I'm really not sure where else to post this, but whatever.
So, anyway, a digital subchannel from my cable provider was playing one of the I DREAM OF JEANNIE reunion movies from the 80s, and truth be told, despite my love for the original 60s show, I'm quite mixed about this thing.
For starters, while they did bring back most of the original cast, we ended up with Wayne Rogers instead of Larry Hagman as Tony, and I have to say, watching this was like watching Jeannie suddenly hook up with Trapper from M*A*S*H . . . and would it have killed the production staff to get him a darker wig or something to wear during the flashback sequence of when Tony first found Jeannie on the beach, instead of him already being gray-haired? And Hayden Rorke as Dr. Bellows was practically a no-show in the movie, I think he only had like one glorified cameo, and that was it; too bad, his cluelessness and befuddlement over the messes Jeannie gets Tony into were part of what made the original series so great. Bill Daily was just as wonderful as Roger as he was during the original series, in fact, Roger hadn't changed a bit: his passing remark about being divorced five times was a hilarious touch - might have known ol' Rog would have commitment issues, lol. Then, of course, there's Jeannie herself. Barbara Eden was, of course, wonderful as Jeannie . . . as for her evil twin sister, Jeannie II, on the other hand . . . that seemed really off to me. Of course she's back to trying to break up Jeannie and Tony and stoops to her usual tricks, but the characterization seemed more akin Serena from BEWITCHED, in that Jeannie II was otherwise depicted as trying to be a hip and trendy free spirit with an unlimited wardrobe of painfully 80s fashions, much like Serena would rock the hippy outfits of the 60s on BEWITCHED . . . and not only that, Jeannie II's harem outfit was red instead of green. Huh? There's also a subplot involving Tony and Jeannie's son, T.J., having a crush on a girl at school that was clearly an after thought, because it really wasn't executed well, and sort of just abruptly ended after T.J. makes a mistake in his attempts to impress the girl of his dreams.
Other than that, the movie did, otherwise, have a certain charm to it: certainly not as strong as the original 60s series, but still a certain charm nonetheless. There's still some funny moments throughout, including a prolonged scene in a fancy restaurant where Jeannie has dinner with her new boss who has the hots for her (a spell brought on by Jeannie II) and Roger, but after gulping wine and getting the hiccups, crazy things start happening, such as Jeannie accidentally making the clothes of all the other patrons disappear. And the emotions during the climax in which Jeannie had to erase herself and T.J. from Tony's life in exchange for saving his life from certain death was written and performed very well - so well in fact, that the casting difference of Tony becomes less of a concern.
The way I see, if you're a fan of I DREAM OF JEANNIE, this is certainly something you would want to see at least once, but it lacks the lure and draw of the original series that I wouldn't recommend repeat viewings unless you just really wanted to.