Bedazzled

There’s a particular brand of early 2000s comedy that lives in the strange in-between space of earnest goofiness and low-key chaos. Bedazzled, a remake of the 1967 Peter Cook and Dudley Moore cult classic, is a prime example. It’s kind of charming, kind of messy, and kind of obsessed with its own gimmick. But honestly? It’s a good time—if you keep your expectations closer to “Saturday afternoon background movie” than “underrated comedy gem.”

Directed by Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters), Bedazzled is a slick, devil-wrapped morality tale that never takes itself too seriously. And while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel—or even rotate it all that smoothly—it coasts along on Brendan Fraser’s elastic face and Elizabeth Hurley’s weaponized charm.

Let’s break this soul-selling business down.

Plot: Sell Your Soul, Get a Montage

Fraser stars as Elliot Richards, a terminally awkward tech support guy who lives in a state of constant rejection and professional invisibility. He’s the kind of guy who uses phrases like “Hey, big guy!” and is met with blank stares. He’s also hopelessly obsessed with Alison (Frances O’Connor), a woman he barely knows but has already written several imaginary love sonnets about.

Enter the Devil—literally. Elizabeth Hurley appears in red leather and stilettos, sipping cocktails and quoting legalese like a car salesman with a law degree. She offers Elliot the classic deal: seven wishes in exchange for his soul. And because Elliot is the human embodiment of “sure, why not,” he takes the deal. What follows is a series of wish-fulfillment vignettes that swing wildly from hilarious to head-scratchingly strange.

Each wish is its own mini movie: Elliot as a seven-foot-tall basketball star with the IQ of a toaster. Elliot as a Latin drug lord in a telenovela nightmare. Elliot as a hyper-sensitive romantic poet in an aggressively beige Victorian drama. And so on. Each version brings him closer to Alison—but with a catch, naturally, because the Devil loves the fine print.

The Devil Wears Prada (and Also Absolutely Everything Else)

Let’s just say this now: Elizabeth Hurley is having the time of her life. She’s not just the Devil—she’s also a schoolteacher, a traffic cop, a nurse, a lawyer, a French maid, and basically every dominatrix-coded profession in the adult Halloween aisle. Her Devil is more cheeky than sinister, less Mephistopheles and more “your sassy friend who keeps giving you bad advice but insists it’s empowering.” And it works. She’s not terrifying, but she’s a delight. Every time she shows up in another outfit, the movie winks at you like, “Yes, we know exactly what we’re doing.”

Brendan Fraser, meanwhile, proves again that he was one of the most underrated comic actors of his time. His commitment to each version of Elliot is admirable. Whether he’s delivering aggressively emotional slam poetry in a floppy poet shirt or sweating buckets as a monstrous jock with a tragically tiny brain, he goes all in. Fraser doesn’t coast—he leaps, face-first, into the absurdity.

So… Does It Work?

Kind of. The film plays like a series of loosely connected sketches stitched together by a threadbare plot, but Ramis keeps the tone light and breezy enough that you don’t mind the seams. The jokes don’t always land—some are straight out of the “oof, early 2000s” playbook—but there’s a harmlessness to it all that makes it hard to dislike.

What keeps it from leveling up to “must-see status” is that it never quite figures out what it wants to say beyond “don’t be someone you’re not.” The original Bedazzled had a darker, more cynical edge that leaned into satire. This version trades that for flashy set pieces and punchline-driven gags. It’s like ordering a spicy curry and getting a mild tikka masala: still tasty, just not what you were promised.

But to its credit, Bedazzled sticks the landing. The final act actually delivers some real character growth and a surprisingly wholesome ending, with Elliot learning to like himself as he is—which, considering the era of Mean Girl Rom-Coms and toxic masculinity comedy, feels downright radical.

Final Verdict: A Deal Worth Half the Soul

Bedazzled isn’t a masterpiece. It’s not even the best Brendan Fraser comedy (Blast from the Past still wears that crown). But it’s a fun, weird, occasionally cringey ride through the sins of wishful thinking. Hurley is iconic, Fraser is game, and the movie has enough heart to make you overlook the fact that it’s basically a feature-length episode of What If…? for rom-com nerds.

Rating: 3.5/5 – I liked it. Imperfect, but irresistibly goofy with just enough wit to keep your soul intact. And honestly, who doesn’t want to see Brendan Fraser in a mesh shirt and eyeliner at least once?

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