"Danny" (Robin Williams) and wife "Miranda" (Sally Field) just can't go on any longer with their marriage. Their constant rowing and her husband finally jacking in his job as a voice-over artiste of some cigarette-based "creative differences" see her get a divorce. "Danny" adores his three kids but is only given visitation rights for a Saturday until he can prove worthy of more. He manages to get a basic job, but misses his brood terribly. When he hears that "Miranda" is seeking a housekeeper, he hits on the idea of getting his gay brother "Frank" (Harvey Fierstein) and his boyfriend - who are into prosthetics - to make him a mask and some body-altering clothes and et voilà - he is now the English (but Scottish sounding?) "Mrs Doubtfire". "Miranda" takes to her instantly - after some mischievous ground-laying work be her ex, and soon (s)he is back in the family home amongst the children (s)he loves. With court-ordered inspections of his home regularly taking place, it is only a matter of time before this wheeze is rumbled but "Danny" hopes that his employer at a television network for kids (Robert Prosky) might appreciate the character he has created, boost the flagging ratings and maybe that way he can make enough money to restore his family to him? Meantime, the wealthy and smarmy "Stuart" (Pierce Brosnan) is looming on the horizon trying to woo his way into the family's good…

_Mrs. Doubtfire_, part of my Robin Williams retrospective Anne Fine's novel "Alias Madame Doubtfire" was written to help children navigate the pain of divorce, offering comfort during one of life's hardest transitions. But in adapting it for the screen, director Chris Columbus and star Robin Williams created something unexpected: America's answer to Mary Poppins. Here, too, a magical nanny arrives to transform a fractured family, except this nanny is the father in disguise, and the magic isn't supernatural, it's love, patience, and the willingness to change. Thirty years later, Mrs. Doubtfire remains timeless, a film that demonstrates the breadth of Robin Williams' talent and may well be his most adorable role. Daniel Hillard is a voice actor, a devoted father, and a disaster of a husband. After losing custody of his three children in a divorce, he disguises himself as an elderly British nanny, Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, and gets hired by his ex-wife Miranda (Sally Field) to care for the kids. What could have been mere farce becomes something deeper: a portrait of a man learning, slowly and painfully, how to be the parent his children need. Williams' performance is extraordinary, not because of the physicality — though his commitment to the role is flawless — but because he plays both Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire as fully realized people. Daniel is manic, desperate, often selfi…

Browse discussions about “Mrs. Doubtfire”

Jump to Reddit for live threads on this title.