Bernard Bottle, a mild mannered art buyer, is fired by his greedy boss, abandoned by his girlfriend and discovers a genie in an old bottle. The genie immediately embraces the modern world and helps Bernard on the side.
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Just perfect...
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Absolutely Brilliant!
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Oh Come ON! No movie this stinky gets a rating this high without a concerted campaign to pump it up. Best Christmas movie ever? Please! Haven't the producers run out of relatives to write these reviews? Isn't anyone else a little suspicious about ratings of nothing but 9s & 10s-- not even "Star Wars" or "Gone with the Wind" is this consistent.In all fairness, Alan Cumming was palatable in this low-low-budget made-for-TV flick. But the script is so clunky we were rolling our eyes and asking ourselves what would possess anyone to recommend such mediocrity. Even Rowan Atkinson had a hard time making these lines funny. I'm sure he didn't get paid nearly enough.Young kids might actually sit through this, but anyone older than about 14 is likely to pass out from boredom waiting for a laugh. Go lift a pint at the pub and come back in an hour...or make that 70 minutes. No need to waste a single moment on this one.
I taped this show a few years back and like to watch it every holiday season. This certainly beats watching "It's A Wonderful Life" or "A Christmas Story" (since they've been so over-played)! This is an amazingly fresh comedy about a nerdy sort of loser who gets his own genie during the Christmas season and has a bit of fun with him. Alan Cumming is very good as the lovable loser, but Lenny Henry steals the show as the completely outrageous and fun loving genie! You just have to see him to believe how silly and fun his character is. About the only disappointment is Rowan Atkinson. His character is pretty slimy and funny but the way he talks (he uses the word "ye" a lot as well as other Olde Englishisms) makes no sense at all. This is a minor problem, because overall so much is done so well! This little comedy is as funny and memorable as Black Adder.
This is my favourite Christmas movie. Ever. It is funny and sweet but not cloying. Alan Cumming is such a cute wee thing and Lenny Henry makes me chuckle. I also love the music in it.
This is an hilarious take on the classic Aladdin-style story featuring British comics. The two leads handle their roles with the right amount of humour and affection. They're not cloying or raucous at all. My fav scene however, is at the end where Rowan Atkinson's Scrooge-like character has been made a reluctant notable benefactor of an international charity. A television crew is interviewing him on his enormous contribution, and he is forced to make condescending remarks to the camera while secretly seething with resentment inside. It is a superb comic moment, and Rowan Atkinson handles it to perfection.There are other great off-the-cuff moments like where the Genie makes a casual remark about attending Jesus' feeding of the multitude; and Bernard hugs a character for not being dead in an alternate story-line (you'll have to see the story to understand). All in all, a brilliant piece of comic storytelling; made more exceptional by its low budget and television environment.