Mrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus, written by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel Madame Doubtfire, by Anne Fine. The film was produced by Mark Radcliffe, Marsha Garces Williams and her then-husband Robin Williams, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, and Robert Prosky. It follows a recently divorced voice actor who disguises himself as an elderly female housekeeper in order to spend time with his children.
Mrs. Doubtfire was released in the United States by 20th Century Fox on November 24, 1993. It grossed $441.3 million on a $25 million budget, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1993. While critical reception was mixed, the film won the Academy Award for Best Makeup, Awards for Mrs. Doubtfire . Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-11-12. and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Williams was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Plot
Freelance voice actor Daniel Hillard lives in San Francisco and is a devoted father to three children: 14-year-old Lydia, 12-year-old Chris, and five-year-old Natalie. However, his workaholic wife Miranda considers him immature and unreliable. After quitting a job following a disagreement over a morally questionable script, Daniel returns home to throw Chris a chaotic birthday party, despite Miranda's objections due to Chris' bad grades. Miranda arrives home early to break up the party and, in the ensuing argument, tells Daniel that she wants a divorce. Due to Daniel's unemployed and homeless status, Miranda is granted sole custody of the children, with Daniel having visitation rights every Saturday; shared custody is contingent on Daniel finding a steady job and suitable residence within three months.
Daniel secures an apartment and a job as a shipping clerk at a television station. After learning that Miranda is looking to hire a housekeeper, Daniel secretly alters her classified ad form, then calls her using his voice acting skills to pose as a series of undesirable applicants before calling as "Euphegenia Doubtfire" (a surname he derives from a newspaper headline), an elderly British nanny with strong credentials. Impressed, Miranda invites Mrs. Doubtfire for an interview. Daniel's brother, Frank, a makeup artist, and Frank's domestic partner, Jack, help Daniel appear as an old woman through the use of makeup and prosthetics.
Miranda hires Mrs. Doubtfire following a successful interview. The kids initially struggle under her authority, but eventually come around and thrive, while Miranda becomes more easygoing and closer with the kids. Daniel further improves himself as well, becoming more responsible, learning several household skills, and earning Miranda's respect. However, Miranda puts more trust in Mrs. Doubtfire than in Daniel, and cannot bring herself to dismiss her. Miranda also begins dating an old friend, Stu Dunmeyer, much to Daniel's chagrin. One night, after Lydia and Chris discover Daniel standing while urinating, he reveals the truth; they agree to keep his secret so that they can keep spending time with their father.
One day, the station's CEO, Jonathan Lundy, sees Daniel playing with props on the set of a recently cancelled children's show. Impressed by his voice acting, humor, and imagination, Lundy invites Daniel to dinner to discuss plans for a new show. The meeting turns out to be at the same place and time as a planned birthday dinner for Miranda, to which Mrs. Doubtfire is invited. Daniel spends the night changing in and out of the Mrs. Doubtfire costume to attend both events. Becoming intoxicated, Daniel accidentally returns to Lundy in costume, but explains himself by claiming that Mrs. Doubtfire is his idea for the new show's host. After learning of Stu's pepper allergy, Daniel sneaks into the kitchen and seasons Stu's jambalaya with powdered cayenne pepper. When Stu begins choking, a guilt-ridden Daniel administers the Heimlich maneuver, which causes the prosthetic mask to slip off and expose his identity. Horrified, Miranda leaves with the children.
At their next custody hearing, Daniel points out that he has met the judge's requirements ahead of schedule, then explains that his actions were done out of love for his children and begs to still be allowed to see them. Disturbed by Daniel's behavior, the judge gives Miranda full custody of her children while only granting Daniel supervised visitation rights every Saturday, suggesting that he undergo psychological counseling. Without Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda and the kids become miserable, acknowledging how much "she" improved their lives. They then discover that Daniel is hosting a new children's show, Euphegenia's House, as Mrs. Doubtfire, which becomes a nationwide hit.
Miranda visits Daniel on set and admits that things were better when he was involved with the family as Mrs. Doubtfire. She arranges joint custody, allowing Daniel to take the children daily after school. As Daniel leaves for the day with the children, Miranda watches an episode of Euphegenia's House in which Mrs. Doubtfire answers a letter from a young girl whose parents recently separated, and assures the girl that no matter what arrangements families have, love will prevail.
Cast
Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire Sally Field as Miranda Hillard Pierce Brosnan as Stu Dunmeyer Harvey Fierstein as Frank Hillard Polly Holliday as Gloria Lisa Jakub as Lydia Hillard Matthew Lawrence as Chris Hillard Mara Wilson as Natalie Hillard Robert Prosky as Jonathan Lundy Anne Haney as Mrs. Sellner Scott Capurro as Jack Martin Mull as Justin Gregory William Newman as Mr. Sprinkles
Production Casting Blake Lively unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Natalie Hillard, before Mara Wilson won the part. Warren Beatty was Anne Fine's first choice for the role of Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire. Tim Allen was offered the roles of Daniel Hillard and Stu Dunmeyer, but declined both of them. Daniel Stern was another choice for the role of Stu Dunmeyer, but was busy with Rookie of the Year. Chris Columbus originally wanted Catherine O'Hara for the role of Miranda Hillard because of her experience in Home Alone, but O'Hara was busy with The Nightmare Before Christmas. Kirstie Alley was also considered for the role of Miranda Hillard. George Carlin, Gene Wilder and Charles Grodin were considered for the role of Mr. Jonathan Lundy.
