(October 31, 2000) — “What if I told you I had the power to give you anything and everything you’ve ever dreamed of?” Yeah, maybe later. How about a movie review for now? “Bedazzled” stars Brendan Fraser as a computer nerd lacking friends and love who meets the devil, Elizabeth Hurley, and is granted seven wishes in exchange for his soul. Chasing after the girl of his dreams, Fraser’s character Elliot goes through a series of wishes, all of which end up in some kind disappointment thanks to the devil. Not even funny enough to be considered a comedy, this remake of the 1970s version starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook is nothing but an all-star pretty people cast with bad acting and not enough imagination. Minus the red outfits and the many references to the “underworld” and competition with God, Hurley hardly has the appearance of anything evil. She’s never convincing enough in the beginning when trying to get Elliot to believe she’s the devil. Hurley just does not seem very evil at all. And the movie suffers greatly because of this huge flaw. Rather, she seems more like the caring friend on whose shoulder Fraser cries every time something goes wrong. There is even an “I’ll miss you” scene between Elliot and the Devil at the end. In fact, Frances O’Connor, who plays Elliot’s dream girl Allison, does a way better job at being mean because she breaks Elliot’s heart in his fantasies far more times than “the devil” does, at first cheating on him, then getting sick of him. Fraser, who overplays the nerd-act in the beginning, does a fairly commendable job playing the other five characters relating to his recent wish. However, only certain scenes deserve some praise. In his first wish to be rich and powerful, Elliot is turned into a drug lord. Fraser’s surprise at his material possessions and ability to speak Spanish helps convince the viewer that he actually is new to the lifestyle and excited about getting his wish. However, he adapts too quickly to the second role as a disgustingly sensitive guy who soon loses Allison to some bullies. Although Fraser is good at what he does, in many of the scenarios, the punchline is often very obvious and the viewers are waiting for it to end so they can guess what will happen in the next scene. The same four people who are his disinterested co-workers in the beginning follow him in his scenarios. They are actually his friends in his wishes, but end up turning on him every time, making the characters plain too mean – even for a movie. As the film is in its last few minutes, the moviegoers packed into the theatre find themselves still searching for a punch line or any meaning in it. For big fans of Hurley and Fraser, the wise choice would be to wait for the video to come out. ‘Bedazzled’ is rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, language and some drug use.