Hunter Lanier At no time did I laugh during "Bedazzled," other than a few abbreviated chuckles; but, regardless, I immensely enjoyed myself. My lack of laughter cannot be blamed on the film, as I rarely laugh during movies--I'm generally unemotive in all areas of life. But "Bedazzled" isn't the kind of comedy one laughs at; it's more the kind that one smiles at and thinks to himself "that's funny." In the beginning, there's Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore), a fry cook who can't quite get the nerve to ask out a waitress, Margaret, whom he's developed a rather large crush on. He's so skittish around her, one doesn't know if he's sweating from nerves or from the stove. After a botched suicide attempt, Moon is visited by the Devil (Peter Cook)--dressed like Dracula from the neck down, and Roger McGuinn from the neck up. Satan offers Moon seven wishes, which Moon burns through attempting to land a reality where he and the waitress are happily ever after.The film is split up into episodes, essentially, each being one of Moon's misguided wishes. Naturally, some are funnier than others. There are two that stand out as being above the rest: one in which Moon wishes to be a pop star--so Margaret will love him, flawless logic-- but is quickly brushed aside for the next big thing, which happens to be a psychedelic, pseudo-intellectual poetry reading. In the other, Moon is not specific enough in his request, yet again, and ends up a female nun who's attained the homosexual affection of Margaret, another nun. Moore and Cook--also the film's two writers--are great in their respective roles and have a innate chemistry. A lot of actors have played the Devil, and in many different ways, but I'm partial to Cook's approach: a calm, flighty sociopath. And a lesser film would have made Moore's apprehensive Moon the butt of joke after joke, but rather, he's played and written with care and consideration--which makes the conclusion to the film work.As funny as the film is, the concept runs out of steam after about an hour and begins repeating itself. Also, the philosophical babble about man, God and Satan wears thin, as the ideas don't go beyond anything you or I have though up in those twilight moments before falling asleep--assuming you're like me and ponder such things aimlessly. A high-concept comedy, "Bedazzled" is charming, sometimes interesting and home to a combination of denser-than-usual humor and nuns bouncing on trampolines. However, it runs its joke into the ground, just managing to resurface slightly before the finish line. God is good, and so is this movie.

Neil Welch Peter Cook and Dudley Moore worked together in a variety of media for a long time. Their double act was extremely successful on stage and TV (and also on long playing record) where the sketch format was used: this format suited them. Their movie work was far less successful, and I suspect that a large part of this was because what worked in sketches was much more difficult to sustain for a whole movie.The first joy of Bedazzled is that, like Monty Python's Holy Grail, it pulls off the trick of hanging a series of sketches in a linking narrative so that the fact that it is, essentially, a feature length sketch show is cleverly disguised.The second joy is that the linking narrative - an updating of Faust, whereby Dudley Moore's loser griddle cook is put through the mincer by Peter Cook's amiable but merciless devil - works perfectly, as do most of the episodes illustrating Moore's wishes.Although this is very much a product of the era in which it was made, it is still a very good film, and repays the time spent in watching it.

Baron Ronan Doyle Having had my view of what comedy is revolutionised by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore via the immortal Derek and Clive, I could not wait to check them out together in a film. When I finally got the chance to see Bedazzled, I was incredibly excited to see what the most ingeniously funny duo ever could offer in a cinematic medium.Moore plays Stanley Moon, a depressively lonely cook with a secret attraction to the waitress who rarely notices him. Deciding to finish himself once and for all, his suicide attempt is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the mysterious George Spiggot. Soon after revealing himself to be Satan, Spiggot offers Moon seven wishes for the simple price of his soul.Perhaps half an hour into Bedazzled, I started to feel somewhat disappointed. Though I was being made to chuckle, the opportunities for such weren't quite as frequent or hilarious as I had hoped. My expectations looking dashed, I decided to sit back and enjoy the substandard(by the high standards of Cook/Moore, that is) level of comedy I was getting. Of course, it was mere moments later that I was howling with laughter, a particular scene reducing me to fitful tears and gasps for air amidst the unwavering brilliance of gag after gag. The unending hilarity of that scene, and indeed all that followed, had me questioning whether I had just been in a mood not conducive to comedy. Cook's script is teeming with deliciously subtle jokes: whether cunning double-entendres or simple gestures. The dialogue is incomparable, benefiting from the clear chemistry of the two. Spiggot's twisted realisations of Moon's wishes are brilliant in themselves, particularly the now famous Order of St Beryl scene. My huge enjoyment of perhaps the latter two thirds of the film has me eagerly awaiting the chance to see it again.Tremendously funny, Bedazzled is entirely worthy of its cult status. Managing to convince me despite my initial cynicism, I have no doubt that further viewings will provide the chance to catch the likely dozens of laughs I missed first time around. Everybody must watch this film.

garyg-15 Besides the deft humor (some of it is best appreciated by those who are familiar with Britain of the '60s or the UK in general) there is entertaining music (written by Dudley Moore), some plot twists, and most surprisingly a moral message that can be taken away along with the humor and the music.The 2000 Bedazzled is quite different and more uneven.Oh, and there's Raquel Welch as Lust. Not exactly playing against type.The cast is uniformly excellent. For some reason this film is rarely seen on television and it is not easily found in video stores in either tape or DVD form.