By Geno McGahee
Melissa McCarthy is a very talented comedic actress, but sometimes she picks bad films that don’t showcase her skills. That is the case with the 2023 holiday film “GENIE”, which was a Peacock exclusive. I didn’t have high hopes going in by the trailer and considering the fact that it didn’t have any theatrical run. This was straight to streaming and there was a reason for it.
Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) is having issues with his wife and child as his job is overtaking his life. When he works too many hours and misses too many family events, he finds himself alone and without a job. With his job being in the antique field, he got his hands on a jewelry box that holds a secret. After rubbing it, the box erupts and knocks Bernard back. When it settles down, Flora (McCarthy) arrives and notes that she is a Genie.
Even though the box exploded in a very supernatural way, Bernard is convinced that she is not a Genie. What evidence does he need? The box’s behavior alone should have given her some credibility but he keeps dismissing her initially. This didn’t make much sense.
As with any Genie, Benard is entitled to some wishes and he starts making them with most concerning methods to get back into his wife and daughter’s lives. McCarthy does a good job trying to salvage this movie with her natural charm and comedic physical delivery, but she wasn’t given much to work with. This film just isn’t funny and isn’t really a holiday film. It takes place during the holiday, but it feels like this screenplay wasn’t written as such and they just said fuck it and crammed in Christmas.
The biggest issue with this film is that none of the characters are developed very well and are very forgettable outside of Flora. McCarthy is the reason why the role even meant anything. Had it been another actress, this film would have been unwatchable, but I kept watching and hoping that she would bring a laugh or a good sentimental moment. She is able to muster up a couple laughs and a couple warm moments, but Essiedu is just not flexible enough of an actor to make this role work. At no point was I hoping that he’d reunite with his family. I just didn’t care.
The film dies completely about an hour in and it’s pretty repetitious. This film turned out to be very disappointing considering just who they had. McCarthy can steal the show in a film and when given good material, I don’t think there’s a funnier actress, but she signs on to so many bad films that the odds are against you finding a good McCarthy film.
GENIE isn’t a good movie and isn’t a holiday movie at all. If you are a fan of McCarthy, it might be worth a watch just to see her attempt to make this film work and she does have a couple of moments where she signs, but this film was written poorly all around and the pacing was bad. I can’t recommend this one.
