It’s not hard to see why seemingly cosmic forces have aligned to keep this movie from being released for the past six years. Shot in 2001, it was at one time seized by federal authorities as part of an investigation into bank fraud involving some of the film’s investors. Post-production was left unfinished for years with no financing to complete it; at some point along the way, Baldwin had his name taken off the film as director (he’s credited as “Harry Kirkpatrick” in the advertising materials, but not at all in the actual credits). Co-star Hewitt, a hot commodity when she was cast, is now best known for talking to ghosts on CBS.
So the actual theatrical release of Shortcut to Happiness (renamed from The Devil and Daniel Webster, also the title of the famous short story on which it is based), is something of a miracle, and watching it is a little like getting a glimpse into the past. Looking far more than six years younger than he is now, Baldwin plays aspiring novelist Jabez Stone, who strikes a deal with the devil (Hewitt) to sell his soul in exchange for literary success. Of course, things don’t turn out as he imagined, and although he’s rich and famous, he’s lost all his friends and his writing lacks, er, soul.
Enter Daniel Webster (Hopkins), who’s been inexplicably reimagined as a book publisher, although there are oblique references to his past dealings with the Dark Princess. The centerpiece of the classic story and its many previous adaptations is the trial in which Webster argues for the return of Stone’s soul, but here it’s relegated to the final 25 minutes of a 100-minute film. The rest is all Christmas Carol-style lessons about not mistreating people for the sake of your own success, stunning in its obviousness and leaden in its execution.
Shot like a sitcom and scored with some of the cheesiest music ever put to film, Shortcut is awkwardly paced, indifferently acted and laughably hokey. Rumor has it that a film based on the troubled production history may be in the works; it’s a safe bet it’ll be far more interesting than this clumsy curiosity.