6.08.2009

Bedazzled (no, not that one!)

San Luis Obispo's Sunset Drive-In has been one of my favorite places to go for most of my life. More on that later. I've seen a lot of terrible movies there, including the criminally awful Bedazzled, a 2000 film starring Brendan Fraser and Liz Hurley. And I have a very high Fraser tolerance, so you know it had to be bad.

However, I didn't know it was a remake of a trippy and awesome movie from 1967 starring the British comedy team Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. I know, I know, Dudley Moore is a big turn-off for most people, even more than B. Fraser for some, but hear me out. I caught about 3/4ths of the original Bedazzled on cable at my parents' house today, and I got hooked. It's basically a retelling of the Faust story; a doofus sells his soul to the cunning devil in return for seven wishes.

Peter Cook rocks as the Devil; you may remember him as the priest from The Princess Bride ("Mawwige. Mawwige is what brings us togetha, today."), but his performance as a joyful trickster who slowly gets outed as a malevolent douchebag is not to be missed. I'll be renting this to watch the final scenes, which I missed, but in the meantime, here's the Devil outperforming Dudley Moore with a hell-powered psychedelic superjam.



Addendum: I found an interesting article about Bedazzled's cult status and how the audience response propelled its stars in opposite directions than expected!

1 comment:

Jennifer Olson | Pretty Eats Blog said...

Polly, I think it had been over 12 years since the last time I was at Sunset! I had forgotten how wonderful it is (besides the annoying drivers and spilling snacks all over the car). It must NEVER shut down. I was encouraged by the full capacity crowd when we went Friday! :D