Plot
Robin Williams learns that keeping in touch with his children can be a drag in this hit comedy. Daniel Hillard (Williams) is an eccentric actor who specializes in dubbing voices for cartoon characters. Daniel is a kind man and a loving father, but he's a poor disciplinarian and a shaky role model. After throwing an elaborate and disastrous birthday party for his son, Daniel's wife Miranda (Sally Field) reaches the end of her patience and files for divorce. Daniel is heartbroken when Miranda is given custody of the children, and he's only allowed to visit them once a week. Determined to stay in contact with his kids, Daniel learns that Miranda is looking for a housekeeper, and with help from his brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein), a makeup artist, Daniel gets the job disguised as Mrs. Iphegenia Doubtfire, a stern but caring Scottish nanny. Daniel pulls off the ruse so well that neither his ex-wife nor his children recognize him, and in the process, he learns how to be the good parent he should have been all along. However, Daniel also has to deal with the little matter of Miranda's new boyfriend, Stu (Pierce Brosnan). ~ Mark Deming, RoviReview
Chris Columbus' Mrs. Doubtfire is one of Robin Williams' biggest hits, with more than 420 million dollars in worldwide receipts and status as a surefire ratings-getter whenever it is shown on network television. Not long after voicing the motormouth Genie in Aladdin, Williams takes his range even further as one of the most popular cross-dressing figures of all time, next to Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie and Dame Edna Everage. Once the audience concedes that a dense layer of makeup is enough to conceal Williams' identity from the people who know him best, his family, Mrs. Doubtfire takes off as a first-rate screwball comedy with impeccable timing and a handful of classic scenes. Especially memorable are Williams' attempts to bounce between dinners at two different tables, as two different people, in one restaurant, which involves numerous costume changes and some awkward fumbling with an uncooperative set of false teeth. Numerous such close shaves are the bread and butter of this movie, and Williams makes them work perfectly. Even if they strain credibility to the breaking point, the outcome easily justifies a full suspension of disbelief. Supporting players Sally Field, Harvey Fierstein, and Pierce Brosnan are all wonderfully cast. The comedy's soft underbelly of sentiment would preview some of Williams' more saccharine choices later in the 1990s, but did not sufficiently detract from the proceedings at this point. ~ Derek Armstrong, RoviCast
- Robin Williams - Daniel Hillard
- Sally Field - Miranda Hillard
- Pierce Brosnan - Stu
- Harvey Fierstein - Frank
- Polly Holliday - Gloria
Credit
W. Steven Graham - Art Director, Paula Depre' - Associate Producer, Jane Jenkins - Casting, Janet Hirshenson - Casting, Joan Bradshaw - Co-producer, Marit Allen - Costume Designer, Stephen Lee Davis - First Assistant Director, Geoffrey Hansen - First Assistant Director, Cherylanne Martin - First Assistant Director, Chris Columbus - Director, Raja Gosnell - Editor, Matthew Rushton - Executive Producer, Howard Shore - Composer (Music Score), Nelson Stoll - Musical Direction/Supervision, Greg Cannon - Makeup, Pamela Westmore - Makeup, Douglas Ryan - Camera Operator, Angelo P. Graham - Production Designer, Donald M. McAlpine - Cinematographer, Mark A. Radcliffe - Producer, Robin Williams - Producer, Marsha Garces Williams - Producer, Harold L. Fuhrman - Set Designer, Steven A. Saklad - Set Designer, Steven Wolff - Set Designer, Garrett Lewis - Set Designer, Robert C. Goldstein - Set Designer, John McLeod - Special Effects, Randi Mayem Singer - Screenwriter, Leslie Dixon - Screenwriter, Chuck Jones - Supervising Animator, Ve Neill - Key Make-up, Anne Fine - Book Author| Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry (1986 Film), Mrs. Dane's Defense (1918 Film) | |
| Mrs. Fitzherbert (1947 Film), Mrs. Gibbons' Boys (1962 Film) |
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