Bedazzled (2000) - Was it secretly about parenting failures?
Okay, so I rewatched Bedazzled (2000) the other night... and maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive these days as a parent, but I couldn't help but see a HUGE undercurrent of parenting commentary in it. Like, Elliot's inherent awkwardness and inability to connect with women? It's played for laughs, but honestly, it screams 'lack of guidance' to me. He's basically trying to find a shortcut to intimacy because he never learned the basics! Think about it: He wishes to be sensitive, intelligent, and... well, you know. Each wish highlights a perceived lack of essential qualities. Those qualities often stem from a supportive upbringing! The movie even makes little digs at the characters playing different versions of Elliot's parents. The Colombian drug lord's mother is overbearing and controlling. The wealthy intellectual's parents are dismissive. All these scenarios felt like exaggerated outcomes of different parenting styles, all leading to Elliot's continued failures. The 'sensitive' wish was interesting too, like a response to the stereotype that men shouldn't show emotion. And the Devil, played by Elizabeth Hurley, is basically the ultimate enabler parent, isn't she? She gives him what he wants without any regard for the consequences. Total wish-fulfillment parenting gone wrong! I'm not saying it's a perfect analogy, but I think it's something, right? Maybe it's just me projecting my own parental anxieties onto a silly comedy, but I see a cautionary tale about raising well-adjusted, emotionally intelligent kids! It's definitely a fun movie regardless, but it's got me thinking about what kind of foundation we give our kids. Maybe I'm overthinking it, LOL. But I wanted to see if anyone else felt that way.
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