Mrs. Doubtfire

This is one of the best roles of Robin Williams; it seems tailor-made for him. As a producer for this film, Robin's contribution to this film is further expanded. "Mrs. Doubtfire" is the "Tootsie" of the 90's. While I believe the movie isn't suitable for young children, it is very funny and dramatic as well. Director Chris Columbus, who gave us the first two "Home Alone" films, creates a setting that differs from his past film but incorporates the kind of story that he is used to telling.

Daniel is well established as a loving but irresponsible father. Miranda also has imperfections in that she is a workaholic and can't handle motherhood with Daniel as a husband. When a divorce suddenly becomes a reality, Daniel tries to seriously prevent it because he truly loves his wife and kids. When the divorce is final, Daniel accepts that he lost his wife but is not willing to lose his kids as well. He will do whatever it takes. Despite the divorce, Daniel hasn't learned anything yet in terms of responsibility because his apartment is a mess and he can't handle life as a single without his kids everyday. When he hears that Miranda is trying to hire a housekeeper and that she won't really consider letting him look after the kids after school instead, he takes the irresponsible and unorthodox approach by becoming Mrs. Doubtfire in order to take the job. He isn't just doing this to be with his kids though. He sees the benefit of earning money at the same time and the evidence of this is when Mrs. Doubtfire and Miranda toast to the start of a "business relationship". Despite the fact that Mrs. Doubtfire is a spontaneous idea of Daniel's, good things begin to come out of it. Daniel's own life improves in that he learns to cook and clean. As Mrs. Doubtfire, he able to do worthwhile activities with his kids. Miranda becomes a better mother because of how well things are going at her house. With Daniel becoming a better man, their relationship improves as well. There are negative consequences to the existence of Mrs. Doubtfire in that Daniel still can't look after the kids after school; Miranda doesn't want to fire Mrs. Doubtfire. Another bad outcome is one that is not suitable for the young children in the audience in my opinion. As Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel is able to secretly associate with Stu and the humor of those moments is quite vulgar. Besides, Stu is a good man and Daniel's immaturity creates these bad cinematic moments. The reason Mrs. Doubtfire insults Stu is because Daniel doesn't want Stu to take his place as the children's father figure but the point is that this kind of humor isn't good for a family film.

In a movie like this where the protagonist is living two lives, there is always at least one comical scene where both lives collide. We get two in this movie and the first one with Mrs. Sellner takes place early on to show the layers of Daniel's costume. Also in a movie like this, someone early on learns the truth and in this case it is the two oldest children. The climax is the second and ultimate moment of "identity crisis" for our protagonist. Daniel has to be at the restaurant as Mrs. Doubtfire to fend off Stu and because Miranda & the children want him to come. Daniel also has to dine with Mr. Lundy at the restaurant in order to capitalize on the recent opportunity that has come his way. Things probably would have worked out all right had it not been for the alcohol. Mrs. Doubtfire is drinking wine and Daniel is having scotch in order to get on Lundy's good side. Daniel's drunken state almost ruins his chances with Lundy and even worse, it leads to Stu choking. The inevitable moment of truth comes as Mrs. Doubtfire is unmasked and Daniel is in legal trouble. He violated the terms of the divorce. Furthermore, Daniel had his two oldest children keep secrets from their mom. Worst of all, Natalie on a psychological level may not understand the whole crisis so we aren't too surprised by the judge's ruling. It is a painful scene nonetheless because Daniel is the protagonist and we hate to see our hero paying the price for his actions. Because Miranda knows Daniel, she also knows that Daniel is a good father and has become a better father because of this whole situation. It is apparent to the whole family that things were better with Mrs. Doubtfire and this sets up the nice surprise of the new TV show. At the TV studio, Daniel and Miranda finally have a serious conversation about what to do with the children and what is in their best interests. In the courtroom, Miranda was still angry. After some time has passed, she remembers how wonderful things were with Mrs. Doubtfire around. In addition, Daniel has become a responsible man and can talk things out. Because of the change that these two characters have undergone, we get resolution at the end of the movie. We also have another moment when Daniel shows his newfound maturity as Mrs. Doubtfire tries to help a child with a life much like that of his own children. The comedy in this show works really well and my favorite moments include when Daniel calls as an applicant for the housekeeping job and he screams once Miranda answers the phone. It comes out of nowhere for both Miranda and the audience. I really get a kick out of Mrs. Doubtfire lighting her chest on fire by accident. Daniel's "dino-sorus line" is entertaining. It is probably the only time Elvis will be compared with a T-Rex. I also really love Mrs. Doubtfire's TV show because of the interchange with the puppet monkey. As they educate about extinct animals for example, the scene suddenly becomes more like an animal rights activist show with lines like "Well tell the people about it!"

This movie was going to be shot in Chicago but San Francisco was easier production-wise. I like that because the film really portrays the city in a good light. Speaking of that, the film has a bit more white than the "Home Alone" movies so that is a nice change by Columbus as well. He used the same editor however from those films, Raja Gosnell, who would later become a family film director himself. "Mrs. Doubtfire" has a good use of montage by the way such as in the makeup chair and depicting the passing months as Mrs. Doubtfire works & spends time with the children. The film has a perfect use of songs that increase the level of entertainment. This was my first movie with future Oscar winner Howard Shore as the musical composer and he would later become one of my favorites. "Mrs. Doubtfire", along with "Homeward Bound", introduced me to Sally Field had she was such a great choice for the role of Miranda. I was also introduced to future Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, Mara Wilson and Harvey Fierstein.

This movie won the Oscar for Best Makeup and it is obvious why. At the Golden Globes, "Mrs. Doubtfire" won Best Picture and Robin Williams won Best Actor (Both awards were for the Comedy or Musical genre). The American Film Institute put this movie on its list of the funniest Hollywood movies at #67 and it was the second most successful film of 1993 after "Jurassic Park". The character of Mrs. Doubtfire is cemented in pop culture thanks to Robin Williams. There are themes in the film however that don't quite belong in a family film. This is a more grown up film then Columbus' "Home Alone" movies. One example is that perfect happiness can be attained in a split family but I argue that true happiness comes from a nuclear, traditional family. That is why dating must be done smart because marriage should last far longer than most of the world has come to expect. If you start a marriage where divorce is not an option then it is much less likely to happen. To end, I will step off my soapbox and just say that "Mrs. Doubtfire" is both genuinely funny and dramatic.

4 Stars