Lenny Henry is a favorite in his native England, an actor and stand-up comedian sometimes compared to Eddie Murphy, not only for their common skin color but also in terms of his potential for international stardom. Unfortunately, Henry's highly touted American debut, the 1991 farce TRUE
IDENTITY, fizzled at the box office.
He's somewhat better served by BERNARD AND THE GENIE, a droll British offering that casts him as Josephus, an ancient Mideastern chap imprisoned in a genie lamp by an angry wizard. Two thousand years later the lamp is accidentally rubbed by its present owner Bernard Bottle (Alan Cummings), a
kindly fellow who's having a bad day; he's lost his art-collecting job for failing to defraud some old ladies; he's been framed for sexual harassment; his girlfriend has left him for his best mate; and the genie's explosive entrance lands him in the hospital. Things change once he and Josephus
overcome their mutual shock, and Bernard takes the genie on a tour of London, where Josephus eagerly discovers fast food, ice cream, Barry White music and TERMINATOR 2. There's a minor plot with Bernard accused of stealing the "Mona Lisa" and killing a policeman, but Josephus's magical powers fix
everything in an instant.
It happens to be Christmas, and Josephus knew Jesus personally: "He helped with the wine at my brother's wedding!" Upset at rampant commercialism of the Nativity, Bernard and Josephus take action, transforming a department-store Santa display into an enchanted grotto that makes wishes come true.
Various children happily depart with a giant Paddington bear, a kid-sized sportscar and a real live Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (David Forman, the screen's original "Leonardo," cameos in full turtle gear). One could well argue that this also has nothing to do with the religious basis of Christmas,
and neither do some revenge tricks the genie springs on Bernard's tormentors from earlier in the movie. The short feature ends when homesick Josephus beseeches Bernard to wish him back to his own era, and his friend and master complies.
Made for BBC-TV and released direct-to-video stateside, BERNARD AND THE GENIE is a cute confection so far as it goes. A limitation for Yank audiences is that many jokes revolve around Commonwealth celebrities; one had best be acquainted with Melvyn Bragg, Gary Lineker, Felicity Kendall, Kylie
Minogue and Julian Lloyd-Webber (Andrew's brother). At least Bob Geldof should be no stranger. At one point Bernard wishes he could look like the Irish rock star, and the real Geldof plays him for the rest of the scene (the punchline is that onlookers mistake him for Mick Jagger).
Overall the humor is transitory, some of it off-color--a surprise to parents who may mistake this for children's fare--and highly dependent on the engaging actors. As the hapless Bernard, Alan Cumming is an appealingly downtrodden nice guy who makes the perfect foil for Josephus's expansive
clowning. Henry certainly has charm, and between him, Robin Williams in ALADDIN and Ami Dolenz in MIRACLE BEACH, 1992 was a boom year for screen genies.
Prominently billed in the small role of Bernard's avaricious boss is Rowan Atkinson (THE TALL GUY, THE WITCHES), another comic performer considered one of Britain's best. Playing yet another supercilious prig (he fires employees with the line "Exit ye!"), does nothing here that we haven't seen
many times before. (Screenwriter Richard Curtis has written extensively for Aktinson, including the British TV series "Black Adder", which has aired on PBS, and the movie "The Tall Guy".
Director Paul Weiland, meanwhile, suffered a transatlantic career catastrophe as the unfortunate behind the wheel of the costly Bill Cosby bomb LEONARD PART 6. Back on home soil for BERNARD AND THE GENIE, Weiland executes the gags with a quick pace, clever use of set design and small-scale special
effects on what was obviously a modest budget. Go in peace, and sin no more. (Violence, sexual situations.) leave a comment
