Mirror Routine: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

When someone attempts to be a mirror image of another person by standing behind a glass pane, sometimes only an empty frame or a gap in a row of mirrors, copying their movements exactly.

 

See also [[Stand in Portrait]] and [[Wallpaper Camouflage]].

{{examples}}

== Advertising ==

 

* A variation of this is done in ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''. The Mirror card [[Invoked Trope|deliberately]] [[Captain Obvious|mirrors]] Sakura's actions in order to reveal its identity.

* ''[[Naruto]]'': [[Brilliant but Lazy|Shikamaru and the rest of the Nara family]] pull this off by way of their [[Shadow Pin]] ninjutsu. To paraphrase an enemy, "You got ahold of my shadow, so now we marry each other's movements."

 

* A variation shows up in the [[Buster Keaton]] film ''[[Sherlock, Jr.]]''—Buster stands in front of what appears to be a full-length mirror, then steps through, revealing that it's a door connecting two identical rooms.

* Max Linder, in the 1921 silent comedy ''Seven Years Bad Luck'', in which Max's servant is trying to hide the fact that he's broken his master's mirror.

* Played with in the Bette Midler flick ''Big Business''. She's playing identical twins who don't know about this, and meet for the first time—walking along a mirrored surface. Neither wants to foil the other, they just happen to do the same movements at the same time—except, you know, mirrored. ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZ43zj01b0 Video])

* Used in ''Airheads'' when Pip first leaves the radio station. He encounters a police officer, and they perform the basic routine. Pip tries to throw off the cop with some kind of dance move, but the officer reaches for his gun, causing the inept rocker to flee.

* This happens in the TV movie ''Model Behavior'', except the lookalikes are ''unintentionally'' copying each other's movements.

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in [[The Monkees]]' film ''[[Head]]''. Peter thinks Davy's trying to do "the old mirror routine" in the studio restroom, but Davy's actually trying to warn Peter about a huge [[Evil Eye]] in the mirror.

* [[Roberto Benigni]] does a quick mirror routine with an [[Identical Stranger]] in ''Johnny Stecchino.''

* In the unused script for "Back to the Future II", old Doc Brown travels to the sixties and has to avoid being seen by young Doc Brown by hiding behind an empty mirror frame. ''"Great Scott! I look terrible!"''

 

== Literature ==

* Inversion: In ''Ares Express'' by [[Ian McDonald]], Sweetness searches through a mirror maze for one image that doesn't match her every move, because it's an independent virtual-reality copy of her.

* In ''[[Disney Fairies|Fawn and the Mysterious Trickster]]'', Fawn pranks Beck by dressing up as her and pretending to be her reflection.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* This sketch was done as a performance in ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'': Rather slim prima ballerina Darcy Bussel in a famous cameo is reflected by not-at-all slim Geraldine.

* This is a plot point in the episode "The Tailor's Dummy" of ''[[Jonathan Creek]]'', inspired by ''[[Duck Soup]]'', to bluff that one man was the murderer.

* One episode of ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' involves a Soviet spy who has undergone plastic surgery to resemble Gilligan landing on the island. When the two Gilligans come face to face, the spy tries to convince the real Gilligan that he is looking into a mirror. Gilligan manages to trip the spy up by acting like he is going to sneeze and then stopping halfway through.

* Happens a few times in ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', usually with Benny in drag mirroring a woman. The "disguise" fails when they start to strip....

* Parodied in a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch parodying ''[[The Swan]]'' in the episode hosted by the Olsen twins. One twin played the contestant looking at herself in the mirror; the other played the mirror image, deliberately off-sync with the other. The "image" even hands the other a tissue when she starts crying!

* In the first episode of ''[[Sister, Sister]]'', Tia and Tamara simultaneously brush their hair a bit (like, out of one eye) while standing on either side of an empty frame. Neither knows about the existence of the other until later in the episode.

 

== Puppet Shows ==

* In an episode of ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', Kermit checks his appearance in an empty frame; on the other side is Scooter's wind-up TV show host that looks exactly like Kermit, except for the wind-up key in the back.

