MR. DESTINY

For anyone who ever wondered how different their life would be if they could change one moment of the past, MR. DESTINY is a reflective, delightful and entertaining comedy. For twenty years, Larry Burrows has believed his life would have been far better if he hadn’t struck out at bat during his high school championship baseball game. Though he loves his wife, Ellen, he has recently lost his job and is taken for granted by friends. To cap it all off, everyone has forgotten his 35th birthday.

If only he had swung his bat a half-second sooner to connect with a home run instead of a strikeout, he would not be playing that ruinous moment thousands of times over and over again. However, as it is, the obsession and guilt has been haunting and oppressing him for the last two decades.

Just when life seems at its most meaningless ebb, Larry meets Mike (Mr. Destiny), a curious stranger in a bar who tells him there’s no sense in crying over “spilt milk”. Serving Larry a drink by the same name, Mike tells Larry he has the power to show him just how different his life would have really been if he hadn’t lost the game in such an embarrassing defeat.

Larry suddenly finds himself transported to the intriguing realm of “what if.” A company president, he is married to Cindy Jo, the owner’s daughter, and lives in an enormous mansion complete with library, butler, chauffeur, and a fleet of cars. At first, Larry doesn’t realize that all this prestige and wealth belong to him, but Mike reappears periodically to enlighten him.

However, Larry soon discovers the dark side of his new status. Before long, he realizes that there is an “other” woman in his life and that he has few friends because of his haughty, domineering ways. Money and prestige, to a great extent, have replaced family and friends. His former wife, Ellen, knows him only as Mr. Burrows, the company President, and has little use for him because of his ill-treatment of employees and his disdain for union demands and benefits.

In addition, Larry’s good friend, Cliff, whom he has known all his life, now suffers from a terrible inferiority complex and has become suicidal. Whereas once Cliff would cut up with Larry, playing practical jokes on him, he has become afraid of Mr. Burrows, since he is now his employee. There are even a few funny moments such as when Larry tries to win Ellen back, but her dog chases him up a tree.

In understanding, appreciating and wanting to return to his former hum-drum life, Larry shows growth and development as a person and reflects contentment with his lot in life. Of course, this is a biblical principle: “godliness with contentment is great gain… For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (I Timothy 6:6-10).

Larry’s new maturity becomes obvious when he confides to Mike near the film’s end, “I just didn’t know what I had,” and Mike responds that things will work out for him, but that “we must take charge of our destiny.” As Christians, we realize that God is sovereign in our lives and overrules in our circumstances, but at the same time, we can learn from this film to live with an attitude of thanksgiving for what God has given us without complaining about our lot in life.

Although MR. DESTINY starts slow, it picks up speed to end on a very positive, upbeat note. In all, it is an enjoyable movie although there are some objectionable scenes involving sexual innuendo and the scantily-clad Cindy Jo. There are also several profanities and too many obscenities, which are very objectionable.

Overall, the movie combines ideas from IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, BACK TO THE FUTURE and FIELD OF DREAMS. It also seeks to answer everyone’s question of: “What if I had taken another direction in my life, how different would my life be now?” Writer/director James Orr says the film’s message is “Count your blessings now, open your eyes and see what you have. Whatever it is is probably pretty wonderful.”RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please address your comments to:

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Touchstone Pictures

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