25 Years Later, Brendan Fraser’s Bedazzled Is the Devilishly Delightful Halloween Rewatch You Need
Harold Ramis’ Bedazzled, the 2000 remake starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley, was released on Oct. 20, 2000. It is a modern take on the 1967 British original by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and the film centers on a Faustian bargain in which the Devil offers seven wishes in exchange for a man’s soul.
Overview
The film was directed by Harold Ramis and released on Oct. 20, 2000. It is explicitly a remake of the 1967 British film written by Peter Cook and originally starring Dudley Moore. In both versions, the central premise involves a man who makes a deal with the Devil: in exchange for his soul, he receives a series of wishes that are granted with ironic consequences.
Cast and premise
Brendan Fraser plays the protagonist, Elliot, and Elizabeth Hurley plays the Devil. Frances O’Connor appears as Allison, the woman Elliot desires. In the remake, Hurley’s Devil is presented as a fashion-conscious femme fatale who frequently changes outfits. Elliot is an awkward, socially isolated office worker who pursues Allison and accepts the Devil’s offer.
Wishes and narrative twists
The film uses the structure of seven wishes to explore different scenarios. Elliot receives a beeper to place requests, and if something goes wrong he must dial 666 to contact the Devil. Examples of how wishes are twisted include situations where Elliot becomes a Colombian drug lord to fulfill wealth-and-marriage desires, and another scenario where he is a basketball star with an unexpected physical drawback. Other wishes turn him into an overly emotional man and lead to repeated failures to attain Allison.
Faustian and cautionary themes
Like the classic Faust story and the cautionary tale The Monkey’s Paw, the film frames wishes as granted with unintended consequences. However, the remake emphasizes that Elliot consciously trades his soul in exchange for his wishes, making the moral stakes explicit.
Performances
Brendan Fraser plays Elliot across multiple scenarios, portraying a range of behaviors from awkwardness to more confident personas as the wishes progress. Elizabeth Hurley plays the Devil with a consistent femme fatale characterization. Frances O’Connor appears as the object of Elliot’s affections. These casting and role choices shape how each wish sequence reads on screen.
Runtime and availability
The film’s runtime is reported as just under 90 minutes before the credits. As of this publication, the 2000 Bedazzled remake is streaming on Hulu.
