In a sentenceDivorce is complicated enough before Robin Williams puts on the nanny’s clothes
Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is a father facing the separation of his family. He takes on the identity of Mrs. Doubtfire, a nanny whose work includes making dinner, cleaning windows and reading bedtime stories. The disguise brings farce into a story about divorce, parenting and the difficulty of family life after a marriage breaks down. Sally Field plays Miranda Hillard, while Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence and Mara Wilson play Lydia, Chris and Natalie. Pierce Brosnan also appears as Stu, with Harvey Fierstein as Frank and Anne Haney as Mrs. Sellner.
Robin Williams makes this family farce funny and unexpectedly moving, while Sally Field gives the separation its proper weight. The sentiment grows excessive and the running time needs trimming, but the performances make it worth an evening.
Mrs. Doubtfire is a funny, affecting family comedy that could stand to trust its actors more and run a little less. Chris Columbus builds it around Robin Williams, playing a father and the nanny he impersonates, and asks him to carry the comedy through a family’s separation. Williams gives him enough for a good evening. The film’s insistence on making everybody feel better is harder to forgive, particularly when it keeps going for 125 minutes.
Williams makes Daniel Hillard’s invented Mrs. Doubtfire funny through the care of the impersonation. There is pleasure in the nanny’s fussiness, in the suggestion that this invented person has firm views about the proper way to behave. The performance has enough small details to reward attention even when the situation is broad. Columbus understands that Williams does not need to be at full volume throughout, and the quieter indications of the father’s unhappiness keep the character from becoming a succession of comic voices.
Sally Field matters just as much to the film’s credibility. As Miranda Hillard, she gives the family trouble a seriousness that survives Williams’s invitations to laugh, and she does not seem to be waiting for him to finish so the drama can resume. We were more moved by the separation than we expected. Field makes Miranda’s unhappiness feel like something that must be dealt with, and that gives the comic disguise an uncomfortable context.
Donald McAlpine’s cinematography leaves Williams’s impersonation easy to study, which is the right priority for a performance built from details. Angelo P. Graham’s production design gives the domestic comedy an ordinary setting without distracting from the person in disguise. Both contributions serve the actors, though there is little visual surprise. Raja Gosnell’s editing is most effective when the farce gathers speed; the slower stretches suggest a reluctance to lose anything warm. Howard Shore’s music helps those tender passages along, sometimes beyond what the acting needs.
Leslie Dixon and Randi Mayem Singer’s screenplay gives Miranda, and Pierce Brosnan’s Stu, more sharpness than the film’s comforting manner initially promises. But Daniel’s deception generates more incidents than insight, and the writing seems reluctant to ask much of a man who can entertain us this well. The farce repeatedly gives way to assurances about family feeling. Some of those passages are touching; taken together, they leave the film overextended. Gosnell could have lost a little reassurance without costing us much affection.
The film falls short of the sharper disguise comedies because it is so reluctant to question its central character. Its interest in the family beyond him is what makes it worth the evening, along with the pleasure of Williams at work. We recommend it to anyone happy for a family farce to make room for some unhappiness. Just allow more time than the story needs.
The consensus leans favourable, with Robin Williams receiving the most consistent praise, even from critics who find the film thin. The reviews single out his mimicry, improvisation and comic detail as the disguised father, while warmer assessments credit him with conveying the pain behind the farce. Radio Times also praises Chris Columbus for keeping Williams’ exuberance under control and making the comic set pieces work. For the film’s admirers, that combination makes accessible family comedy out of a painful separation.
The disagreement concerns how much the performance compensates for the writing. Reservations cluster around sentimentality, sluggish pacing and a sitcom approach that gives the premise too little depth. Some critics accept those weaknesses as the price of the laughs; others find the entertainment too safe. RogerEbert.com offers a distinctly negative assessment, arguing that the film drags and falls short of its premise, with an unfavourable comparison to Tootsie.
The reviewer notes that despite some uncalled-for sentimentality in the second half, the film remains a laugh riot thanks to Robin Williams' performance as the nanny in disguise.
Read the full review →This is family entertainment par excellence, with Robin Williams delivering one of his best performances as the disguised father. Director Chris Columbus is praised for controlling Williams' exuberance while highlighting strong set pieces like the quick-change restaurant scene.
Read the full review →Finds it overly sappy and too long but provides a slick showcase for Williams' shtick with broad family appeal, mixing comedy and messages about family.
Read the full review →The critic describes the film as sitcom-like with laboured farcical interludes and a mushy post-feminist sensibility. Williams' performance as the nanny is singled out as the source of its fun despite the flaws.
Read the full review →Notes the film's commercial success due to Williams but laments his shift from anarchic comedy to warm and cuddly roles, calling it a safe and sane but unadventurous entertainment.
Read the full review →The critic finds Mrs Doubtfire a lightweight creation despite the brilliant mimicry of the disguise, comparing it unfavorably to Tootsie for lacking dramatic mileage in the central character. Other elements like the wife and rival are sharper, and the film is seen as Hollywood liberalism that avoids easy resolutions.
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TootsieAnother elaborate impersonation, with sharper consequences for the man doing the pretending.
Kramer vs. KramerFor the divorce and parenting questions, treated with fewer opportunities to hide.
Good Morning · not reviewed yetFamily comedy built from stubborn children, adult embarrassment and carefully timed silences.
About a BoyAnother unreliable adult discovers that being entertaining is only part of caring.
Petite MamanA quieter family story that takes children’s questions as seriously as adults’ grief.
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