When we first meet Bernard Buttle, played with empathy by Paapa Essiedu, he does not have “main character” energy. He is a drab, sad and overworked character whose family abandons him for the holidays because his wife and daughter are fed up with him never being around. To make matters worse, he is promptly canned by the mean boss he’s been sacrificing everything for.

 

In short, he’s a man desperately in need of a Christmas miracle – and he gets it in the form of a glorious Melissa McCarthy as Flora the genie. I’m a huge McCarthy fan and, while this is not my favorite role she’s played simply because the script didn’t do her justice, she is the flamboyant high point of this movie.

 

We quickly learn that “real genies” are not limited to the three wishes popularized by fairytales. After freeing Flora from her magical imprisonment, Bernard can have unlimited wishes and shopping sprees – but the only thing he wants is his family back. Flora can’t force anyone’s feelings, so instead she begins to awkwardly coach Bernard in winning his wife back. 

 

There are a few fun moments as Bernard introduces the thousands of years-old genie to modern conveniences like pizza and music – and as she whips up new outfits for herself to better fit in with current fashions. I kept waiting for some laugh-out-loud McCarthy moments, however, and they just never materialized. 

 

I will say if you’ve ever longed to visit NYC during the holidays, this movie will really scratch that itch. They filmed scenes in just about every iconic Christmas spot in the Big Apple, from the skating rink at Rockefeller Center to a gorgeously bedecked restaurant that is never named (if anyone knows where it is, hook your girl up!)

 

Perhaps that’s the best way to look at this film overall. It’s not perfect, and it won’t make all your wishes come true, but it has just enough holiday spirit and fun moments (McCarthy’s genie falling in love with pizza, Tom Cruise movies and Bernard’s doorman, for example) to make it a passable watch during the Christmas season.

 

There are several things I don’t like about this movie. First, I’m still salty about the way Bernard’s wife treated him. In addition, the whole Mona Lisa subplot felt stupid and pointless to me. The biggest problem, of course, is the script. The actors all did a phenomenal job but there just wasn’t enough for them to work with.

If you’ve worked your way through all the usual holiday suspects (and all the great suggestions on the Cinefied Winter Classics list), then Genie is worth a watch with the family. It’s beautiful visually and there’s not much here to offend. If you’re looking for a new annual must-watch holiday movie, however, this probably isn’t the one.