Wolfman316 BERNARD AND THE GENIE was a really good Fantasy Comedy-Drama. Every scene with Lenny Henry was hilarious, especially when he is taken to the police station and he has his photos taken and makes silly faces in front of the camera and especially when he accidentally cuts his hand with his sword. Alan Cumming did a good performance as Bernard, and he makes you feel sorry for the character. Rowan Atkinson was good in his famous Blackadder role as Bernard's greedy and corrupt employer. The TV movie has it's moments. Parts of the film were very sad, especially when Bernard says a tearful goodbye to the Genie and Bernard and the Genie's hearts are broken, when Bernard's fiancée has a affair with his best mate and The Genie learns his kittens and his girlfriend have been dead for centuries. Still Bernard and the Genie made a star out of Alan Cumming who went to star in GoldenEye and X-Men 2, both films starred Famke Janssen. BERNARD AND THE GENIE is for all those who are fans of Lenny Henry and Rowan Atkinson. I hope one-day, Alan Cumming and Lenny Henry reunite and make a long-awaited follow-up "Bernard and the Genie 2", where Bernard reunites with the Genie. It would be nice know what has happened to Bernard, years after the Genie went back home to his own time.

Vladimir "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.

Billy-75 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.

AlabamaWorley1971 I saw this when it premiered on UK television, Christmas 1991. I taped it from A&E a few years ago, and now it's part of my Christmas Eve ritual! This is a really cute movie, and suitable for older children. (There's nothing really offensive in it; I just don't think there's enough happening to keep younger kids interested.) Alan Cumming and the brilliant Lenny Henry have a great chemistry. Rowan Atkinson is, as ever, brilliant. I love when the Genie tries ice cream for the first time; he runs out into the street and yells, "HEY EVERYBODY, YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS STUFF! It's freezing cold and tastes exactly like strawberries!" I also love the newscast with the results of the boys' wishes. People outside the UK won't get all the references, but it's still worth it!