History Film / MrsDoubtfire

'''Daniel Hillard:''' Yeah we would be, but we'd be a pretend family, you know? It wouldn't be real.

A rare TwelfthNightAdventure in western media. Based on the book ''Madame Doubtfire''[[note]]called ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' in the USA[[/note]] by Anne Fine, this was one of Robin Williams' biggest hits and finished its theatrical run 2nd behind ''Film/HomeAlone'' (another Chris Columbus film) as the highest-grossing live-action comedy of all time. The film won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. It was also the last ''pure comedy'' (as in, not a dramedy) to win the Golden Globe for Best Comedy until 2009's ''Film/TheHangover''.

* CampGay: Daniel's brother (played by Harvey Fierstein, no less) and his partner.

A 1993 comedy directed by Creator/ChrisColumbus and starring Creator/RobinWilliams, about a man who [[WholesomeCrossdresser crossdresses]] as an elderly British woman in order to see his kids again. It co-stars Creator/SallyField, Creator/PierceBrosnan, Creator/MatthewLawrence, and Creator/MaraWilson.

A rare TwelfthNightAdventure in western media. Based on the book ''Madame Doubtfire''[[note]]called ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' in the USA[[/note]] by Anne Fine, this was one of Robin Williams' biggest hits and finished its theatrical run 2nd behind ''Film/HomeAlone'' (another Chris Columbus film) as the highest-grossing live-action comedy of all time. The film won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and the Golden Globe for Best Comedy; The latter being the last ''pure comedy'' (as in not a dramedy) to win until 2009's ''Film/TheHangover''.

A sequel was announced, but in the wake of Robin Williams' death in August 2014, [[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/mrs-doubtfire-2-likely-cancelled-following-robin-williams-tragic-death-9663371.html this now seems unlikely.]] A musical adaptation is also in the works.

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: After Chris and Lydia find out that Daniel is Mrs. Doubtfire, he's quick to tell them that he didn't have gender reassignment surgery and that he is just wearing a latex suit.

* DeadpanSnarker: Daniel, even when he's Mrs. Doubtfire.

* NoAntagonist: There are no villains or even characters [[HateSink we're meant to hate]]. Daniel and Miranda are both flawed but sympathetic and her boyfriend Stu, who would normally fit the role of bad guy, is presented as a perfectly nice and caring person. The judge and officers of the court are also presented as being reasonable and well-meaning even when they rule against Daniel.

* ChildHater: Stu is revealed to have originally been one before spending time with Miranda's kids, and warming up to them. He admits to his one friend that, he adores Miranda's kids, and, as he's nearing middle adulthood, he'd like to settle down, and embrace the role of a surrogate parent.

* ChildHater: Stu is revealed to have originally been one before spending time with Miranda's kids gave him second thoughts about them. Plus, he admits that his nearing middle-age has made him want to settle down, and embrace the role of a surrogate parent.

** Stu disappears after the disastrous dinner and is never seen or mentioned again.

* OppositesAttract: Defied and Deconstructed with Daniel and Miranda. As Miranda tells "Mrs. Doubtfire," she fell for Daniel because he was so funny and carefree, unlike all the stuffy people she worked with in the corporate office, but then [[RealityEnsues "after a few years it stopped being funny."]] Then, of course, the film gives us plenty of examples of how hard it is to build a life and raise a family with someone with such [[AllWorkVsAllPlay such polar opposite values in the long run]].

* RealityEnsues:
** When Daniel's true identity is finally exposed, the local court judge tells him that if you want to prove yourself a competent, capable parent figure, dressing up like an elderly Scottish nanny and posing as a housekeeper to defy court orders isn't going to help. Daniel ''did'' meet the judge's demands, ahead of schedule as he points out, but his behavior as Mrs. Doubtfire did far more damage to his case than any of the good he did for it, which justifies his loss of visitation rights but gives Daniel the message that he'd be better off a divorced father than a nanny.
** The same applies to Miranda and Daniel's marriage. Initially the two fell in love because OppositesAttract, but the film shows in the long run their polar opposite work ethics, values, and life goals brought out the worst in each other and caused the two to fight non-stop until they finally split up.
** [[spoiler: The original plan was to have Daniel and Miranda remarry at the end of the movie, but Williams, Field, and Columbus (all divorcees themselves) changed it to having them remain divorced, because they felt it offered false hope. As sad as it is, some marriages really ''don't'' work out and most people who divorce don't get back together]].

