Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
In this throwaway kiddie fantasy, rude, sulky 12-year-old Max (Francis Capra) accidentally unleashes a centuries-old rapping genie (basketballl superstar Shaquille O'Neal) from a boom box. The story is cobbled together from the the usual set of troubled-kid cliches and topped off with the de rigueur be-true-to-your-own-heart moral. It's probably just passable for children, but adolescents won't sit still for this bland mixture of mediocre jokes and soft-core action. Shaq turns out to be a warm and attractive screen presence, but Capra is a singularly unengaging child. And it's hard to ignore the unpleasant implications of a scenario that involves a small white boy lording it over an African-American man twice his size.