Genie: Rubs Enough Geni-ality Off to Last

After millennia of being summoned to grant wishes of gold doubloons and hot babes for greedy men, Flora is accidentally called to service by Bernard Bottle (Emmy nominee Paapa Essiedu; I May Destroy You), whose life is unraveling around him. Bernard’s been so busy working that he has lost sight of his marriage to his wife Julie (Tony nominee Denée Benton; The Gilded Age) and the childhood of his young daughter, Eve (Jordyn Mcintosh; Emancipation). When Bernard misses Eve’s birthday 12 days before Christmas because of work, Julie decides it’s time for a trial separation. And then Bernard’s tyrannical boss (Tony winner Alan Cumming; The Good Wife) fires him. Alone in his New York City apartment, a despondent Bernard dusts off a jewelry box he finds in their home and unintentionally releases the one entity who just might be able to help him get his family back. Maybe. Possibly. It’s a longshot, frankly. But in the process, Flora and Bernard will discover that love, and an unexpected friendship, can unleash a special holiday magic all its own.

Review:

The first thing I look for in a Melissa McCarthy movie is whether her husband (Ben Falcone) directs. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Genie, a made for Peacock original movie. I knew, I would get a properly fitted and restrained McCarthy, with no over indulgent moments.

Genie is a remake of an 1991 BBC special, Bernard and the Genie. Alan Cumming played the put upon good hearted schlub who inherits a genie. Rowan Atkinson played Bernard’s duplicitous boss. Genie ditches the social commentary, keeps a Mona Lisa subplot, the Christmas setting and Cumming, who is now Bernard’s boss. The Genie, who was black in the original, is now the white, pleasingly plump, russet haired Melissa McCarthy. Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) is now a black man with a wife and a daughter. He’ a workaholic facing an identity crisis when the wife leaves him and who loses his cushy art auction job when boss Cumming refuses Bernard’s request for leave time to address his faltering marriage.

Richard Curtis of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually fame wrote both the original and the remake. The difference swaps a story about the dangers of wish fulfillment for the bright comedy that Melissa McCarthy knows intuitively. This is a cozy charming bit of holiday fluff that only demands a little slapstick and a lot of positive vibes— all McCarthy hallmarks. In fact, this is the Peacock version of the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie.

The slight inversions add a new wrinkle to the familiar genie and master story. Genie floats on charm mixed with whimsy, pathos yielding to hope, all things Sam Boyd has done in his other directing efforts. The Genie, Flora discovering and dealing with the inventions of the modern world provides room for McCarthy improvisations and ad libs, most of which work.

Here, the genie can grant unlimited wishes, which opens up the story for more plot twists and insights, especially when others get exposed to the power of unlimited wishes. Some of the trouble situations are funny and sly. The improve moments allow the formula ones to be more digestible.