Filming
Mrs. Doubtfire was filmed in San Francisco in spring 1993. Various locations in the city were used during filming. Parts were filmed at the studios of television station KTVU in Oakland. Street signs for the intersection near the "Painted Lady" home, Steiner, and Broadway, were visible onscreen.
The exact address, 2640 Steiner Street, became a tourist attraction for some time after the film's release.Shot on This Site, William A. Gordon, Citadel, 1995, p.39. Following Robin Williams' death on August 11, 2014, the house became an impromptu memorial. All interior filming for the home took place in a Bay Area warehouse, converted for soundstage usage. Williams' character, Daniel Hillard, lived upstairs from Danilo Bakery at 516 Green Street; his children attended a school at Filbert and Taylor.
The makeup for Mrs. Doubtfire's appearance took four hours to apply. Williams later recounted how he used to walk through San Francisco dressed in full makeup and costume as Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, and on one occasion, visiting a sex shop to buy a large dildo and other toys. Director Chris Columbus stated in a 2015 interview that they shot with multiple cameras at once, like shooting a documentary, to capture the cast members' reaction to Williams's improvisation. According to Columbus, they ran out of film after shooting too much of Williams' improvisation. The restaurant scene was filmed at Bridges Restaurant & Bar in Danville, California.
The score was composed, orchestrated and conducted by Howard Shore. (Category no. TCF 07822-11015-2)
The Pudgy and Grunge animated film segment in the opening scene was directed by Chuck Jones. Though only one minute of the cartoon is shown during the film, Jones and his team animated five minutes of footage.
Release Theatrical The film was released in the United States on November 24, 1993, and was rated PG-13.
When the film was released in the United Kingdom in January 1994, it received a certificate of 12, which, at the time, completely refused access to children under age 12 at cinemas (the 12A certificate did not exist until 2002). This resulted in cinemas requesting their local authorities to override the decision of the British Board of Film Classification, after having to turn down disappointed families. In February 1994, The Independent reported that the censors refused to give the film a U or PG certificate, and gave it a 12 instead, which was due to 20th Century Fox refusing to remove three controversial lines. After the film's distributors requested the BBFC to reconsider, a compromise was reached, and the film was rerated PG, with just one of the proposed three cuts implemented, involving the removal of thirteen seconds featuring sexual innuendo (the other two cuts would have removed just some of the innuendo), and it was rereleased in May 1994.
Home media Fox Video released the film on VHS in the United States on April 26, 1994, just five months after the film's theatrical release and while the film was still grossing over $1 million a weekend. It would also debut on a THX certified LaserDisc release that same month.
In the United Kingdom, the rated PG version was used in the initial VHS and DVD releases. In November 2012, the distributors resubmitted the original version to the BBFC, and the 12 certificate was reinstated for home video, along with a 12A certificate for cinema release in 2014.(see extension under the feature icon) On March 4, 2013, the original version was released on Blu-ray and downloads in the United Kingdom.
Deleted scenes Over 30 minutes of scenes were omitted from the final cut of the film, some of which were featured in the 2008 DVD release of Mrs. Doubtfire called the "Behind-the-Seams Edition". If the scenes had been included, the film would have run for 157 minutes. These include an entire subplot featuring Daniel's conflict with his nosy neighbor, Gloria Chaney (Polly Holliday), in which, after Daniel dresses as Mrs. Doubtfire, he fools Gloria into killing her flowers by spraying dog urine on them, and a final confrontation in which Gloria sees Daniel in his Mrs. Doubtfire bodycostume but without the face mask. There is also an extended scene at Bridges restaurant. In 2016, three scenes from the 2008 DVD release, which were also included in the 2013 Blu-ray release, gained media attention to much fanfare and praise for Robin Williams. These included a scene in which Daniel and Miranda fight at Lydia's spelling bee competition, and a confrontation scene with Miranda after Daniel's identity is revealed at the restaurant. He recovers and comes back home to the family.
In early 2021, several web articles claimed that there was an NC-17 cut of the film featuring extraordinarily vulgar ad libs by Robin Williams. However, the claim was debunked by director Chris Columbus and star Mara Wilson, with Columbus stating that Williams did film enough outtakes to make an R-rated version, but that an NC-17 rating was absurd. Wilson previously denied the claims of an NC-17 version of the film in 2016 in her memoir, Where Are They Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame.
Reception
Box office