I have been aching to write an article about this movie for awhile. One of my favorite movies of all time. Mr. Destiny was released in 1990 I believe and it came out in an era that was was so rich with great films.
I've always loved this movie because it's an amazing lesson on gratitude. Jim Belushi's character in the movie lives a pretty normal life. But he has always wondered what would his life would have been like if he had the hit the home run in the game. In the film Michael Caine plays the angel or mentor figure and let's Belushi see what his life would have been like if he had hit the home run.
In this new life, he has a new wife (played by Rene Russo), a new home (a much bigger home) and new wealthy and influential friends. His life is seemingly perfect.
But with everything you have to take the good with the bad and he soon finds out his seemingly perfect life isn't that perfect after all. We see in this movie how sometimes when the grass seems greener on the other side, it really is because we can't see how green the grass is on our side. I have been guilty of this way of thinking before as I'm sure most people have at some point in their lives.
I would recommend this movie to any aspiring writer, screenwriter, producer, director or really anyone who wants to work or be in the film industry.
If you have a chance there's another movie with a similar premise called, "The Family Man," with Nicolas Cage that I would highly recommend. These movies are neck and neck for me. I think Mr. Destiny slightly edges out The Family Man as far as I'm concerned but I think it's because I just feel more nostalgic about that one. Jim Belushi killed it in "Taking Care of Business" too. That's not a similar kind of movie but one of Belushi's finest. Him and Charles Groden were a great comedy duo.
