Mrs. Doubtfire is directed by Chris Columbus and adapted to screenplay by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon from the novel Alias Madame Doubtfire written by Anne Fine. It stars Robin Williams, Sally Field, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, Mara Wilson, Pierce Brosnan and Harvey Fierstein. Music is by Howard Shore and cinematography by Donald McAlpine.
Robin Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a struggling out of work actor who when faced with divorce from Miranda (Field) and separation from his three children, disguises himself as an old female housekeeper in order to see them daily.
Centrally as a film it is what it is, a chance for Williams (excellent) to dress up in drag and act the goof, but boy does he do it well. In the mix is the serious aspects involving the pain of imminent divorce and separation from one's children. The script is sharp and ready made for Williams' brand of cynical witticisms, while not painting Brosnan's Stuart Dunmire (the new man in Miranda's life) as an oily snake shows good sense in the writing. The child actors are engaging and never sickly, while Fierstein as Daniel's artistic eccentric brother is gloriously colourful.
A real family crowd pleaser that turned a profit of over $400 million at the worldwide box office, it's not a film that pushes boundaries of "drag" comedy, and you don't have to dig too far for flaws. But this is often very funny and it hits the right emotional beats for the topic at hand. 8/10
Robin Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a struggling out of work actor who when faced with divorce from Miranda (Field) and separation from his three children, disguises himself as an old female housekeeper in order to see them daily.
Centrally as a film it is what it is, a chance for Williams (excellent) to dress up in drag and act the goof, but boy does he do it well. In the mix is the serious aspects involving the pain of imminent divorce and separation from one's children. The script is sharp and ready made for Williams' brand of cynical witticisms, while not painting Brosnan's Stuart Dunmire (the new man in Miranda's life) as an oily snake shows good sense in the writing. The child actors are engaging and never sickly, while Fierstein as Daniel's artistic eccentric brother is gloriously colourful.
A real family crowd pleaser that turned a profit of over $400 million at the worldwide box office, it's not a film that pushes boundaries of "drag" comedy, and you don't have to dig too far for flaws. But this is often very funny and it hits the right emotional beats for the topic at hand. 8/10