Genie

PG

2023

1 hr. 32 min.

Holiday

Comedy

Fantasy

TRAILER

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List

31%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

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 Essiedu; I May Destroy You), 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; The Gilded Age) and the childhood of his young daughter, Eve (Jordyn Mcintosh; Emancipation). 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; The Good Wife) 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.

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Critics Consensus

Melissa McCarthy is as hard-working as ever, but her efforts aren't enough to raise Genie past the realm of blandly predictable holiday fare.

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Todd B

This was a perfectly innocuous way to spend an hour and a half on a Sunday afternoon. Pretty typical Hallmark fare, nothing that's going to set the world on fire, but it's cute and Melissa McCarthy is funny.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Richard R

Cute feel-good Christmas movie. Melissa McCarthy is very likable and funny, and I didn't find her annoying at all.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Janet B

The movie is pretty bad and doesn't make a lot of sense (and I'm not talking about the genie part). But once Melissa McCarthy shows up, she single-handedly saves it. She made me laugh enough that I didn't care so much about the storyline. A guy loses his job and his wife leaves (but she's really nice and pleasant about it). Instead of him growing through the experience, a genie appears and he gets to use wishes to help get to see his daughter (why wouldn't he be able to see his daughter anyway?). The wife loves him but neither considers couples counseling, even though he seems like a basically decent guy. The job loss must not have been an issue either, because never once does he wish for a job, job skills, or financial security. It's very weird, but it's short and mostly fun. If you don't like it 10 minutes after McCarthy shows up, you probably won't like it at all. But it's worth waiting for her to appear (about 10 minutes in or so) before you decide to ditch it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

Full Review

Renee R

We really loved this and had a lot a huge laughs! Felt like a retelling of It's a Wonderful Life.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/24

Full Review

M

This was a terrible film. Typical, predictable film. Another typical and selfish female character who is angry that her husband has a busy career. The husband's character is devoted to his family and is being bashed by his wife, daughter, and single mother-in-law. I like McCarthy as an actress, but just not this film.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/24

Full Review

Sharyn De Bernardis

So, was there actually a script Melissa McCarthy referred to, or did she just improvise her lines throughout?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

Full Review

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Sam Boyd

Director

Melissa McCarthy

Flora

Paapa Essiedu

Bernard Bottle

Denée Benton

Julie Bottle

Marc Maron

Lenny

Jordyn McIntosh

Eve Bottle

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Genie: Trailer 1

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Bland, predictable and seemingly chucked together with minimal effort at the last minute from the most basic ingredients.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 4, 2023

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

A film-maker whose movies pivot around acts of altruism has reached into the archives, gussied up a dead dog and flung it into the faces of viewers with something approaching contempt. So no, alas, not a Christmas classic.

Rated: 1/5

Dec 1, 2023

Full Review

Robbie Collin

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Genie is a sugar-only zone. But then, it is Christmas. Or near enough.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 1, 2023

Full Review

Steven Warner

In Review Online

...there isn’t all that much to Genie, save for a lot of McCarthy mugging and some tired platitudes about how actions speak louder than wishes (or some such nonsense).

Dec 25, 2023

Full Review

Matt Neal

ABC Radio (Australia)

It's not bad enough to make you wish for your time back, but you won't be adding it to your list of favourite Christmas movies any time soon.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 21, 2023

Full Review

Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

Those looking for some Christmas charm that’s not too challenging could do a whole lot worse than this.

Dec 12, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

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 Essiedu; I May Destroy You), 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; The Gilded Age) and the childhood of his young daughter, Eve (Jordyn Mcintosh; Emancipation). 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; The Good Wife) 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.

Director: Sam Boyd
Executive Producer: Melissa McCarthy, Caroline Jaczko, Nicole King, Stacy O'Neil, Alexandra Loewy, Sarah-Jane Robinson
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis
Distributor: Peacock
Production Co: Working Title, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG (Suggestive References|Some Language)
Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2023

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