This movie requires the most outlandish suspension of disbelief, one that usually lends itself to children's movies, but there are two reasons why I could not recommend it for children: first, because such sloppy storytelling is insulting to their intelligence and cons them into believing that it is acceptable to write that kind of tripe, and second, because it portrays two apparently (and I stress *apparently*) solid people getting a divorce as though it were an acceptable solution with three-half grown children in the mix.
And when I talk about suspension of disbelief, I do not mean Daniel's elaborate disguise, which is only slightly out-of-whack.
No, what I mean is that we are expected to believe that Daniel and Miranda both genuinely love their children and want the best for them. Yet Daniel does not earnestly strive to force them to do better for themselves until he suits up as Mrs. Doubtfire. Clearly he is capable of being a positive influence, and in some way he must have been even before, since his children seem to love him so much--so what gives? Miranda's behavior toward her husband mirrors that of a woman on tranquilizers, yet she somehow holds a successful career and truly cares for their three children. Was she cheating on her husband? The swiftness with which she warms to the advances of her wily English client suggest so, but the plot and the dialogue--especially her confession to Mrs. Doubtfire--ask us to believe otherwise.
Daniel's irresponsibility does not seem to breach that line of shirking his duties to his family. Or perhaps, unconsciously, this movie is a commentary on the refusal of modern fathers to act like men and the unworkability of two-breadwinner houses. Maybe they would have been much better off if he had remained a homemaker. But Miranda wanted it all: a solid, independent, successful career, a beautiful family, AND a powerful, manly husband who could protect and watch over her.
But it doesn't really matter, because this movie does not concern itself with the dynamics of their EXTREMELY PETTY divorce. Nor does the conclusion, in spite of its pretensions to the contrary, nourish a belief in forgiveness and redemption. Nobody in this movie behaves honorably--and granted, nobody in real life ever completely does, but it is really sad to think that life necessarily becomes so miserable just because of a few petty flaws.
And when I talk about suspension of disbelief, I do not mean Daniel's elaborate disguise, which is only slightly out-of-whack.
No, what I mean is that we are expected to believe that Daniel and Miranda both genuinely love their children and want the best for them. Yet Daniel does not earnestly strive to force them to do better for themselves until he suits up as Mrs. Doubtfire. Clearly he is capable of being a positive influence, and in some way he must have been even before, since his children seem to love him so much--so what gives? Miranda's behavior toward her husband mirrors that of a woman on tranquilizers, yet she somehow holds a successful career and truly cares for their three children. Was she cheating on her husband? The swiftness with which she warms to the advances of her wily English client suggest so, but the plot and the dialogue--especially her confession to Mrs. Doubtfire--ask us to believe otherwise.
Daniel's irresponsibility does not seem to breach that line of shirking his duties to his family. Or perhaps, unconsciously, this movie is a commentary on the refusal of modern fathers to act like men and the unworkability of two-breadwinner houses. Maybe they would have been much better off if he had remained a homemaker. But Miranda wanted it all: a solid, independent, successful career, a beautiful family, AND a powerful, manly husband who could protect and watch over her.
But it doesn't really matter, because this movie does not concern itself with the dynamics of their EXTREMELY PETTY divorce. Nor does the conclusion, in spite of its pretensions to the contrary, nourish a belief in forgiveness and redemption. Nobody in this movie behaves honorably--and granted, nobody in real life ever completely does, but it is really sad to think that life necessarily becomes so miserable just because of a few petty flaws.