Genie Interview: Director Sam Boyd On Paapa Essiedu & Melissa McCarthy’s Onscreen Chemistry

Genie, now streaming on Peacock, sees a supernatural Melissa McCarthy granting Christmas wishes to Paapa Essiedu’s Bernard. Directed by Sam Boyd from a screenplay by Richard Curtis, the movie co-stars Alan Cumming, Luis Guzmán, Denée Benton, and Jordyn McIntosh. Bernard, who is on the verge of losing his family and job, seeks help from an unexpected magical source in ways very different from the usual be-careful-what-you-wish-for stories.

The magical genie Flora (McCarthy) has spent millennia tending to the greedy desires of self-serving men, so Bernard’s wishes come as a surprise to her. But though their friendship develops, his problems continue to mount as he struggles to fix his mistakes the human way. The movie is feel-good holiday fun, but it only has something valuable to say about the importance of family.

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Genie is a Peacock original Christmas movie about a genie, Flora (Melissa McCarthy) who helps Bernard Bottle (Paapa Essiedu) win his family back.

Screen Rant interviewed Sam Boyd about why Genie‘s screenplay spoke to him, the chemistry between Paapa Essiedu and Melissa McCarthy, and the core themes of the movie.

Sam Boyd Talks Genie

Screen Rant: Sam, this film is so much fun. What was it about Richard’s script that you connected with?

Sam Boyd: I love Richard’s movies, and they really just make you feel so good about the world. What was exciting to me about this one was it felt like a really fun opportunity to approach a very classic thing in what hopefully feels like a fresh way. Obviously, there are so many people who grew up, I think especially in England, watching the original and loving it.

But it did feel like a fun opportunity again to kind of turn things on its head and with the production resources of a modern studio movie, get to crank that magic up and hopefully give the audience a fun and cozy time. And I think especially the ending, which is, I won’t say anything about because I’m obviously not going to spoil it, but I think it was one of those things where I thought the whole script was so funny and sweet, but then especially in that last stretch of 10 or 15 minutes or pages, whatever it is, it just all, he sticks the landing in such a sort of poignant, magical way that I just couldn’t not take a crack at it.

You stick the landing in such a magical way by balancing that comedy timing that everybody has, but also these really true heartfelt performances. The chemistry between Paapa Essiedu and Melissa McCarthy is phenomenal. Can you talk about collaborating with them on this project?

Sam Boyd: Paapa and Melissa are both incredible. When we were casting, we knew that the chemistry between those two characters was pivotal to the movie working. And, I think for us it was really fun to pair the two of them together. They loved each other and worked so well together. And I think for me, especially, like you’re saying, so much of it is about a contrast of skillsets and a contrast of sensibilities, that I think I’m proud to say, do blend in a really nice way.

I think it’s funny, they are like there’s this sort of mirror image thing in terms of their sensibilities, where on the one hand you have Melissa who obviously came up in improv comedy and everybody knows how funny she is and she’s made us laugh so much, but she has this incredible gravitas too, and these incredible chops as a dramatic actress. On the other hand, you have Paapa who literally is coming from the Royal Shakespeare company doing Hamlet and all this stuff, but also is hilarious.

I think I was wary of, “Oh, if there’s a version where it’s not funny enough and they’re both really good actors, or it’s really funny, but it doesn’t feel grounded, we don’t believe it when we have to in those certain moments of the movie where things get a little more emotional or get a little more dramatic,” it was really important to me to have them kind of balance each other out in that way, and I’m just so happy with the result.

Genie isn’t just about Bernard trying to solve his problems with all these wishes, but it’s also about the friendship we see between Flora and Bernard. Can you talk about how that friendship is explored throughout?

Sam Boyd: The friendship between Bernard and the Genie was really the core of the story. And obviously, Bernard is this guy who’s trying to get his family back and he’s made a mess of his marriage and his relationship with his kid. And that’s the kind of driver that’s the plot. But really, I think we always talked about this movie as a buddy comedy. And, I think for me, obviously again, not just Paapa and Melissa having contrasting but really complimentary skills as actors, those two characters are so different, and I think that was what was fun about it for me. You think about any great buddy comedy where obviously the more different the characters are from each other, the more fun it is to watch.

The second you have sweet Paapa in a sweater vest, neurotic and needing to loosen his tie a little bit, so to speak, and then you throw a human tornado like Flora into the mix and she’s the one who’s saying, “Why don’t we do this, and why don’t we do that?” and pulls him out of his shell, that felt just like a really fertile starting point for this buddy comedy relationship, this friendship.

About Genie

After millennia of being summoned to grant wishes of gold doubloons and hot babes for greedy men, Flora is accidentally called to service by Bernard Bottle (Emmy nominee Paapa Essiedu; I May Destroy You), whose life is unraveling around him. Bernard’s been so busy working that he has lost sight of his marriage to his wife Julie (Tony nominee Denée Benton; The Gilded Age) and the childhood of his young daughter, Eve (Jordyn Mcintosh; Emancipation).

When Bernard misses Eve’s birthday 12 days before Christmas because of work, Julie decides it’s time for a trial separation. And then Bernard’s tyrannical boss (Tony winner Alan Cumming; The Good Wife) fires him. Alone in his New York City apartment, a despondent Bernard dusts off a jewelry box he finds in their home and unintentionally releases the one entity who just might be able to help him get his family back. Maybe. Possibly. It’s a longshot, frankly. But in the process, Flora and Bernard will discover that love, and an unexpected friendship, can unleash a special holiday magic all its own.

Check out our other interview with Richard Curtis.