Conceptually, Peacock’s latest holiday movie Genie has everything going for it. The always entertaining Melissa McCarthy stars as a wish-granting genie who helps a harried husband and father (I May Destroy You‘s Paapa Essiedu) reconnect with his family and discover the meaning of Christmas in a feelgood holiday romp scripted by Love Actually writer/director Richard Curtis. Unfortunately, this Peacock original contains few laughs, little Christmas spirit, and a complete lack of originality.
Genie is a remake of Curtis’s 1991 British television film Bernard and the Genie, and aside from swapping the genie’s gender and updating the ’90s references, the film plays like a retread of Curtis’s better works. Bernard (Essiedu) works a thankless job at an auction house under a snooty boss played by Alan Cumming (who played Bernard in the original film). Unable to say no to his boss, Bernard ends up working so late he misses his daughter’s (Jordyn Mcintosh) birthday. In response, his wife Julie (Denée Benton) takes their daughter to her mother’s house, leaving Bernard alone for Christmas.
When Bernard absentmindedly rubs an antique box, he unwittingly releases boisterous wise-cracking genie Flora (McCarthy). With the promise of unlimited wishes (and the shenanigans that ensue), Bernard sets off to win his family back with Flora’s help. One could imagine unlimited scenarios to explore with free wishes in New York City during the holidays. Unfortunately, the film isn’t interested in any large-scale magical moments. Instead, magic is spent on low-stakes wishes like a makeover for McCarthy and electronic billboards in Times Square reprogrammed to wish folks a merry Christmas. Aside from a camel here and there, Bernard’s wishes are depressingly pedestrian. His daughter gets a nice dollhouse. His apartment gets a modest upgrade. He replaces a framed Lionel Messi jersey with the Mona Lisa, a narrative detour that sees him arrested for stealing the priceless artwork. The climax of the film sees Bernard waste his final wishes on a dinner reservation and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Considering his precarious employment situation, maybe he should have wished for a winning lottery ticket.
This would be disappointing but bearable if the characters were engaging and exciting to watch. But everyone in the film is thinly drawn and lacks anything resembling depth. The movie sets up Bernard as a man who can’t say no to his boss and doesn’t have enough time for his family. But truthfully, Bernard doesn’t seem all that interested in spending time with his wife or daughter. And you can’t blame him, as both characters are paper-thin with little to do other than complain about Bernard’s absence. McCarthy’s Flora doesn’t fare much better, as we know little about her life before being imprisoned in the box. And while Flora gets to enjoy modern marvels like pizza and Tom Cruise movies, there’s little else to define her character. Apparently, 2,000-year-old genies can be basic too!
It doesn’t help that the rules of Flora’s magic are muddled and change at the whims of the plot. She can conjure a whole new outfit but washes her hair in the toilet. She can magick up a delicious Christmas dinner but also eats hand sanitizer. Everything about this film feels haphazard and poorly conceived. Even cameos from people like Marc Maron, Ego Nwodim, and John Reynolds feel wasted. The film moves glacially, and there is little humor, warmth, or Christmas cheer to be found. For a film with an A-list star, the experience is surprisingly low-rent, with limited production value and subpar special effects. There’s nothing magical about this Genie, and I found myself wishing the film would just end already.
Genie is currently streaming on Peacock.
(featured image: Stephanie Mei-Ling/Universal Pictures)
