Genie is heading our way this Christmas, with Richard Curtis involved – and it’s a Bernard And The Genie remake…
You have to perhaps be of a certain vintage, which I happen to be, to appreciate the majesty of the 1990s Christmas television favourite Bernard And The Genie. Penned by Richard Curtis, directed by Paul Weiland and starring Lenny Henry, Alan Cumming and Rowan Atkinson, it falls very much on the ‘beloved’ pile.
Perhaps that’s why it’s taken so long to be found by the remake police. The original transmission of Bernard And The Genie was all the way back in 1991. Here we are in 2023, with – after much discussion – a glossy new version of it.
Richard Curtis has penned this one too, going by the name of Genie (the film is, not Curtis). Sam Boyd has directed the feature, and Alan Cumming is in this version as well. The leads are taken by Paapa Essiedu and Melissa McCarthy, and a first trailer for the whole shebang has now landed.
Best get to that, then we can talk more the other side. The trailer…
The film pops up on Peacock in the US first, on November 22nd. But! It’s coming to Sky Cinema in the UK from December 1st. Sky has also, thoughtfully, delivered a synopsis…
Some friendships are worth more than you could ever wish for.
This Christmas, from Richard Curtis, the Oscar®-nominated screenwriter of Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, comes a holiday fairytale comedy about a genie, a man, and landing one last chance to fix the mess you’ve made of your life.
Oscar® nominee Melissa McCarthy stars as Flora, a genie trapped for more than 2,000 years inside an antique jewelry box because of one teeny-tiny little misunderstanding with a sorcerer back in 77 B.C.
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 Kwakye Essiedu), 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) and the childhood of his young daughter, Eve (Jordyn Mcintosh). 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) 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.
The original was hanging around on the BritBox streaming service last time we checked, if you want to give that a try too…
