In 1998 somebody got the bright idea to put German porn star Kelly Trump in a sexy harem outfit and make an updated, sex filled version of the 1960s sitcom "I dream of Jeannie". Conny Dachs (credited, like most of the cast by only his first name) is Jeannie's master Tony Nelson, who is a pilot instead of an astronaut this time around. In one of the first scenes, he is seen sitting at a grand piano, trying to play the old Jeannie theme. Unfortunately he doesn't get further than a couple of notes. Tittus Steel appears as his best bud Roger Healey (here simply called Healy) and as usual he is trying to get Jeannie to grant him some wishes as well. Unlike the original series, here he actually succeeds in most of his little schemes.
There's no sign of Dr. Bellows or his wife, but Jeannie does have an evil sister, Carmen (Laura Angel) who wants to seduce Tony and turn him into her private slave. Desperately, Jeannie turns to her magical teacher, not the Big Jinn but somebody called 'Rator' (Steve Holmes) and of course his resolution involves a lot more intercourse for everyone involved. Being the star, Kelly Trump is featured in three extended sex scenes and another one that is cut short (three of them with her 'master' and the other with her Rator and his rival). It's good to see the top billed star have so much screen time, for in the more recent slew of 'Sitcums' produced by X-Play and Hustler, everyone in the picture is confined to just one roll in the hay.
A surprising amount of time is spend on setting up each situation that leads to the next sex scene, yet the story is still filled with plot holes and inconsistencies. One aspect I did appreciate was the fact that the story begins without explaining how Jeannie came to be in Tony's possession, so one is expected to have at least a passing familiarity with the source material before sitting down to watch. On the whole this version is a lot more watchable than 1985s 'I Dream of Ginger' starring Ginger Lynn and Paul Thomas. The only thing that production spend more time and money on was to craft a cushy set representing the inside of Jeannie's bottle (in the 1998 German version this consists only of four cushions and a lamp).
This Jeannie was successful enough to spawn a sequel (Jeannie 2, what else) in which most of the cast returned for more magical fun. And talking about magic, most of the special effects are the 'freeze, stop the camera and remove one of the actors out of frame' kind they used in the 60s. Still, they did get a digital effects bureau by the name of 'The Lost Boys' to do add a couple of sparkles each time. They also went insane with silly twirling, crawling and flattened titles during the end credits but really struck out on the opening credit sequence, which merely consists of a grainy shot of the video box cover.
7 out of 10
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