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“Bedazzled”, a remake of the 1967 English classic starring Dudley Moore, pairs wide-eyed Brendan Fraser as a lonely San Francisco computer geek and glamorously sexy Elizabeth Hurley as, well, soul-seeking Satan who grants Fraser seven chances to get the girl.

Our Rating
Reviewer	Marisa Dean
Rated	PG 13
Running Time	93 mins
Starring	Brendan Fraser, Liz Hurley, Frances O'Connor
Screenplay	Peter Cook
Director	Harold Ramis
Website	http://www.bedazzledmovie.com/
Movie Details	The Internet Movie Database

For four years Elliot (Fraser) has admired from afar an attractive, lip-glossed co-worker named Alison (Frances O'Connor). Bumping into her in a bar after work one day, Elliot’s hopes of winning over Alison are dashed when he realises that she doesn't even know who he is. "God, I'd give anything to have that girl in my life," he whimpers under his breath.

That’s all the invitation that slinky Satan in a micro-mini red dress (Elizabeth Hurley) needs to make him an offer he can't refuse - seven wishes in exchange for his soul. "Souls are overrated," she assures the hesitant Elliot. "They're like your appendix. They don't really do anything."

Sick of being a techno geek, Elliott wishes himself into several roles, including a wealthy, powerful Colombian druglord; a dumb and towering, but minimally endowed jock; a sensitive, new-age type who cries over sunsets; and, no less, Abraham Lincoln, in order to land the girl of his dreams.

The cosmetic work is extensive but, to his credit, Fraser also brings effective changes of attitude, speech pattern and even stride to each of the character’s distinct incarnations, making him one of the most amusing light comedians of his generation.

Hurley's contribution to the movie isn't as significant, but she still emerges every bit as much the dish as in the Austin Powers pictures. And, robed in an array of skimpy red outfits, she’s a perfect fit for her mischievous part as a temptress Beelzebub. The script asks no more or less of her, on the acting front, than she can capably handle; range is not her strongpoint.

O'Connor, best-known for her part in the recent adaptation of Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park,” doesn't have much to do other than smile sweetly in a series of bad hairdos (one for every wish), but she fulfils her duties as an approachable dream-girl and proves herself to be a worthy comic foil for Fraser.

Written and directed by Harold Ramis, ("Animal House", “Analyse This”) "Bedazzled" revolves around the corny lesson that "people should learn to be themselves". This standard Hollywood bumff is so commonplace that it restricts the movie from ever being anything more than...well, Hollywood bumff.

Not that this really matters, because for thousands of hot-blooded men out there, “Bedazzled” will be about nothing more than Elizabeth Hurley saucing it up as a sexy incarnation of the Devil. And just as much as guys are eye-groping Hurley, hordes of drooling female fans will be flocking to theatres to appreciate Fraser’s “finer attributes”.

“Bedazzled” has a lot of sex appeal, which is the main thing the movie has going for it. The "be careful what you wish for" story is instantly forgettable, but it offers a diverting couple of hours at the movies. As just that, it’s certain to please more than a few ticket buyers seeking light entertainment.