Now we’re moving over to Peacock for Genie starring Melissa McCarthy. My first wish is that this movie will be good.

Bernard (Papa Essiedu) is a workaholic at an auction house. When he misses his daughter’s 8th birthday, his wife Julie (Denée Benton) leaves him. As he wanders around his empty apartment, he dusts off an old jewelry box, releasing a genie named Flora (McCarthy). Can Flora help Bernard get his family back?

So…there is nothing new in this movie. This is basically Disney’s Aladdin but boring. Aladdin had the amazing Robin Williams to keep the comedy flowing. McCarthy is just not that funny. All of the jokes not only land flat, they create crators where they are dropped. In the worst move of all, they cast Alan Cumming, who is so good at comedic acting, as Bernard’s boss. He should be the big bad guy. But we only see him twice. (I poked into this film’s Wikipedia page. It turns out this is a remake of a 1991 BBC film where Cumming played Bernard. What should have been an homage was a terrible use of a talented actor.)

There are a million things you could do with a movie about a genie. Instead, we keep getting the same old story over and over again. This is, honestly, sadder than any of the Hallmark Christmas movies.

Rating: I wish I didn’t watch it