Review

This movie was like making a good sandwich with Wonder Bread. The beginning is slow, and I didn't like the end, but the middle was funny as hell.

It takes a long time for this movie to really get started. Elliot Richardson is such a loser at the beginning that it is painful to watch. He isn't even one of those lovable losers like Rob Schneider's copy man. He is a painfully annoying loser. His office mates are probably the biggest jerks that anyone has ever had the misfortune of working with.

Just about the time I was getting really uncomfortable watching such annoying characters the movie finally starts. Once Elliot meets the devil the movie gets pretty good. Parts are a lot like `George of The Jungle.' There are a lot of really corny lines, and site gags. Brendan Fraser does those type of lines really well, and I really enjoyed them.

Elizabeth Hurley has been panned for her performance, but I thought she did quite well. She seemed a perfect fit for the devil, and I could really picture her as a devilish vixen toying with Elliot's mind. A lot like Lucy holding the ball for Charlie Brown, the devil gets Elliot's trust only to pull everything out from under him. The idea of the devil being a vixen works better than an old man, but Peter Cook is a better actor than Elizabeth Hurley. Anyway, just being Elizabeth Hurley is worth a few bucks right there.

The movie built well on itself. Each wish was a little faster paced and funnier than the last. Right as his wishes were coming to an end I was thinking he was close to a classic.

Then the end came. The last half hour of this thing turns from a corny comedy (a very good one at that) to a sappy fable (and not the greatest either). It wasn't awful, it just was a bit cookie cutter and corporate. Everything was put into its nice little package, and everyone feels good at the end.

All in all, not a bad way to spend two hours.