Cook and Moore: an Abbott and Costello for brainiacs.

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore are my all-time favorite comedy team. Arising from the "Beyond the Fringe" troupe of the 1950s, they went on to create some of the wittiest comedy routines of the 1960s. Taking off brilliantly on traditional British class divisions, they resembled an Abbott and Costello for members of Mensa, with Cook's sarcastic, sneering upper-class snob scoring endless points off Moore's sweet, hapless working-class schlemiel. Unfortunately, they never found a good screen vehicle for their comic personae--except for Bedazzled, directed by Stanley Donen from Cook's screenplay. Moore plays a short-order cook on the verge of suicide because of unrequited love; up pops the Devil, played by Cook, who offers Moore seven chances at the girl of his dreams in exchange for his soul. Of course, the Devil being the Devil (and Cook being Cook), he can't resist skewing each chance just a tiny bit...The film is a screamingly funny yet cohesive string of bits as Cook spoils each of Moore's attempts at happiness. The physical humor (wait till you see the nuns on trampolines) is every bit as wonderful as the verbal barbs (wait till you hear Cook explain how Mussolini's soul eluded his grasp). For those who are sufficiently attentive, there is also much witty and pointed discussion of traditional Christian theology and ethics. Eleanor Bron (as the girl of Moore's dreams) and Raquel Welch (as the living embodiment of Lust) are delicious in more ways than one. Stanley Donen, no stranger to directing films based on tricky screenplays, does full justice to Cook's mordant, wildly imaginative vision. Cook's career floundered in the 70s after the duo split up, and Moore's solo stardom sagged after a few early successes. Now that Cook is dead, far too young, and Moore is desperately ill, we can be grateful for Bedazzled and mourn that it had no successors.

A Brilliant, Fresh, Irreverent Cult Comedy

How wonderful that 20th Century Fox finally chose to distribute Stanley Donen's 1967 masterpiece, starring Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, and Eleanor Bron, at a reasonable price! For years, this film cost an astonishingly high $60.00, and one could only locate copies in obscure video stores... Once, I caught it on A&E at 4am... Sad, considering the value of the picture.

Hilarious moments and scenes abound in this mod-ish update of Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus", all thanks to the pairing of Cook and Moore, of "Beyond the Fringe" fame, and a wonderful performance from Bron, as their straight woman. As Leonard Maltin and Danny Peary observed, "Bedazzled" revels in sacrilege, simply because Donen and screenwriter Cook make God the villain and Cook's Satan (ie. "George Spigott") the devilishly fun hero... who spends his time provoking spite in humans by having pigeons "release their doo-dahs" on the heads of vicars and smashing up crates of fresh bananas that will be sent to market. But it's still a barrel of laughs... irreverent, fresh, and unique... and inventive, as well, with an animated sequence and musical numbers.

Great bits include: the scene in which Cook transforms Moore into a nun of the Order of Leaping Berelians (with their sacred trampolines), the appearances of the "Seven Deadly Sins" (particularly Vanity, who carries a giant mirror affixed to himself, can't see around it and ends up crashing into everything), and, in my favorite moment, Moore's transformation into a teenage pop idol on a Hullabaloo-like television show.

It's embarrassing and a little silly that Harold Ramis decided to "remake" this film, with a cast that includes Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. Doubtless, he probably wishes he'd written and directed the original. But you can't improve on something that's already a masterpiece.. particularly if you're Ramis. Anyway... if that's what it takes to convince MGM to rerelease the original at a more reasonable price, I suppose every cloud does have a silver lining.

I don't even wanna see the remake!

Ok, I only saw this movie once, so I don't remember all of the details properly, so I will try to keep my thought short. (besides, everyone else has filled in most of the details) The movie had me hooked with one of Cook's opening lines about suicide being the last thing you should do. But, I must disagree with those who have considered Cook's role as that of a hero. He was quite likeable on the screen, but I knew someone like that in real life, and it wasn't a fun experience. Ah, but the best part is the end where the devil ends up hosed and Dudly Moore's charactor has his life back. And, I liked how God was portrayed as a nasty type. It's kind of like the moral of the story is that you shouldn't trust either of them. This movie is on my must find DVD list, so I can put it on the shelf next to Dr Strangelove. Not that it is as good as Dr. Strangelove, but it comes closer than a lot of other comedy movies.