This massive hit gave Robin Williams a very good opportunity to show both his comic and dramatic abilities. He had done both in previous movies, but this was the first one when he did both at the same time.
Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a man who loves his children but is not very good at adulting. Sally Field plays his wife, Miranda, who is an interior designer, and who comes home to a wild birthday party that Daniel is throwing for their son, ironically after being fired from yet another job because he is difficult.
This causes a blow up argument between Daniel and Miranda, and Miranda asks for a divorce. Daniel only gets Saturday visitation with his kids, and since he has been with his kids every day of their lives, he is dissatisfied. So when Miranda advertises for a housekeeper, Daniel applies dressed as Mrs. Doubtfire , a personable 50 something British matron, and gets the job. The reason he has such a professional costume and makeup job that his own wife and kids don't recognize him? His brother, played by Harvey Fierstein in a brilliant cameo, is a makeup artist for the film industry. How does this all work out? Let's just say that complications ensue.
I'm just going to take a tack on this I haven't heard very many people take. Robin Williams is brilliant in this and his character has my complete sympathy except for the fact that he apparently had a habit of quitting jobs over artistic license in an expensive town like San Francisco with three kids to support. Yet I found Field's character of Miranda completely unlikable. Daniel has been what he has been for years, but she waits until her profession puts her side by side with a wealthy handsome ex-flame (Pierce Brosnan) to ask for that seemingly out-of-the-blue divorce, seems thrilled when she gets sole custody in the initial hearing even though she knows what Daniel's kids mean to him, and stays mum when the second hearing goes badly for Daniel although she certainly knew why Daniel did what he did. In other words, like so many women who file for divorce, she just wishes the father would magically disintegrate as long as his child support checks keep coming. Because in Pierce Brosnan's character she has found a bigger better deal.
The message today seems pretty obvious - "there are all kinds of families". But believe it or not, while this movie was being filmed, the 1992 presidential campaign was being fought, in part, on the ground of what a real family actually looks like. That and the spelling of the word potato. But I digress.
My favorite scene - Daniel is getting ready to leave the house, he and Miranda have separated, and he is saying goodbye to his children. The son blames himself for the separation saying it happened because of his birthday party. Daniel reassures him "you did nothing wrong. This would have happened regardless." Children often blame themselves for their parents' divorce and it is important to reassure them that this is not the case.
This is a very good drama and comedy. If you want something the whole family can watch, this still fits the bill 27 years later. It skillfully handles the topic of divorce and its impact on children and parents without getting into "Squid and the Whale" territory. But you may find yourself asking unanswered questions such as, how do Daniel and Miranda afford what is today a five million dollar house in an expensive city like San Francisco AND three kids? Also, why is Daniel's brother working in San Francisco instead of Hollywood?
HIghly recommended.
Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a man who loves his children but is not very good at adulting. Sally Field plays his wife, Miranda, who is an interior designer, and who comes home to a wild birthday party that Daniel is throwing for their son, ironically after being fired from yet another job because he is difficult.
This causes a blow up argument between Daniel and Miranda, and Miranda asks for a divorce. Daniel only gets Saturday visitation with his kids, and since he has been with his kids every day of their lives, he is dissatisfied. So when Miranda advertises for a housekeeper, Daniel applies dressed as Mrs. Doubtfire , a personable 50 something British matron, and gets the job. The reason he has such a professional costume and makeup job that his own wife and kids don't recognize him? His brother, played by Harvey Fierstein in a brilliant cameo, is a makeup artist for the film industry. How does this all work out? Let's just say that complications ensue.
I'm just going to take a tack on this I haven't heard very many people take. Robin Williams is brilliant in this and his character has my complete sympathy except for the fact that he apparently had a habit of quitting jobs over artistic license in an expensive town like San Francisco with three kids to support. Yet I found Field's character of Miranda completely unlikable. Daniel has been what he has been for years, but she waits until her profession puts her side by side with a wealthy handsome ex-flame (Pierce Brosnan) to ask for that seemingly out-of-the-blue divorce, seems thrilled when she gets sole custody in the initial hearing even though she knows what Daniel's kids mean to him, and stays mum when the second hearing goes badly for Daniel although she certainly knew why Daniel did what he did. In other words, like so many women who file for divorce, she just wishes the father would magically disintegrate as long as his child support checks keep coming. Because in Pierce Brosnan's character she has found a bigger better deal.
The message today seems pretty obvious - "there are all kinds of families". But believe it or not, while this movie was being filmed, the 1992 presidential campaign was being fought, in part, on the ground of what a real family actually looks like. That and the spelling of the word potato. But I digress.
My favorite scene - Daniel is getting ready to leave the house, he and Miranda have separated, and he is saying goodbye to his children. The son blames himself for the separation saying it happened because of his birthday party. Daniel reassures him "you did nothing wrong. This would have happened regardless." Children often blame themselves for their parents' divorce and it is important to reassure them that this is not the case.
This is a very good drama and comedy. If you want something the whole family can watch, this still fits the bill 27 years later. It skillfully handles the topic of divorce and its impact on children and parents without getting into "Squid and the Whale" territory. But you may find yourself asking unanswered questions such as, how do Daniel and Miranda afford what is today a five million dollar house in an expensive city like San Francisco AND three kids? Also, why is Daniel's brother working in San Francisco instead of Hollywood?
HIghly recommended.