COMEDY, ROMANCE

Cat struggles with low self-esteem as an overweight single mother working as a cashier right before her high school reunion. She buys a Wii and gets something she never bargained for: a genie. The genie offers her three wishes to go back and fix her life mistakes. But the wishes end up helping her appreciate all the good that is in her life: her wild Gram, her daughters and her supportive Genie boyfriend.

EXCELLENT

FIRST PERSON

Authors Writing Style: EXCELLENT

Characterization: GOOD

Commerciality: EXCELLENT

Franchise Potential: EXCELLENT

Pace: GOOD

Premise: EXCELLENT

Structure: GOOD

Theme: EXCELLENT

The book profile expertly reflects the story. The logline is great, the short summary about a second chance at real love and self-love is spot on and the development pitch does an excellent job expressing the themes and selling the tone.

The premise is quite quirky but made effortlessly realistic with the reactions and lovable characters and a magical explanation. A genie coming out of a Wii is definitely not something that is seen in the everyday romantic comedy and for this to evolve to cross time travel, scientific boundaries and continents is a stellar use of magical disbelief. The magic is really well utilized to enhance the internal conflict of the protagonist and the romantic subplot.

Some of the backstories such as the bad dating trio, especially after the introduction of the genie, slow down the pacing and have a less clear value as Katherine is already showing signs of valuing herself in refusing the dates' advances after her divorce even though she is very lonely. Putting the dates before the genie would keep the pacing of the genie progressing and help explain her pull towards him in a more linear way. The emphasis on weight and what is healthy is also questionable with more potential for deeper lessons than is given.

THE STORY RELIES A LITTLE BIT ON SPECIAL EFFECTS

The hook is that Katherine thinks changing her past will help her be happier, but she realizes that some mistakes are worth keeping to make her her and also that she can make herself happy; because if she can believe in a genie she can believe in herself.

This could have a large fan base due to its classic romantic comedy style with nostalgia for the 1990s kind with its hint of magical realism. The story is easy to follow but unique thus perfect for streaming.

Due to its genre this is unlikely to contend for serious award categories but could win for popular acting categories for its fun storytelling and characters.

MEDIUM BUDGET

ALADDIN, KATE AND LEOPOLD, 13 GOING ON 30, TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE, 200 POUND BEAUTY, THE PROPOSAL, ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

The originality is both in the genre and the premise. The romantic comedy teaching self-love as the ultimate goal rather than romantic goals is fresh and magic of the genie in the premise is taken full advantage of with a lot of good lessons in the wishes.

Katherine is both funny and the straight woman in a cast full of zany characters. Eugenius is hopeful and kind with a lot of wisdom. Gram is the definition of sassy and selfless.

This is a rare gem of a romantic comedy, although the Genie needs a bit more development to become dynamic with a transformation (perhaps in a sequel where is goal of being reunited with his son occurs and he learns a lesson). There could also be some structural alterations to streamline the beginning pacing and clarify the theme regarding weight vs. health but otherwise this was surprisingly deep for a seemingly light rom-com.

Film - Indie, Film - Streaming, Film - Studio

CONSIDER

The premise of a genie coming out of a wii to grant three wishes is a memorably fresh take on the romantic comedy. The life lessons that the protagonist learns in self-love are surprisingly profound. The magic is used for a lot of unexpected plot progression and the characters are all distinct with heavy emotional investment in their well-being or change.