The devil has long been a stock character in works of art, music and literature, and like any good thespian he has learned to work the script. He's not even above taking a pie in the face or a few bullets every now and then. Look at how long the tried and true literary device of having the devil foiled by pesky humans has stood the test of time, from the long-suffering Mephistopholes in Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus to Al Pacino working with Keanu Reeves.

But if you think the devil of today bears more than a passing resemblance to the one who spun Linda Blair's head around a few times, think again. Old Scratchmo has cleaned up his act. Always something of a clothes horse (or more correctly, clothes goat), this guy would never spoil his Armani suit by barfing on it. And with unemployment at a 30-year low, Satan can't be some loser on EI, welfare, or the dole. In the Devil's Advocate he's a big time lawyer, in the End of Days he's an investment banker and in The Omen III, he's running for president. You can almost see the wheels turning in Hollywood. Everyone knows that lawyers, politicians and businessmen are evil, so making them the devil is a natural leap.

Of course, some things haven't changed - like the fact that Beezlebub likes chicks, and they like him. Hence the sexy devils as played by Gabriel Byrne, Al Pacino or sweet little Ben Chaplin. If Gabriel Byrne showed up looking slick and fine, saying, "Hey, baby I want to make love to you," pretty much any woman in the western hemisphere would say "Hmmm okay," right?

"Oh, by the way I'm the Anti-Christ."

"Sure you are big boy, now lose the socks."

It's hard not to play the devil for camp, as past portrayals have amply demonstrated. From Robert Deniro's long-nailed Louis Cipher in Angel Heart, to Jack Nicholson's pony-tailed smirk in The Witches of Eastwick to Billy Crystal or Bill Cosby mugging it up in The Devil and Max Devlin, everyone wants to play it cool. Occasionally we have a good old-fashioned throwback to the hoofed-and-horned version - Harvey Keitel in Little Nicky or Tim Curry in Ridley Scott's incomprehensible Legend. And yet, despite horns the size of a prize Texas bull, Curry was still a devil with good manners, exquisite taste and a mellifluous voice, just looking for a little sweet love to while away the midnight hours. Kind of like a satanic Barry White. And speaking of Barry White, think of the poor old devil in South Park (Bigger, Longer and Uncut). It's not enough to take over the world; now he has to cope with relationship difficulties with that temperamental old queen, Saddam Hussein.