Last week it was announced that yet another screenwriter has been hired to pen a draft of the I Dream of Jeannie movie. This time it’s Rita Hsiao, who worked on Disney’s Mulan, Toy Story 2 and Enchanted. Reportedly there’s already been at least five writers on board, but apparently producer Sid Ganis (Duece Bigalow: Male Gigalo) wants the thing to be perfect.
Well, how hard could it be to come up with a plot for the thing? Just combine the storylines from the TV movies I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later and I Still Dream of Jeannie, both of which opened the series up to more drama and thrills, such as the tense outer space sequence from 15 Years Later seen in the video above. Just budget for some better effects, and that sequence could make the Jeannie movie a blockbuster comparable to Armageddon.
OK, I’m joking, but only a little. The Jeannie movie really should venture into the space travel angle, putting Major Nelson and Jeannie in danger (in I Still Dream, with Nelson long gone on a mission, Jeannie finds out she can’t stay in the real world without a master). And why not also include the female astronaut that Nelson may be having an affair with? And then also have Jeannie shrug off her submissive role in order to become an empowered woman? Such a subplot may have been more relevant to the time of 15 Years Later (it aired in the mid ’80s), but there’s something still wrong about exaggerated female domestication another 20 years later.
That reminds me of another plot idea: Jeannie vs. Kazaam (or Haji). In which the two genies battle over who has had it worse throughout history, women or blacks. Then in true versus-plot tradition, they finally unite in agreement that they should really be battling the greater evil: Major Nelson, the oppressive white man.
One more thing: as long as I’m claiming devotion to bad ’80s TV movies and suggesting they be used as inspiration for the Jeannie script, here’s some more advice for Ganis: cast Mackenzie Astin and Nicole Eggert as Nelson and Jeannie, as nothing more than an homage to 15 Years Later. They may not be big names these days, but if there’s enough money spent on special effects, you don’t need the stars to be Will Ferrell and Cameron Diaz.
Originally posted on:
SpoutBlog