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The Devil and Max Devlin

Play trailer Poster for The Devil and Max Devlin PG 1981 1h 36m Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
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17% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 26% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
The devil's helper (Bill Cosby) will let a slumlord (Elliott Gould) go free if he can lure three innocents to the bad place.
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The Devil and Max Devlin

Critics Reviews

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Joe Pollack St. Louis Post-Dispatch Given the arrant simplicity of the story and its transparent obviousness from start to finish, all interest wanes rapidly, and though Cosby tries hard to create something out of nothing, he falls short just the way the film does. Jun 16, 2022 Full Review Time Out The script has its moments, especially when Cosby is around as the Devil's aide, but the film finally subsides in a welter of structural flaws and heartwarming sentiment. Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times The performances are attractive though, with one exception, not especially memorable. Rated: 3/5 Aug 30, 2004 Full Review TV Guide Despite an encouraging start, the film degenerates into typical Disney sentimentality. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 21, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 19, 2005 Full Review Daniel M. Kimmel Worcester Telegram & Gazette Rated: 1/5 Feb 8, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David T Elliott Gould was always one of my favorite actors. I feel that he has never been given the credit he deserves and that is so unfair. This Disney movie is forgotten today but it is really a lot of fun for the whole family even though it involves the Devil. Its so strange because at the time it was made Cosby was a beloved star and people wouldn't accept him as an evil character! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/26/25 Full Review Blu B Given b=Bill Cosby's track record of big screen work I went in expecting a burning grease fire. What I got was a minor fire. Add Disney into it and your imagination runs wild as to how bad this could be. It's actually kind of ok. The music is actually kind of decent with the singing numbers but everything else is forgettable. It's not that broken and just kind of mediocre overall. The problems stem from the terribly flat humor, the 3 plot lines never tie in together in a cohesive way, Gould is terrible when trying to do comedic scenes, the Hell scenes feel like a completely different film, and the tone changes completely in he second half. This is kind of like Click where how this begins as a terrible comedy completely loses the comedy almos entirely in the second half and becomes a serious drama. Than at times it feels like a Star is Born with so many musical numbers and while it's not terrible, it's a complete mess tone wise. This should've cut all the scenes with the racing kid, tied in the singing/love story lines better, and cut the humor entirely. Gould is clearly a serious actor who is very uncomfortable doing humor. It's a interesting concept that also needed a bit more devlopment in the first half as it feels terribly rushed setting things up as well to make room for stupid flat gags. It isn't a trainwreck but the good stuff here isn't worth sitting through the terrible first half for most people to get through unless your a hardcore Gould fan as his performance does get significanlty better as it goes on. Besides that, most people could skip this. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/19/24 Full Review r 9 I'd recommend 'The Devil and Max Devlin'. Of course it is slightly hampered by the fact it's a Disney film, but I feel it manages to leave a mark in what it does tackle in regards to the premise. I felt attached to the dilemma that Max (Elliott Gould) faces, despite it being a fairly predictable situation. Gould is good in the lead role. He is joined by, um, Bill Cosby, who suitably plays a character from the less appealing afterlife. Julie Budd (Stella) is the best of the rest, especially when it comes to the music; she's got a great voice. Disney's best film up until this point of the 1980s, which they begin poorly. Happy with this one though, I like it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member With Bill Cosby's life and career in tatters these days with a myriad of past date-rape accusations against the actor/comedian, I have been intrigued to investigate both his earlier filmic oddities and the comedic albums of his stand-up routines from years gone by. This was a decent, Disney (to add a touch of irony) comedy just before he was going to hit a purple patch in his life with the mega-success of 'The Cosby Show'. I wish when I came across them in a London music store a few years back, that I had pulled the trigger and bought a pair of jazz albums he had made with Quincy Jones. I have a feeling they would have proved a lot more interesting than this was. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Nice idea with good actors; just needed a better rewrite & director. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member The really significant part of this movie has nothing to do with the players, but the producers. This is the FIRST ever PG movie released by Disney - after almost 35 years a G-only releases. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Devil and Max Devlin

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Movie Info

Synopsis The devil's helper (Bill Cosby) will let a slumlord (Elliott Gould) go free if he can lure three innocents to the bad place.
Director
Steven Hilliard Stern
Producer
Jerome Courtland, Steven Hilliard Stern
Screenwriter
Mary Rodgers
Production Co
Walt Disney Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 36m
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