Mickey Stern (Joseph Bologna) is living in the past. When he was still in high school, Mickey (played as a young man by Joshua Fishbein) was a baseball phenom, signed by his beloved Yankees. He was on his way to Korea, proud to fight for his country. Then, visiting Fire Island with his best friend, Harry (Brett Tabisel), he met Leah (Kylie Delre), a beautiful young woman on her way to medical school. Mickey and Leah quickly hit it off, spending a romantic night together before circumstances
parted them. Mickey went off to Korea, where he was wounded, which ended his dreams of baseball stardom. Leah went to medical school. It wasn't until 50 years later that she wrote to him, explaining that she'd never gotten over him. He felt the same way, so they were reunited and married. They spent one joyous year together before she passed away. Now, with Harry (Tom Bosley) still at his side, Mickey returns to Fire Island to collect Leah's old things. There, he makes a startling discovery. He sees a woman who looks exactly like Leah (Delre) and even has the same name. More shocking, he finds a young man named Michael (Fishbein) who is exactly like his 17-year-old self, right down to the smallest mannerism. Everyone thinks he's crazy, but Mickey is determined to correct the mistakes of his own past through these two young people. As he fumblingly tries to bring the two together, he makes some key discoveries about his own life. Written and directed by first-timer Michael Prywes, Returning Mickey Stern was cast, in part, through a website created by Prywes, www.castourmovie.com, where visitors got to view auditions and vote among the finalists for four key roles. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
The notion of grievingly happening upon your dead beloved, young and lovely again, is simple and potent, but the film's airless amateurism, belabored ethnicism ('Oy gevalt!'), and trite dialogue kill it in the water.
The always-watchable Bologna is the adhesive holding together this slight and gentle romantic comedy, lending it perhaps more conviction and authority than the material warrants.
Far from being charming, there's something grotesque about a desperate older man playing matchmaker to a pair of young would-be lovers, then peering at them from behind bushes and pumping each for the intimate details of their trysts.
Nice in a way, but it just didn't work for me. This fantasy romantic drama's basic plot sounds good but ended up not that interesting. It has the look of a made for television film. Nice to see Connie Stevens again though.
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