HE-LLO!
I thought it fitting to make Mrs. Doubtfire my Father’s Day post for a couple of reasons. To start, this movie is the definition of the lengths a dad will go to be with his kids. We felt for Daniel when he was in the courtroom and the judge told him that he could have visitation with his kids. (She ain’t had to do all that. It was just a party with some goats.)
Let’s start at the top. Daniel threw his son a wild party…in the house…with hundreds of kids…loud music….and goats. Now, we don’t know how often he’d done this but the kids seemed happy. Mom was not. So Miranda says…
And files for divorce. Again, I don’t know how many times he’d done this before but counseling could have been an option. Should have been an option before divorce. So they start the process for divorce and Daniel’s life drastically changes and who knew this change would transform his entire life, inside and out.
Daniel has never been away from his kids for more than a day, and as I stated earlier, Robin Williams, who was brilliant, did a fabulous job of conveying that emotion in his speech and face. You could also see the shame in Miranda’s, also played brilliantly by Sally Field, face as the judge tells Daniel her wishes, partially influenced by her lawyers. (I don’t believe that she really wanted to take those kids from her ex-husband like that. She wasn’t that mad.
Anyway, later on down the line, he finds that Miranda needs a housekeeper, a cook and a babysitter. Basically, a nanny. Pause here. The oldest was right when she said she was old enough to care for her siblings. I feel that’s how that went for the oldest in the family anyway. Your younger siblings became your kids, but Miranda wanted something different. Something bougie because Daniel could have also been with those kids.
Let’s talk about one of my favorite scenes, him calling as various people. I loved his strategy. It was brilliant. Give her a bunch of duds and then go in for the kill with the winner. Now, what I would love to know is if this scene was actually written or did Robin just decide to go off top. My gut tells me the latter.
This leads to my other favorite scene, making him a woman. This is probably, by far, my favorite scene in my movie history. I also LOVE Harvey Fierstein. Also, the Frank Sinatra song in the background…PERFECTION!
The rest of the movie is Daniel navigating his new double life as Mrs. Doubtfire and Daniel. It’s funny how someone has to lose something in order to appreciate it, but instead of accepting defeat, he worked is way in to continue to be a father to his kids even if they had no idea he was there. He learned more about his ex-wife, his kids and himself, and in the end, it made him a better human being. Also, Miranda came around and let that statue in the divorce go. I like to think they were great friends after that. No one dare make think of a reboot!
BLACK WATCH 