Story of movie Mrs. Doubtfire : Mrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and written for the screen by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the novel Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. It stars Robin Williams (who also served as a co-producer), Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, and Robert Prosky. It follows a recently divorced actor who dresses up as a female housekeeper to be able to interact with his children. The film addresses themes of divorce, separation, and the effect they have on a family.
| Mrs. Doubtfire | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chris Columbus |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Howard Shore |
| Cinematography | Donald McAlpine |
| Edited by | Raja Gosnell |
Production company | Blue Wolf Productions |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $441.3 million |
The film was released in the United States on November 24, 1993. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Robin Williams was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor.
It grossed $441.3 million on a $25 million budget, becoming the second highest grossing film of 1993 worldwide. Although the film received mixed reviews during its original theatrical run, more recent reviews have been much more positive: the film placed 67th in the American Film Institute's "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs" list and 40th on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies of All Time." The original music score was composed by Howard Shore.
Screenplay
Daniel Hillard is a freelance voice actor in San Francisco. Although he is a devoted father to his three children, Lydia, Chris, and Natalie, his wife Miranda considers him unreliable. One day, Daniel quits his job after a disagreement over a script and returns home to throw a birthday party for Chris despite Miranda's objections. Miranda gets angry and files for divorce. The judge grants sole custody of the children to her, but tells Daniel if he can find a steady job and a suitable residence within three months, he and Miranda can share custody.
Daniel works to rebuild his life, getting a menial job at a local television station, and learns that Miranda is seeking a housekeeper to watch over the children. He secretly alters her classified ad form to keep other interested people away, and then uses his voice acting skills to call Miranda about the job, making them all undesirable applicants. He finally calls Miranda as a English-accented nanny, whom he calls Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, with strong credentials. Miranda is impressed and invites her for an interview. Daniel asks his brother Frank, a makeup artist, and Frank's partner, Jack to create a Mrs. Doubtfire costume, including a prosthetic mask to make him appear as an older woman.
Miranda hires Mrs. Doubtfire after a successful interview. Upon returning to Daniel's apartment, Mrs Doubtfire is met by Mrs. Sellner, Daniel's court liaison, who is hoping to see Daniel and carry out her inspection of the apartment. This results in Daniel changing in and out of the Mrs. Doubtfire costume to meet Mrs. Sellner's needs, which ultimately leads to Daniel's mask flying out the window, and getting squashed by a garbage truck. He cleverly conceals his face by donning an improvised "facial mask" made of frosting from a cake found in his refrigerator. Frank and Jack quickly make him a new and slightly older mask.
The children initially struggle under Mrs. Doubtfire's authority, but soon come around and thrive, and further, Miranda learns to become closer with her children. Daniel, as Mrs. Doubtfire, learns several household skills as part of the role, further improving himself. However, this has created another barrier for Daniel to see his children, as Miranda has put more trust into Mrs. Doubtfire than him, and she cannot bring herself to dismiss her. One night, Lydia and Chris discover Daniel's ploy, and, thrilled to have their father back, agree to keep his secret.
While working at the station, Daniel is seen by the station's CEO Jonathan Lundy playing with toy dinosaurs on the set of a cancelled children's show. Impressed by his voice acting and imagination, Lundy invites Daniel for a dinner to discuss giving him his own children's show to host. Daniel discovers this is to be on the same night and time as a planned birthday dinner for Miranda by her former-acquaintance-turned-new-boyfriend Stuart Dunmeyer at the same restaurant, to which Mrs. Doubtfire is expected to attend. Unable to change either appointment, Daniel decides to change in and out of the Mrs. Doubtfire costume to attend both events. Daniel eventually gets drunk on whisky and starts slipping up after changing in and out of costume, leading him to return to Lundy while in his costume by accident and quickly claim that "Mrs. Doubtfire" is his idea for the show. Daniel overhears that Stu is allergic to pepper and takes it upon himself to spike Stu's order of jambalaya, which he had requested be prepared mild. Stu starts choking on his dinner, and Daniel feeling guilty, gives him the Heimlich maneuver as Mrs. Doubtfire. The action causes the prosthetic mask to partially peel off Daniel's face, revealing his identity and horrifying Miranda.
