Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is an actor who struggles to get work. When his marriage to Miranda (Sally Field) ends, the court rules that he only gets Saturday visits. Wanting to be with them more, he resorts to extremes: he becomes Mrs. Doubtfire, a 60-year-old nanny/housekeeper. He goes to work for his ex in disguise to see his three kids, but what will happen when he’s found out?

CRITIQUE

Big-budget comedy has become dominated lately it seems, by the stunted-maturity antics of Saturday Night Live alums like Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell. Sometimes these films are of high quality and sometimes they are not. They do often have high-concept premises, though. Fifteen years ago, one comedy also had such a premise and a lot of critical and commercial success. Mrs. Doubtfire deftly mixes the hilarious physical comedy of its star with a heartwarming message.

Aside from being high-concept, the idea of a man disguising himself as a woman is innately funny. Writers Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon take full advantage of this but they also do a couple of other important, positive things. First, they paid attention to making the progression of the plot feel believable. We have to suspend disbelief at the initial idea, but once Daniel has created the persona of Mrs. Doubtfire, it makes sense that the two older kids would find out and that his ruse would eventually be discovered.

The consequences of these actions for him seem realistic too. Second, they ground the story in an emotionally engaging issue: divorce. Daniel is a father who wants more than anything to stay constant in his children’s lives after he and Miranda split up. Though what he chooses to do is extreme, the motivation is understandable to anyone. There is a wonderful monologue at the end of the film that expresses the idea, perhaps radical at the time that divorce can sometimes be the best course, provided that the children will be a part to two happy environments and not one unhappy one.

Robin Williams handles the poignant moments well, but his forte is the comedy, of course. Improvisation of takes clearly works with his style and he frequently ends up giving the audience gems of memorable moments and quotable lines. The sequences that strike my funny bone the most are the sidesplitting visit of the social worker to Daniel’s bachelor apartment and the extended switcheroo extravaganza in the restaurant. I also love the impromptu trial run of a kids show he does, filled with plenty of impressions.

Best of all, most of the other cast members get a chance to throw out a bit of comedy here or there. Sally Field is one of the best actresses working and is perfectly cast, while the kids, played by Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson, are impressive, too. The comedy and heart of Mrs. Doubtfire make it excellent entertainment, shining through in the script and performances.

THE VIDEO

Mrs. Doubtfire is presented in anamorphic widescreen. There are no transfer problems with picture or color on this two-disc set.

THE AUDIO

Mrs. Doubtfire is presented in an excellent English 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track. Additional language options include Spanish and French 5.1 dub tracks. There are English and Spanish subtitles available as well.

THE EXTRAS

Deleted/Alternate Scenes: A generous variety of 18 scenes are included in the deleted scenes. Surprisingly few of them are extended. They are all worth watching too, though my favorites are the poignant family scenes at the spelling bee and the family fight, while the funniest involve Doubtfire’s hilarious advice about flowers to the nosy next-door neighbor. Four scenes make up the alternate scenes and they are good as well, different from the deleted ones. The best is one that ties in with the excised next-door neighbor plot.

Production Office: There are three features in this section. “From Man to Mrs.: The Evolution of Mrs. Doubtfire” is a nice, quite lengthy featurette, with nice bits of deleted scenes interspersed with excellent, though old interviews. The discussion is all from 1993 and 1994 interviews but this is still a fun watch. Especially the way Harvey Fierstein got his role and the commentary about how the film deals with divorce. “Aging Gracefully: A Look Back at Mrs. Doubtfire” is just a conversation with Columbus and Williams about the film now, fifteen years later. They still discuss the divorce topic, noting how people have thanked them for that aspect of the film. They also negate any possibility of a sequel. Perhaps most interestingly, Columbus says it’s one of the few films he’s done that he’ll watch if its on. Finally, there is a behind-the-scenes photo gallery. This is an okay extra, worth one view.

Animation Studios: Four sections are included here. “A Conversation With Legendary Animator Chuck Jones” is exactly that. This interview is from 1994 and Jones discusses the cartoon he created for the beginning of the film. He praises Williams and he reveals how difficult it was coming up with “a different cat and a different bird.” “Original Pencil Test” shows the cartoon in early form, while the entire cartoon, not seen in the film, plays in “Final Animation Sequence.” Interestingly, Jones also shot the cartoon with different backgrounds and that version is included here, too, and it more stylistically cartoony.

Makeup Department: “Makeup Application with Ve Neill” begins this three-part section. She narrates as we see the makeup being applied. This process took around four hours, so we see the abridged version, but the detail of the work comes through. Eight pieces of latex for the face, a wig-- the transformation is outstanding. A bit of this appears in the “From Man to Mrs.” featurette above, though. The “Makeup Photo Gallery” is self-explanatory and probably skippable. The “Makeup Tests” are the gem here, with lots of footage of Williams testing out the makeup and the voice at the same time. He is hilarious as always and there are a couple of nice moments where he tests it with the Sally Field and the child actors from the film.

Stage A: “The Improvisation of Mrs. Doubtfire” makes up this section. It is a feature with 7 scenes from the film, all accompanied by at least two instances of Robin improvising the scene in different variations. These are frequently as hilarious as the film itself, so definitely watch these. My faves are the other versions of his playing around with the toys that leads to the kid’s show and the alternate versions of Mr. Doubtfire’s death.

Publicity Department: The marketing for the film is in this section-- the trailers, TV spots, and posters, as well as two featurettes from the film’s release in 1993. The featurettes are the best part here, though much of the first one can be seen in the earlier making-of docs on this disc. The second one has a hilarious interview with Robin asking Mrs. Doubtfire questions. The best is when she talks about Robin. Definitely watch this. Also, there is a great extra here- a bit from the cancelled series Arrested Development that mimics the plot of Mrs. Doubtfire is included here. Absolutely watch that!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Mrs. Doubtfire is by turns hilarious and endearing, with an impressive cast and more than competent direction. Robin Williams is completely in his element and easily carries the film. It has also aged quite well over 15 years. The extra features assembled for this two-disc set are exceptional and provide even more laughs and information too. Viewers might want to buy this edition even if they already have the film on DVD. Otherwise, definitely buy this “Behind-the-Seams Edition.”