Brendan Frasier has got it. He is capable and
wide-ranging, from Blast From the Past, to George of the Jungle,
to The Mummy, to the absolutely serious and profound Gods and
Monsters.
Here he is granted 7 wishes in exchange for
his soul, but there are those nasty little details. "Where the Devil
is", as folks are wont to say.
Playing against an insufficiently devilish
Elizabeth Hurley, Brendan does not seem destined so much for pain and misery in
hell as he does for inconvenience in afterlife. And hell could have been a
little more imagineered. My sense of it is that he should have been given a
more rigorous battle against the devil, but it still is a fun time.
And I found myself laughing all the harder
because I saw a little too much of myself in the Frasier character - though
that rear-view is not so sacrosanct as I might like to think. As in RHPS,
"Don't Dream It, BE IT!"
Of course, the seven wishes granted our
nerdy hero are the whole point of seeing the film - I will not endeavour to
ruin them for you. Suffice it to say I would not have recognized Frasier in at
least two of the roles - period, though there is the fundamental part of his
character that does not change - social awkwardness when it counts.
All in all, it is a fine family
film.
I do wish we could see more of Frasier's
multiple personae in future films, whatever they may be.
And I look forward to more of his work,
which is really what all actors want from us.
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