Bernard and the Genie (1991) (TV)

Director:

Paul Weiland

Writer:

Richard Curtis (writer)

Release Date:

13 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A genie (Lenny Henry) is punished by an evil wizard by being confined to a lamp somewhere in Arabia...

Plot Keywords:

Wish Fulfillment | Christmas | Product Placement | Genie | Wish

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lenny Henry	...	Josephus the Genie
John Gabriel	...	Wizard
Alan Cumming	...	Bernard Bottle
Rowan Atkinson	...	Charles Pinkworth
Denis Lill	...	Frank Kepple (as Dennis Lill)
Beaux Bryant	...	Nurse
Kevin Allen	...	Kevin
Andrée Bernard	...	Judy (as Andree Bernard)
Melvyn Bragg	...	Himself
Janet Henfrey	...	Miss Purse
Marcia Ashton	...	Miss Temple
Sheila Latimer	...	Bernard's Mother
Sally Geoghegan	...	Waitress
Angela Clarke	...	Carrie (as Angie Clarke)
Bob Geldof	...	Himself

Runtime:

Argentina:70 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | UK:PG

Company:

AttaBoy

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Josephus takes Bernard flying on his magic carpet for the first time, he says "The real skill is in the landing". Supposedly they crash-land in a back alley full of bins and rubbish, creating a huge mess. However, the prop-explosion that blows up all the bins is visible because they are all neatly stacked at the first moment when the camera shot shows the alley where they "landed".

Quotes:

Bernard Bottle: Originally, it was supposed to celebrate the birth of this chap called Jesus Christ, who was born, well, about 2000 years ago.
Genie: Jesus, you say?
Bernard Bottle: Yeah.
Genie: But I knew this guy.
Bernard Bottle: You did not!
Genie: I did, I mean, what did he do to get so famous?
Bernard Bottle: Well, he turned out to be the Son of God.
Genie: No! I thought he was kidding.

Movie Connections:

References Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

One of my favourite films

"Bernard and the Genie" first hit Australian screens in the early nineties and when it was on, it was taped by someone in my household and it was clearly one of the greatest decisions ever made. I absolutely adore this movie, there are wall-to-wall, non-stop laughs and a wonderful, heartwarming Christmas storyline.

The script, written by Richard Curtis who later went on to write Four Weddings & a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones' Diary, is flawless, it's nothing more than a classic British comedy weaved around a modernisation of the Ali Baba story.

The film really also launched the career of Alan Cumming, who went on to bigger, if not better, things, and whoever he's played more recently, he'll always be endeared in my heart as Bernard Bottle, that simple, humble Scottish art dealer.

A lot of this relies on Lenny Henry and his making a fool of himself in public - a lot of it is based on anachronistic jokes, but the partnership between the physical and, frankly, very silly antics of Henry and the very quaint and naive simplicity of Cumming balances out perfectly. Rowan Atkinson is also wonderful as a greedy, rich and fundamentally unlikeable bastard. I also love Dennis Lill as the lift operator Kepple, all of his scenes are brilliant.

Even writing about it now makes me smile. If you ever get a chance to see this movie, do, I can assure you you won't be disappointed. It's warm, sweet-hearted and immensely funny. I can't bring myself to give this less than five stars even if it is just short and sweet.