The Devil and Max Devlin

Why is it that stories about people who make deals with Satan stays so popular even though, with two or three exceptions, the stuff themselves aren’t really engaging? Probably because, life being what we see, most of us think that we’d be interesting in a minute. Vincent Canby said in his review, “The humiliation is that no one (or should that be No One?) has ever come by with an offer, even on bad days when we'd sign anything in return for a toaster, a vacuum cleaner or a set of dishes of the sort that seem to have become the principal business of many American savings institutions.”

Canby went on to say, “This gloomy introspection is prompted by ''The Devil and Max Devlin,'' the new comedy from Walt Disney Productions that is neither the worst nor, certainly, the best of the lot.”

The movie, released in 1981, is about a wildly cruel Los Angeles landlord named Max Devlin, played by Elliott Gould, the type of person whose policy is “no children, no pets and no unnecessary repairs,” and whose accidental death, in the first five minutes of the movie, starts the old story in gears.

Once he’s in Satan’s home, Max is met by one of Satan’s minor workers, Barney Satin, played by Bill Cosby with, as Canby said, “the detached weariness of an insurance adjuster who is sincerely trying to find satisfaction in his work.”

Barney gives Max a second chance: Max can escape Satan’s home if he goes back to earth and, in three months, returns the soul contracts signed by three “fresh, unsullied innocents.” These are an ambitious but not innately talented rock singer (Julie Budd), a motorcycle racer (David Knell), who’s so clumsy he has trouble starting his bike, and a small boy (Adam Rich), whose deepest wish is to find the right man to marry his widowed mother (Susan Anspach).

Canby said, “The film was written by Mary Rodgers, who wrote the screenplay for the successful ''Freaky Friday,'' and directed by Steven Hilliard Stern, who earlier directed the not-so-successful ''Running.''” The performances are nice though, with one exception, not really memorable. Canby ended his review by saying, “The exception is the performance of Miss Budd, a young woman who looks and sounds spookily like Barbra Streisand in her pre-superstar days, which, for a talented performer, may be a curse that only a pact with the devil could exorcise.”

I know that this movie isn’t a good one, but to be completely honest, I was entertained by it. I can understand if anyone doesn’t like this movie, but I will say if you want, check this movie out.

Well listen, I will be doing an additional review every time I finish a franchise off, which will be once in a while. Stay tuned tomorrow when I review the next franchise in this year’s “Halloween Month.”