Hurley devilishly fine in ‘Bedazzled’

In theaters

BEDAZZLED, directed by Harold Ramis, written by Ramis, Peter Tolan and Larry Gelbart. 93 minutes. PG-13.

Stanley Donen’s 1967 British comedy “Bedazzled” starred Peter Cook as the Devil, Raquel Welch in cameo as Lust, and Dudley Moore as an introverted dolt who unwittingly wishes himself into a series of nightmares to get the girl he loves. It was hilarious.

Now comes “Bedazzled,” a less funny remake directed by Harold Ramis that stars Brendan Fraser as a computer geek and Elizabeth Hurley as Satan, a saucy devil in a red dress who promises to find him love for the mere price of his soul.

We know Hurley is the Devil not only because she drives a black Lamborghini Diablo that growls like the Devil, nor because the slits in her tight red dresses curve up her legs like a serpent’s tail, nor because in one scene, she literally bursts into flames and sports gigantic horns thrusting out of her head, but because she hands out crisp business cards that say, quite simply, “The Devil.”

She may not have the edge of Cook’s Lucifer, but Hurley, who also burns the midnight oil as Estee Lauder’s sweetly angelic cover girl, has as much sass as Welch’s Lust. She’s great fun to watch, a Faustian powerhouse of smoky eyes and big hair who sounds exactly like Jackie Collins doing an imitation of Madonna’s pan-European accent. It’s creepy, but effective.

The film, which is at its best when Hurley is mincing about onscreen in her endless array of clothes, swirls around Elliot Richards (Fraser) and his crush on Alison (Frances O’Connor), a co-worker whose doe eyes recall Bambi’s, but with none of the fierce intelligence or depth.

She barely knows Elliot exists, but Elliot sells his soul to change all that. After signing the Devil’s contract, he’s given seven wishes to become anyone he wants – which, since he’s vague about what he wants, allows the Devil ample room for wicked turns of interpretation.

For example, when Elliot says he wants to be rich and powerful, he’s turned into a Colombian drug lord on the run from Russian drug runners. When he says he wants to be a super-sensitive man loved by Alison, he’s turned into a blubbering wimp who can’t look at sunsets without collapsing into tears.

And so on.

The film, which strings its sketch comedy together with the Band-Aid of Fraser and Hurley’s fine comedic performances (they have great chemistry together), becomes befuddled midway through when the premise wears thin with predictability – each time Elliot makes a wish, we know it’s all going to fall apart for him in a sketch that runs on too long.

Worse, there’s the persistent feeling that Ramis is building up to a preachy message about how we all should just be ourselves. He drives home that message at film’s end, and while it hardly ruins his movie or detracts from the sheer pleasure of watching Hurley camp it up onscreen, it does send “Bedazzled” into an unnecessary state of purgatory.

Grade: B-

On video

KEEPING THE FAITH, directed by Edward Norton, written by Stuart Blumberg. 129 minutes. PG-13.

Edward Norton’s “Keeping the Faith” is about a rabbi and a priest who fall in love with their spunky childhood sweetheart, a woman who’s so fresh and exciting on so many fresh and exciting levels, she’s apparently worth throwing away all the vows and commitments each man has made to his respective religion.

Lucky for this film, it’s not so much a drama as it is a comedy not really interested in the ethical dilemma it presents. Instead, it’s more interested in love – the love it wears on its sleeve – and relationships among its three central characters.

The film stars Norton as Brian, a popular Catholic priest in his Manhattan neighborhood, and his best friend, Jake (Ben Stiller), a popular rabbi in his own Manhattan neighborhood. Both men are hip, happening members of the God squad who are totally unprepared when Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman) re-enters their lives.

Once described by Brian and Jake as “a magical cross between Johnny Quest and Tatum O’Neal,” Anna now truly seems to have it all – looks, brains, success – and an unquenchable thirst for sex.

As the trio gets reacquainted, the plot predictably complicates; Jake knows he shouldn’t be swooning over a gentile and Brian is certain his vows of celibacy are being threatened by Anna’s flirtations. Still, neither man can help himself from falling Bible over Torah for Anna and so each must struggle with his conscience, which is handled so well it gives “Keeping the Faith” an unexpected depth – and loads of charm.

With Anne Bancroft terrific as Jake’s Jewish mother, “Faith” solves its dilemma too neatly in a fleeting exchange of dialogue at film’s end. But this is first and foremost a romantic comedy – and a blessedly funny one at that – something Norton, a promising director as well as a gifted actor, never loses sight of.

Grade: B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Monday in Style and Thursdays in the scene.