Trailer for ‘Genie’ Comedy Starring Melissa McCarthy & Paapa Essiedu
by Alex Billington
November 1, 2023
Source: YouTube
“Some friendships are worth more than you could ever wish for.” Peacock has revealed the official trailer for a holiday comedy called Genie, directed by filmmaker Sam Boyd. This genie-in-a-bottle story mashed up with a Christmas movie comes from a screenplay written by the talented British writer Richard Curits (best known for Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, About Time), adapting his own 1991 teleplay called “Bernard and the Genie”. Now updated for modern times with more awkward jokes. A holiday fairytale comedy about a genie, a man, and landing one last chance to fix the mess you’ve made of your life. With his job, life & family unraveling around him, a despondent Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) dusts off a jewelry box and unintentionally releases genie Flora, who just might be able to help him. Maybe. It’s a longshot, frankly. Starring Melissa McCarthy as the genie, plus Denée Benton, Marc Maron, Jordyn McIntosh, Luis Guzmán, Tate Ellington, LaChanze, and Alan Cumming. I’m a usually a fan of any Richard Curtis script, but this looks rough – seems there’s a reason it’s being dumped on streaming this fall.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Sam Boyd’s comedy Genie, direct from Peacock’s YouTube:
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 (Paapa 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 (Denée Benton) and the childhood of his daughter, Eve (Jordyn Mcintosh). 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. In the process, Flora and Bernard will discover that love, and an unexpected friendship, can unleash a special holiday magic all its own. 🎄
Genie is directed by up-and-coming writer / filmmaker Sam Boyd, director of the movie In a Relationship previously, and creator of the “Love Life” TV series on HBO Max, plus a few short films and episodes of the “Tell Me Lies” series. The screenplay is written by Richard Curtis, based on his 1991 teleplay “Bernard and the Genie”. Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Riva Marker, Richard Curtis. Universal will debut Boyd’s Genie movie streaming on Peacock starting on November 22nd, 2023 this fall. Who wants to watch this?
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