Identity Switching In A Magic Mirror

1833 Words4 Pages

In a magic mirror, a slacker sees himself as twenty years older and when the older version of himself mentors the younger version on how to live his life, things spiral out of control for the both of them. BRIEF SYNOPSIS: It’s 1995 and JIM MANSELL (20) likes to party, hang out with his friends, smoke pot, and date women. SARAH likes him, but Jim doesn’t really pay attention to her. His father, PETER, reminds him of the importance of getting an education. In present day, the older JAMES (40) is a lonely man, who works in construction and hasn’t made much of his life. His father, Peter, who’s dying, tells James that he’ll never be alone if he has the mirror. James doesn’t know what he means. Peter dies. James returns homes, looks into …show more content…

It contains a great hook and the high concept is very appealing. It’s a bit of an identity-switching story, without them really switching identities. The concept is a great setup for conflict, comedy, drama, and character reflection and transformation. There’s a solid inciting event that propels the story forward. There are some good story choices when Jim gets into a relationship and changes the future. There’s a good midpoint twist (waking up with Jenny), and there’s a nice character transition at the end with Jim. The script conveys strong themes and messages about learning to live in the present and how our choices can shape our future or destiny. The use of the mirror is a smart story choice, as it conveys the theme of reflecting on one’s life and past, as well as reflecting about one’s future. With that said, while the script shows a lot of promise, the script would also benefit from more development to fully realize the promise of the …show more content…

Remember, it’s like a classic rise from rags to riches and then the fall. Show this. The other major concern about the script is the romantic subplot. Jim dates Jenny, but they share no chemistry with each other, and James dates Lisa, but they also, unfortunately, share no chemistry with each other. When James discovers he’s married to Jenny, he eventually falls for her, but sadly again, they have no chemistry. The lack of chemistry makes it challenging for the audience to believe they are in love and the audience doesn’t feel the pain they both experience. Thus, the solution is to elevate the chemistry and make the audience believe they are destined for one another. However, one wonders why it’s not Sarah (vs. Jenny). One suspects it’s because of the storyline in which Jenny discovers Jim’s red book. To be honest, this storyline never engages or feels authentic. Jenny claims she never loved Jim, but the older Jenny seems to love James. Regardless, it’s a storyline that doesn’t provide for an emotional

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