At their next custody hearing, Daniel points out that he has met the judge's requirements, and he explains his actions. The judge is touched by Daniel's words, but also disturbed by his ploy. He grants Miranda full custody, with Daniel being granted supervised Saturday visitation rights. Without Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda and her children become miserable, acknowledging how much Mrs. Doubtfire improved their lives. They are surprised when the local station starts a new children's show Euphegenia's House which Daniel, as Mrs. Doubtfire, hosts. The show becomes a hit and starts airing across the country.
One day, Miranda visits Daniel on set, admitting that things were better when he was involved, and agrees to change the custody arrangement. Soon after, she and Daniel begin sharing joint custody, allowing Daniel to take the children every after school, an arrangement he had requested at the beginning of his and Miranda's separation. As Daniel takes the kids out, Miranda watches an episode of Euphegenia's House where Mrs. Doubtfire answers a letter from a young girl whose parents have separated, saying that love makes a family a family, no matter the distance between its members.
- Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard/Euphegenia Doubtfire
- Sally Field as Miranda Hillard
- Pierce Brosnan as Stuart "Stu" Dunmeyer
- Harvey Fierstein as Frank Hillard
- Polly Holliday as Gloria Cheney
- Lisa Jakub as Lydia Hillard
- Matthew Lawrence as Chris Hillard
- Mara Wilson as Natalie Hillard
- Robert Prosky as Mr. Jonathan Lundy
- Anne Haney as Mrs. Sellner
- Scott Capurro as Jack
- Sydney Walker as Bus Driver
- Martin Mull as Justin Gregory
- Terence McGovern as ADR Director Lou
- William Newman as Mr. Sprinkles
Chicago was the studio's first choice for filming. However, as two new television series (ER and Chicago Hope) had a lease with the city during the subsequent time period, production was relocated to San Francisco. 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 37°47?38.07?N 122°26?10.78?W? / ?37.7939083°N 122.4363278°W became a tourist attraction for some time after the film's release. Following Williams's death by suicide 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 sound stage usage. Williams's 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. The restaurant scene was filmed at Bridges Restaurant & Bar, in Danville, California.
The score was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore.
The film was released in the United States on November 24, 1993, and was rated PG-13.
In January 1994, when released in the United Kingdom, the film received a certificate of 12 which, at the time, completely refused access to children under the age of 12 at cinemas. 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 in which the film was re-rated PG, with the thirteen seconds of sexual innuendos cut, and it was re-released in May 1994. The cut version was also used in subsequent VHS and DVD releases in the United Kingdom. In November 2012 the distributors resubmitted the uncut version to the BBFC and the 12 certificate was reinstated for home video along with a 12A certificate for cinema release in 2014. On March 4, 2013, the uncut version was released on Blu-ray and downloads in the United Kingdom.
Deleted scenes
Over 30 minutes of deleted 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." These include an entire subplot featuring Daniel's conflict with his nosy neighbor Gloria (Polly Holliday) and an extended scene at Bridges restaurant. In 2016 three further scenes, included in the aforementioned 2013 Blu-ray release, were released online to much fanfare and praise for Robin Williams. These included a scene where 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.
Box office
The film earned $219,195,243 in North America, along with $222,090,952 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $441,286,195, making it the highest grossing cross-dressing film. It became the second-highest-grossing film of 1993, behind only Jurassic Park. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 52.6 million tickets in the US.
Critical reception
At the time of its release, several critics compared Mrs. Doubtfire unfavorably with Some Like It Hot (1959) and others who viewed the film favorably noted its similarity to Tootsie (1982).
On Rotten Tomatoes, Mrs. Doubtfire has a rating of 71%, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical reception reads:
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