Meet the Devil. In fact, meet the nicest Devil you've ever seen on screen. With a Devil this friendly, it's really hard to take the premise of this film seriously. But since it's a Harold Ramis comedy with a slightly sinister twist, forgiving this one oversight provides for a pleasant date film that's one notch above Analyze This yet still falls short of Groundhog's Day.

Brendan Fraser plays Elliot, a customer service technician that also happens to be a spineless romantic smitten with a girl that doesn't know he exists. Enter the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley) with seven wishes in exchange for his soul, but the real story here is what Elliot learns about himself while trying to arrange the perfect shortcut to happiness. 

Another remake from a Hollywood running out of original ideas, this one takes the edge off by going for broke on the mischievous twists the Devil works into each misworded wish and steers away from the religious aspects except where it has to. Instead of being worried about his immortal soul, Elliot concentrates more upon correcting prior mistakes and getting his soul's worth out of the deal. The Devil, in kind, seems more sympathetic toward Elliot's situation, more interested in teaching him about himself than being the Prince of Lies. The combination of the two seems to undermine the very subject matter the plot is built upon.

To the film's credit, the plot follows Elliot gaining knowledge and confidence in the most humiliating ways possible, and that's where Brendan Fraser comes into his own. Playing up each "alternate Elliot" throughout each wish, Fraser shows off his comedic range. The rest of the laughs are divided equally among the supporting cast as part of each wish and Hurley's keeping busy with other Devilish (but not deadly) mischief. Again, even with a subject matter like the Devil buying souls, nothing ever really feels sinister about the film, and it maintains its lightheartedness throughout.

Also from director Harold Ramis, Groundhog's Day shares Bedazzled's lack of evil (we never discover why Bill Murray keeps reliving the same day over and over) and, in spirit, a similar conclusion. In Groundhog's Day, however, it worked; in Bedazzled, we expect more from the Devil because we KNOW it's the Devil, and that's distracting. As long as too much isn't expected, Bedazzled is an enjoyable film, but don't expect the same kind of sympathy from the Devil if she ever comes after YOUR soul.

(2.5 out of 4)