Bedazzled (2000)

Hopeless dweeb Elliot Richards is granted seven wishes by the Devil to snare Allison, the girl of his dreams, in exchange for his soul.

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers:

Peter Cook (based on the motion picture screenplay by), Peter Cook (based on the motion picture story by)

Stars:

Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, Frances O'Connor

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Fraser	...	Elliot
Elizabeth Hurley	...	The Devil
Frances O'Connor	...	Alison / Nicole
Miriam Shor	...	Carol / Penthouse Hostess
Orlando Jones	...	Dan / Esteban / Beach Jock / Sportscaster / African Party Guest
Paul Adelstein	...	Bob / Roberto / Beach Jock / Sportscaster / Lincoln Aide
Toby Huss	...	Jerry / Alejandro / Beach Jock / Sportscaster / Lance
Gabriel Casseus	...	Elliot's Cellmate
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Priest
Jeff Doucette	...	Desk Sergeant
Aaron Lustig	...	Synedyne Supervisor
Rudolf Martin	...	Raoul
Julian Firth	...	John Wilkes Booth
Iain Rogerson	...	Play Actor
Biddy Hodson	...	Play Actor

Storyline

Elliot Richardson, a socially awkward IT worker, is given seven wishes to get the girl of his dreams when he meets up with a very seductive Satan. The catch: his soul. Some of his wishes include being a 7 foot basketball star, a wealthy, powerful man, and a sensitive caring guy. But, as could be expected, the Devil must put her own little twist on each his fantasies.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | lucifer morningstar character | john wilkes booth character | soul | devil | 

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Taglines:

Meet the Devil. She's giving Elliott seven wishes. But not a chance in Hell.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, language and some drug content

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish Russian

Release Date:

20 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Al diablo con el diablo

Filming Locations:

St. Vincent Catholic Church - 621 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$48,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,106,526, 22 October 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$37,886,980, 31 December 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$90,383,208, 31 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,Regency Enterprises,KirchMedia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The devil's club, DV8, is the same building used in Fight Club (1999) as Lou's Diner. Bedazzled is set in San Francisco, whereas it is never specified in the movie where Fight Club is set.

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Goofs

(at around 36 mins) Obvious stunt double: When Elliot jumps onto the helicopter in the drug lord fantasy, we see a glimpse of his stomach that is completely hairless. In a previous scene where he is seen walking down a flight of stairs after waking up his stomach is covered in hair.

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Quotes

The Devil: [about souls] It's like your appendix. You'll never even miss it.
Elliot Richards: Yeah? Well, if it's so useless, then how come you want it so much?
The Devil: Oh, aren't you a clever one?

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Connections

References Ghost (1990)

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Soundtracks

The Name Game
Written by Lincoln Chase (as Chase Lincoln) and Shirley Ellis (as Shirley Elliston)
Performed by Brendan Fraser

User Reviews

"It's not easy being the Barbra Streisand of evil."

Even though Elizabeth Hurley plays The Devil she is a goddess.

Brendan Fraser is certainly adequate to the job of playing Elliot Richards but Ms. Hurley steals the film.

She is perfectly cast as the `Princess of Darkness' and seems to truly enjoy exposing her darker side.

Brendan Fraser turns in a real acting tour d'force playing eight different characters. Possibly because of all the widely divergent characters he is playing he is not truly great in any of them – though he is hysterically funny – due primarily to the superb script by Larry Gelbart (of television's M*A*S*H fame), Harold Ramis (who also directed) and Peter Tolan from the original screen play by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

The Devil's demons (which appear in nearly every scene in one form or another) are great supporting roles played by Orlando Jones, Paul Adelstein and Toby Huss. They provide just the right touch of devilish humour, charm and wit. Another bit of casting genius and writing is Gabriel Casseus as Elliot's cellmate who expounds on the soul and is later seen playing chess with The Devil (who cheats, of course).

In fact all of the supporting characters were perfectly cast and brilliantly executed.

The script was so tight and well written that it was almost actor-proof. It was even able to carry a moral message without slamming the audience in the head with it.

To paraphrase an idea from the film ‘you get out of life [and this film] what you put into it.

This was an all-around good film with good direction, good jokes, good acting, excellent make-up (especially on Brendan Fraser by Ben Nye, Jr.) and a good yet unobtrusive score. I recommend it highly.