'Bedazzled' less than dazzling despite success

By Jina Tedmori
Daily Forty-Niner

Watching "Bedazzled" with the mute button on would have the same effect as seeing it with sound since all the substance lies in the costumes and make-up.

Though the movie starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley came in as the second-highest grossing movie this weekend with $13 .7 million, falling just under "Meet the Parents" at $16.3 million, the plot falls flat and becomes nauseatingly predictable.

With its not-so-realistic plot of a devil (Hurley) propositioning a nerd, Elliot Richards (Fraser), to give his soul for seven wishes, this remake of the 1967 film starring Dudly Moore was far from dazzling. The 2000 version of the movie deviated from the original by having a woman star as the devil. With Peter Cook as the original devil, the comedy was undeniably richer. Cook did a great job in the '67 version, though he definitely did not have Hurley's body.

The storyline went through six different scenarios and portrayed Fraser as he wished in each. Every wish was the attempt of Fraser to win the love of his co-worker Alison (Frances O'Conner).

Fraser's first wish to be rich and powerful resulted in him becoming a Columbian drug lord who speaks Spanish and Russian.

Hurley looked incredible changing outfits, make-up and hair-dos about 30 times in the movie. Production designer Rick Heinrichs did an amazing job with Hurley and Fraser.

Fraser's variations ranged from a carrot-topped, freckle-faced, push over, to a bleached-blond, giant basketball star, all done with cartoon-like accuracy.

The movie was visually stimulating with all the different costume and character changes. Overall the storyline was a pathetic attempt to remake a movie that did not need to be remade. The movie's funniest parts were the subtle jokes of the devil's work, like Hurley's job as a parking meter maid, snapping her fingers to result in an expired meter.

20th Century Fox

Elizabeth Hurley, left, and Brendan Fraser, star in "Bedazzled," which was the second-highest grossing movie last weekend.