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'': The battle against Shadow Link starts off like this and goes on for about a minute or so before he starts attacking on his own.

* ''[[Sonic Generations]]'': Before fighting the Death Egg Robot, Classic and Modern Sonic both walk up to a glass window in the wall separating them and perform this gag. The perspective the player sees it from depends on which Sonic they used to enter the boss portal from the hub world. In Classic Sonic's perspective, he realizes the trick after Eggman speaks. In Modern Sonic's, he doesn't notice until Classic Sonic runs off.

 

== Web Comics ==

{{quote|'''Kaalinor:''' Wow! That was totally awesome! I can't believe I stayed in sync with you for so long!}}

* The protagonist of ''[[Chopping Block]]'' [http://choppingblock.keenspot.com/d/20001003.html once did this] with [[Friday the 13th|Jason]] (both wear hockey masks.)

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* When the title character of ''[[Ruby Quest]]'' leaves a room and returns, what was a window into another room seems to have changed into a mirror—at least, the figure on the other side perfectly mimicks Ruby. When she's forced to smash the glass, however, the figure remains, and its face [[Body Horror|distorts]] as it squeezes into the room.

 

== Western Animation ==

** In the Chip 'n Dale cartoon ''Two Chips and a Miss'', both Chip and Dale do this thinking they both saw a reflection of themselves to straighten their tuxedos when they were both secretly invited to a club.

* [[Bugs Bunny]] does this to Elmer in the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon "Hare Tonic" to convince Elmer that he is turning into a rabbit.

* [[Daffy Duck]] does this in ''The Impatient Patient'' and ''Draftee Daffy''.

* Tom and another cat did this while fighting over Jerry in the Chuck Jones [[Tom and Jerry]] short ''Cat and Dupli-Cat''.

* An episode of ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' has an evil mime do this to Clay. It ends when he tries to mirror-punch himself in the head.

* ''[[Count Duckula]]'', in the episode "One Stormy Night".

* ''[[Family Guy]]'' does this with Hitler vs. Stewie disguised as Hitler, a shot-by-shot remake of the infamous [[Marx Brothers]] skit in the episode "Road to Germany".

* ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' has a shapeshifter escaping from the heroes this way. He has the advantage of being on the other side of glass.

* A common gag on ''[[Scooby Doo]]'', usually with Shaggy as a participant. Sometimes it is the Fake [[Monster of the Week]] doing the copying, other times it's Shaggy trying to fake out his pursuers. Sometimes this happens with Scooby, often with the villain [[Latex Perfection|wearing a very realistic latex Scooby-Doo mask]] (but with either his true hands exposed or no spots on his body).

* [[Rugrats|Chuckie]] and [[The Wild Thornberrys|Donnie]] in the [[Crossover Special]] ''Rugrats Go Wild''.

* An [[Easy Amnesia]] episode of ''[[Donkey Kong Country (animation)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' includes this... [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er4zU20y8kg&feature=PlayList&p=2FABC4C1D36B5F36&playnext_from=PL&index=7 in song].

{{quote|'''Finn:''' Come on, Jake, I ''know'' this isn't a mirror! What the-- You're [[Lampshade Hanging|doing it WRONG, even!]]}}

* Rainbow Dash from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' does this in "[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2/E26 A Canterlot Wedding Part 2|A Canterlot Wedding Part 2]]" with {{spoiler|the first Changeling to take her appearance}}, complete with a subtle lag in the latter's movements.

 

== Real Life ==

* [http://improveverywhere.com/2008/07/06/human-mirror/ Another prank], done by [[Improv Everywhere]].

* ''[[Cracked.com]]'''s [http://www.cracked.com/article_19369_the-6-most-mind-blowing-ways-your-brain-can-malfunction.html The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Ways Your Brain Can Malfunction] mentions a mental disorder called mirrored-self misidentification, in which someone looking into a mirror believes that the [[Mirror Monster|monster in the mirror]] is an intruder performing a Mirror Routine, not oneself.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Reflective Tropes]]