2020 Blind Spot Series: Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Mrs. Doubtfire is one of those films I've been meaning to watch for years but was never compelled enough to watch because of its silly premise. It is quite a beloved comedy though and it stars the talented Robin Williams so I decided to watch it for my Blind Spot series this year. Unfortunately, the film didn't live up to the hype as it turned out to be a quite unfunny, ridiculous and predictable film. 

An eccentric voice actor, Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) quits his job and throws a chaotic birthday party involving farm animals for his son (Matthew Lawrence). This drives his wife, Miranda (Sally Field), to the breaking point and she files for divorce. 

Once they are separated, Daniel does everything he can possibly do to see his children but, unfortunately, he has to stick with the court's decision to see them for a few hours on Saturdays only. That is when he learns that Miranda is looking for a housekeeper and babysitter and, after changing the phone number on the ad and making plenty of fake phone calls to exasperate Miranda, he disguises himself as an old British nanny, Mrs. Doubtfire, and gets hired on the spot. While this gets him to spend more time with his three children, it also forces him to face Miranda's new boyfriend, Stu (Pierce Brosnan). 

For the entirety of the film, I couldn't help but cringe at the ridiculous nature of the plot, at its predictability and lack of originality as this isn't the first film about a dad going through a divorce nor about a man pretending to be a woman to get a job — both done wonderfully by Dustin Hoffman, by the way, in Kramer vs. Kramer and Tootsie respectively. Furthermore, the plot is contrived and unengaging. 

Another flaw lays in the characters as they either have no development and depth whatsoever or they grow in the most predictable of ways — let's take Daniel. He starts out as an inattentive husband and by the end, he is the most attentive husband ever. Actually, he becomes more attentive as soon as he stars pretending to be Mrs. Doubtfire, as if only women can notice things. The only redeeming character is Pierce Brosnan's Stu who, luckily, isn't portrayed as a villainous man who wants to steal Daniel's wife but is actually a decent guy who might actually be good for the family; the credits, however, almost entirely go to Brosnan for giving such a likeable performance. 

As for Robin Williams, I couldn't help but marvel at his energetic performance and its improvisations but this is far from being one of his best performances as the majority of gags and lines are just amateurish to say the least and, overall, the performance is on the unfunny side. 

Ultimately, Mrs. Doubtfire does have its moments — some funny, some a tiny bit emotional — but overall it's a disappointment.