Has anyone ever seen the film Mr. Destiny? It stars James Belushi and Michael Caine and I happened to realize that there are a few similarities to this film and "Mirror Image." The film is about a man named Larry Burrows (Belushi), who is unhappy with his ordinary life, and, on his birthday, has his car break down. He enters a nearby bar to call a tow truck and meets a mysterious bartender (Caine) while he's waiting.
The bartender, known only as "Mike" ("No, not Calavicci"), is an easy-going guy who listens to Larry's problems, just like Al the Bartender in "Mirror Image," and they discuss a point in Larry's past in which he regretted not acting differently. This incident was a baseball game in which Larry was the last person who could have saved his team from losing, but struck out in the bottom of the 9th inning. As a result, he grew up depressed and bored with his life. Mike offers Larry a special drink, which gives Larry a glimpse into how his life would have turned out had he not struck out in the ball game.
Aside from this premise (man unhappy about life, gets a second chance and a tragic event in his past is changed for the better) sounding like it could be straight out of Quantum Leap, there are other similarities between this film and QL's final episode that make it seem like Don Bellisario could have been inspired to write it from this film.
For starters, it's Larry's birthday, and he enters a mysterious bar, The Universal Joint (Universal? :eek ), which seems the equivalent of Al's Place. Mike is a bartender who is "not exactly" an angel, yet he is definitely no ordinary man, either, and has the power to "make a few adjustments" in peoples' lives. Sound familiar? Not only that, but his entire personality is very similar to Al's, having a laid-back attitude and coming across as a wise, yet ambiguous and mysterious person. He offers Larry the option of changing his life, just as Al offers Sam the option of changing Al's life for the better. Is he an angel, God Himself, or something entirely different? Once Larry gets a glimpse of his new life, old familiar faces (including his wife) now do not know him at all, just as the leapees didn't know Sam in "Mirror Image." At the end of the film, we're taken back to when Larry is a teenager again, and Mike is there in the audience to tell him that everything will work out just fine. Apparently Mike has been watching Larry at different points in his life, another similarity with Al.
Anyway, the more I think about it, the more it seems as if this movie could have been Don's inspiration to write "Mirror Image." What do you think? :b
The bartender, known only as "Mike" ("No, not Calavicci"), is an easy-going guy who listens to Larry's problems, just like Al the Bartender in "Mirror Image," and they discuss a point in Larry's past in which he regretted not acting differently. This incident was a baseball game in which Larry was the last person who could have saved his team from losing, but struck out in the bottom of the 9th inning. As a result, he grew up depressed and bored with his life. Mike offers Larry a special drink, which gives Larry a glimpse into how his life would have turned out had he not struck out in the ball game.
Aside from this premise (man unhappy about life, gets a second chance and a tragic event in his past is changed for the better) sounding like it could be straight out of Quantum Leap, there are other similarities between this film and QL's final episode that make it seem like Don Bellisario could have been inspired to write it from this film.
For starters, it's Larry's birthday, and he enters a mysterious bar, The Universal Joint (Universal? :eek ), which seems the equivalent of Al's Place. Mike is a bartender who is "not exactly" an angel, yet he is definitely no ordinary man, either, and has the power to "make a few adjustments" in peoples' lives. Sound familiar? Not only that, but his entire personality is very similar to Al's, having a laid-back attitude and coming across as a wise, yet ambiguous and mysterious person. He offers Larry the option of changing his life, just as Al offers Sam the option of changing Al's life for the better. Is he an angel, God Himself, or something entirely different? Once Larry gets a glimpse of his new life, old familiar faces (including his wife) now do not know him at all, just as the leapees didn't know Sam in "Mirror Image." At the end of the film, we're taken back to when Larry is a teenager again, and Mike is there in the audience to tell him that everything will work out just fine. Apparently Mike has been watching Larry at different points in his life, another similarity with Al.
Anyway, the more I think about it, the more it seems as if this movie could have been Don's inspiration to write "Mirror Image." What do you think? :b
