In this new Hollywood flick, Brendan Fraser (“”Blast from the Past””) plays a lonely, degenerate technical support advisor, Elliot Richards. He has absolutely no friends — even his co-workers despise him. Though he has a good heart, the harder he tries, the more they push him away and make a mockery of him. All he wants is a girlfriend who will love him, but he has had a crush on a girl in the office for four years, and she does not even know he is alive.
One night Richards runs into the devil (Elizabeth Hurley, “”Austin Powers””), who is a sexy seductress, to his surprise. They make a typical deal — his soul for seven wishes. Sure, Richards can make any little wish his heart desires, but the devil always knows how to undermine his wishes to make his life a living hell. Can being rich, powerful and in love be all that he has dreamed of, or is he forgetting to fill in some of the details?
Fraser does a great job interpreting the role of a socially inept fool, so guileless and considerate that he is a doormat. He displays hilarious reactions to the catastrophes that arise from each wish he makes.
Hurley also gives a surprisingly acceptable performance as a fierce, naughty and downright nasty Lucifer. The storyline and the situations are not surprisingly novel, but “”Bedazzled”” does have its moments.
One thing is for sure: The costumes and use of color in this film are fantastic, and you will not leave the theater without having had at least one laugh.
