"Handsome Devil" by CMoon
Bruce Payne asThe Devil [you say] in Switch
Gender bending is a favorite recurring theme in Hollywood
movies and for director Blake Edwards (who also directed Victor, Victoria). Switch, one of the better attempts
to tweak our collective noses on the subject of gender roles, no doubt
got quite a few huzzahs from feminists and college professors who teach
gender studies. It's even listed in the textbook, A New Psychology of Women, under an
assignment entitled "Gender Transgressions in the Movies." Who
would ever have imagined that a Bruce film would be studied in
psychology classes!
As the movie starts, we see Steve Brooks, a notorious lady's man who thinks he's God's gift to women. God, as we see, has other
ideas, and so do some of the women
Steve has
two-timed. So--classic macho
man nightmare--three of these seriously disgruntled women gang up to
murder him after seducing him (pardon the expression) into thinking
that they
want to have a four-way with him. Oops, better watch it, you macho
types, you never know...
But now that Steve is dead, God isn't sure if Steve should go to Heaven or not. He's been so bad, he deserves to go to...well, not exactly through those Pearly Gates, more like down to Permanent Barbecue. Ouch, keep that spit turning... However, Steve has one chance to redeem himself--find one woman who truly loves him for who he really is. Otherwise, he becomes the personal property of the Devil (Bruce). H-m-m, tempting proposition, actually.
But there's a catch to all this. The Devil himself has an idea, a suggestion he talks over with the Higher Authorities [two voices, one male, one female--What made you think God is just a male? ;) ]. "Teach Steve a lesson, make it impossible for him to work his macho machinations on any more unsuspecting females." And how is this done? "Make him a woman."
Now the fun really begins. Steve, now Amanda (luscious Ellen Barkin), gets to find out what it's like to be a woman. Poor macho
Steve has to
learn to deal with makeup, high heels, decolletage, and, oh yes,
panting, pawing macho males just like him. (Yikes, keep your hand off
my...) You think
it's easy to walk in high heels, Steve? No, Steve doesn't think
so at all as he totters around so pitifully. It takes a while for
Steve/Amanda to get the hang of being female. Sitting down with his/her
legs
spread wide open just like a guy...Oops, Amanda, you're giving everyone
a
show. That's a no-no. A number of other hilarious scenes we can't
describe on this PG-rated site also make points about, shall we say,
behavioral/anatomical differences between males and females. But with
all the comedy, there is a serious point--the device of a male being
forced to see the perspective of a female allows the director to raise
important questions about the treatment of women as sex objects and how
crummy that feels to women. We women knew it all along; now maybe
more guys can get it too.
Enter the Devil. Was there ever a more delightfully debonair Devil than Bruce? We don't think so. Showing his flair for comedy,
Bruce is
all smooth charm, flashing white teeth, twinkling eyes, devil-may-care
(as it were) smile. Popping up suddenly from time to time,
leering and smiling, trying to tempt Steve/Amanda away from his/her
soul-saving goal. And what a tempting Devil indeed. Sin never
looked so yummy...But back to the plot. In one delicious scene, as the
Devil is inching closer and closer to Amanda, moving in for the kill,
as it were, he hints at what he has in mind. When Amanda doesn't quite
get it, he says "Did you ever see Rosemary’s
Baby?" Amanda, we have to report, is not the least bit
amused. We can't tell you what her scathing comeback is; you'll have to
hear it for yourself. 
In truth, this would be a fun movie even if Bruce weren't in it. However, we think casting him as the Devil was perfect. The Devil in a comedy needs to be charming, only subtly sinister, not fire-and-brimstone evil. Gorgeous doesn't hurt either. We need to imagine that Amanda could almost be tempted (we certainly were!). Bruce brings just the right touch of (dare we say it again) devilish charm to the role, showing viewers once again that the man who can do villains so extraordinarily well is also a gifted comic actor.
© Copyright 2004 and 2006 Bruce's Angels
As the movie starts, we see Steve Brooks, a notorious lady's man who thinks he's God's gift to women. God, as we see, has other
ideas, and so do some of the women
Steve has
two-timed. So--classic macho
man nightmare--three of these seriously disgruntled women gang up to
murder him after seducing him (pardon the expression) into thinking
that they
want to have a four-way with him. Oops, better watch it, you macho
types, you never know...But now that Steve is dead, God isn't sure if Steve should go to Heaven or not. He's been so bad, he deserves to go to...well, not exactly through those Pearly Gates, more like down to Permanent Barbecue. Ouch, keep that spit turning... However, Steve has one chance to redeem himself--find one woman who truly loves him for who he really is. Otherwise, he becomes the personal property of the Devil (Bruce). H-m-m, tempting proposition, actually.
But there's a catch to all this. The Devil himself has an idea, a suggestion he talks over with the Higher Authorities [two voices, one male, one female--What made you think God is just a male? ;) ]. "Teach Steve a lesson, make it impossible for him to work his macho machinations on any more unsuspecting females." And how is this done? "Make him a woman."
Now the fun really begins. Steve, now Amanda (luscious Ellen Barkin), gets to find out what it's like to be a woman. Poor macho
Steve has to
learn to deal with makeup, high heels, decolletage, and, oh yes,
panting, pawing macho males just like him. (Yikes, keep your hand off
my...) You think
it's easy to walk in high heels, Steve? No, Steve doesn't think
so at all as he totters around so pitifully. It takes a while for
Steve/Amanda to get the hang of being female. Sitting down with his/her
legs
spread wide open just like a guy...Oops, Amanda, you're giving everyone
a
show. That's a no-no. A number of other hilarious scenes we can't
describe on this PG-rated site also make points about, shall we say,
behavioral/anatomical differences between males and females. But with
all the comedy, there is a serious point--the device of a male being
forced to see the perspective of a female allows the director to raise
important questions about the treatment of women as sex objects and how
crummy that feels to women. We women knew it all along; now maybe
more guys can get it too.Enter the Devil. Was there ever a more delightfully debonair Devil than Bruce? We don't think so. Showing his flair for comedy,
Bruce is
all smooth charm, flashing white teeth, twinkling eyes, devil-may-care
(as it were) smile. Popping up suddenly from time to time,
leering and smiling, trying to tempt Steve/Amanda away from his/her
soul-saving goal. And what a tempting Devil indeed. Sin never
looked so yummy...But back to the plot. In one delicious scene, as the
Devil is inching closer and closer to Amanda, moving in for the kill,
as it were, he hints at what he has in mind. When Amanda doesn't quite
get it, he says "Did you ever see Rosemary’s
Baby?" Amanda, we have to report, is not the least bit
amused. We can't tell you what her scathing comeback is; you'll have to
hear it for yourself. In truth, this would be a fun movie even if Bruce weren't in it. However, we think casting him as the Devil was perfect. The Devil in a comedy needs to be charming, only subtly sinister, not fire-and-brimstone evil. Gorgeous doesn't hurt either. We need to imagine that Amanda could almost be tempted (we certainly were!). Bruce brings just the right touch of (dare we say it again) devilish charm to the role, showing viewers once again that the man who can do villains so extraordinarily well is also a gifted comic actor.
The Devil is in the details and here are
ours:
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Comic
Actor Musical Slide Show
Bruce's Angels Home Page
"Welcome to Hell"
Narrated by The Devil
Hosted on You Tube
Bruce's Angels Home Page
"Welcome to Hell"
Narrated by The Devil
Hosted on You Tube
© Copyright 2004 and 2006 Bruce's Angels