PopHorror Let's Get Scared
As mentioned many times previously, most remakes are unnecessary or worse. Then you have ones that were actually good such as The Thing and Ocean’s 11. There was another one that many felt was just as good as the original, and that was the 2000 comedy BEDAZZLED.
To understand BEDAZZLED the 2000 movie, we have to go back to the original in 1967. The legendary British comedy duo of Peter Cook (The Princess Bride – 1987) and Dudley Moore (10 – 1979) came up with a funny twist on the old Faustian deal where you sell your soul for whatever you want. Since the plot is very similar to the 2000 movie, I won’t go into it too much. British comedy was mostly Monty Python but Dudley Moore & Peter Cook carved out a niche that people still look on fondly today.
The idea of remaking BEDAZZLED seems like blasphemy until the man in director’s chair turned out to be the legendary Harold Ramis. The man behind Stripes, SCTV, Second City Comedy, Animal House, Ghostbusters, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Groundhog Day and most anything that was actually funny from the 70’s to the 90’s was tasked to direct BEDAZZLED.
So what was BEDAZZLED about? The dopey and the socially awkward Elliot (Brendan Fraser – The Whale 2022) is your typical annoying officer worker that nobody likes. Bob (Paul Adelstein – Prison Break), Jerry (Toby Huss – The Adventures of Pete & Pete – 1993), Daniel (Orlando Jones – MAD TV 1996) and Carol (Miriam Shor – Pizza 2005) want to be anywhere but near him yet always runs into him at work or at the local bar. One night the group ditches him when he needs help asking out their co-worker Alison (Frances O’Connor – The Conjuring 2 2016).
After saying out loud he’d give anything to have her go with him, out of nowhere comes The Devil (Elizabeth Hurley – Austin Powers 1997) to make him a deal. She’ll grant him 7 wishes but after number 7, she gets his soul. He agrees and he starts wishing for him to be anything but his actual self. If he’s ever unhappy, all he has to do is punch in the code on a beeper (naturally its 666). The twist is The Devil ruins each and every wish with a twist thrown into each one. Will he be able to thwart the devil or will Elliot be her next victim? Watch the movie to find out.
The bread and butter of BEDAZZLED was the comedy. Brendan Fraser always could play the loveable goofball and Elizabeth Hurley was red hot in those days coming off Austin Powers in 1997. The fact this was a remake of a British comedy and had one of the hottest British actresses play The Devil was perfect casting. The real stars are the supporting actors. Paul Adelstein, Toby Huss, Orlando Jones, Miriam Shor and Frances O’Connor play a variety of roles depending on what the wish is, delivering funny one-liners in each one. Orlando Jones being a veteran of sketch comedy such as MAD TV shines and I don’t know how Brendan Fraser kept a straight face while saying “Dr. Ngegitigegitibaba”. It still makes ME laugh 25 years later. Add in Rudolph Martin (NCIS 2004) and Brian Doyle Murray (Wayne’s World 1992) and you got a cast that’s no stranger to getting emotion out of people.
How did BEDAZZLED do at the box office? It was number one in the UK when it was released in November 2000 and number two in the United States. Why number two? Unfortunately for Bedazzled, it came out the same week as another legendary comedy, Meet The Parents. Critics thought Bedazzled was lackluster but who gives a schmidt what they think? Like any remake, it takes the source material and makes it their own. Those expecting British humor are going to be disappointed since this was written by Ramis and Larry Gelbart, the architect of the TV show M*A*S*H*.
A fun-fact about BEDAZZLED was Brendan Fraser was originally going to star in The Wedding Planner with Jennifer Lopez but dropped out to work on this. Going from Jennifer Lopez to Elizabeth Hurley isn’t exactly a downgrade. The bottom line the humor is sharp, the jokes are hilarious, the acting is fantastic and its made people laugh for 25 years now. Brendan Fraser finally got his due winning Best Actor in 2022 for his emotionally draining role in The Whale although Elizabeth Hurley dropped out A-List movies in 2004. Still, with a legacy that includes Passenger 57, Austin Powers, Serving Sara and Bedazzled, Hurley definitely has a legacy to be proud of.
