10 Movie Scenes With Unexpected Influences
2. The Mona Lisa's Destruction Was Influenced By Mr. Bean - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Knives Out sequel Glass Onion unforgettably climaxes with hero Helen Brand (Janelle Monáe) triggering an explosion which ends up destroying not only Miles Bron's (Edward Norton) lush compound but also the Mona Lisa, which Bron had in his home on loan from the Louvre.
Yet Rian Johnson's Oscar-nominated script actually had inspiration from a most unexpected source - the 1997 Mr. Bean movie, simply titled Bean.
Even those who've never seen Bean will surely be familiar with the iconic scene where Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) sneezes on James Abbott McNeill Whistler's 1871 painting Whistler's Mother, and only further defaces the priceless piece of art when he tries to clean it.
On Empire's Spoiler Special podcast, Johnson confirmed that, as a big fan of that scene, it was firmly in his mind when writing Glass Onion's incendiary finale:
"Daniel [Craig] was a bit worried that we were 'killing the puppy' by upsetting people as we destroyed the Mona Lisa, but the scene in Bean where he destroys Whistler's Mother is one of the funniest scenes in cinematic history, so I figured we'd get away with this... That scene is so good."