottest in Airheads) and yet, went for Elliot as his mid-Mummy-stream role.
I also think part of Fraser’s shine in Bedazzled is thanks to Elizabeth Hurley. In fact, the two of them are such an unexpectedly great pairing. I don’t know if it’s natural chemistry or if they’re just both the type to really commit to their roles. I really like Hurley’s portrayal of the Devil. It’s sort of like if a Spice Girl could damn you to hell. It feels utterly 2000’s in the best way possible.
So don’t be surprised when you read reviews from men at the time. They’re a bit nauseating. Most of the reviews are genuinely upset that Elliot and the Devil never hook up. It’s definitely a projection of their own desires because Elliot’s attraction never moves past the base level of, well, she’s hot. It’s Elizabeth Hurley and we’re ALL attracted to her. It makes me think that a lot of these men saw themselves in Elliot and were hoping to live some sort of fantasy. But at its core, that’s not what their relationship is about. At its most basic she’s the DEVIL, not an actual human woman. The Devil is choosing a likable form for Elliot. And at its most complex, they’re very good friends with drastically different feelings about what it means to be human. Hoping for a Fraser/Hurley sex tape isn’t the point of this film-- no matter how badly the reviewers wanted it to be so.
This brings me to my Elizabeth Hurley outfit appreciation section. I simply cannot write about this movie and not discuss her outfits and her hair. According to IMDB trivia, she wears 19 different outfits as the Devil. That’s almost a new outfit every 5 minutes. This must be a 90-minute movie record! Hurley once described the looks as being “…between Cruella de Ville and a softcore porn star.” And I was deeply obsessed as a 13-year-old. Lots of Fendi, Versace, and Rykiel in mostly red with some black sprinkled in for good measure. Leather pants, feathers, and a graphic Baby Doll tee seal the entire styling into the Early Aughts Fashion Hall of Fame. I remember watching the movie trying to understand her hair. I could never figure out how they made it look so excellent. Now as an adult I understand hair extensions exist, but at the time, everything seemed to defy physics and I was so jealous.
And sadly… all that excellence and she was only nominated for a Best Dressed Award at the MTV Movie Awards which she LOST to Jennifer Lopez in The-freaking-Cell. That’s a ROBBERY.
Anyway. I’ve digressed from my point which was… right. The movie holds up. The strongest criticism of this movie is that it is one-note and I agree with that. Like Weekend at Bernie’s this movie plays around with the same joke, never coloring too far outside the lines. As a film, it’s nothing thrilling. But as a comfortable movie that makes you smile at all the right times-- it’s pretty excellent. Come for Brendan Fraser playing six different characters and stay for Elizabeth Hurley’s outfits. Definitely don’t watch this if you’re looking for them to be more than friends, you little perverts.
SOURCES:
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1101051-bedazzled
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bedazzled-2000
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/20/movies/film-review-the-devil-made-him-do-it-didn-t-she.html
https://www.contactmusic.com/film/review/bedazzled2000
https://lylesmoviefiles.com/2012/08/23/bedazzled-review/
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2000/10/20/hurley-enjoys-role-in-devils-clothes/62174857007/
Love this movie. The best part is when he is playing the Colombian drug lord!