* HardTruthAesop: Sorry kids, but sometimes it really ''is'' best for everybody involved that your parents get (and remain) divorced. People who are too different from one another simply can't function together, and need to be apart in order to be the parents that you need in your life. The original script actually did end with Daniel and Miranda getting back together, but Chris Columbus and Robin Williams, who’d both been divorced, worried it would give children of divorced parents unreasonable hope and successfully got it changed.
* HighHeelHurt: Daniel complains about the high heels he's wearing while walking home from his first day as Mrs Doubtfire.

'''Daniel:''' We love each other... don't we?

* StealthInsult: Stu is on the receiving end of a great many of these from Daniel while in disguise.

* DeathGlare: Stu whips out his after Daniel (In disguise) throws a lime fruit into the back of his head after Stu badmouthed him from afar. Luckily "Mrs. Doubtfire" is able to pin it on "some angry member of the kitchen staff" and so Stu is none the wiser.

* AttractiveBentGender: The bus driver seems to think so, regarding Mrs. Doubtfire.

* ChildHater: Stu is revealed to have originally been one before spending time with Miranda's kids gave him second thoughts about them.

Daniel Hillard (Williams) is a newly unemployed actor in a rocky marriage. One day, after going behind his wife's back and throwing a wild and expensive birthday party for their son, resulting in their house being trashed, his wife, Miranda (Field), is finally tired of his antics and asks for a divorce. Only allowed to see their three children once a week, Daniel tries to get a new job and shape up his life so that he may receive joint custody. He discovers that Miranda is looking for a nanny to take care of the kids after school. She won't allow him to babysit them, so with the aid of his make-up artist brother, Daniel disguises himself as Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, an elderly, matronly Scottish woman. He is quickly hired by his ex-wife and uses the opportunity to secretly spend time with his children. Things get more complicated, though, as Miranda starts dating an old friend, Stu (Brosnan), and Daniel finds that his family cannot bear to part with Mrs. Doubtfire.

** Miranda's boss, who is played by Creator/MartinMull, references a Wellman house. Martin Mull had starred in ''{{Series/Roseanne}}'', where Wellman Plastics was a featured industry.
** Mrs. Doubtfire uses a play on the phrase "carpe diem". That was the CatchPhrase of Creator/RobinWilliams' character in ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety''.

* AmicableExes: The film is in a sense all about how Daniel and Miranda learn to be this and by the end, it is made pretty clear that in spite of everything, they still care very much for each other.
* ArtisticLicense: The portrayal of the Mrs. Doubtfire makeup zig-zags this. It is a realistic take on LatexPerfection done by makeup artist characters, and the broad process we are shown of its creation is legit. However, makeup prosthetics are often in multiple pieces to give the face more mobility, require time to apply and would not go on and off like a Halloween mask in the way the makeup is shown to work in the film, and indeed, the real makeup Robin Williams wore was more complex than the single piece used for the removed prosthetic mask prop in the film. However, the comedic and dramatic tension of the story required Daniel to have a costume that could be quickly put on and removed, so in-story, it is simplified to a rubber mask produced by professional makeup artists.
* ArtisticLicenseFilmProduction: At the beginning of the film, Daniel is working as a voice actor watching a fully animated clip and trying to lip sync his dialogue to it. Chris Columbus even points out in the commentary that in animation all voice acting is completed before anything is drawn (save for ADR, which usually takes care of things like grunts and groans and such) but that doing it this way made more sense to the plot and figured it could be taken as Daniel dubbing a foreign cartoon. However, this does not make sense either as the lip-sync in the cartoon (produced by Creator/ChuckJones) is clearly English. Daniel is more than likely just doing post-production looping, either to just do touch ups on certain lines, or maybe [[TheOtherMarty Daniel replaced another actor,]] and is recording over the previous actor's work. Which makes sense from his conversation with the producer who complains that this session is already costing the studio and they are on a deadline. Also, you don't typically have a censor board overseeing the actual dubbing/recording of a cartoon... that would waste far too much of their time. (Maybe they were just there to hotbox inside the booth?)

* AvoidTheDreadedGRating: Or in this case, the PG rating. Supposedly, the scene in Bridges Restaurant where Mrs. Doubtfire says numerous [[DoubleEntendre double entendres]] to Stu was pretty much the main reason the film got a PG-13 rating; otherwise, it might have squeaked by with a PG. The scene where the kids find out Mrs. Doubtfire's identity also calls for a PG-13 rating.

** This also applies to his parenting and housekeeping. At first Daniel has to pretend to be the ideal babysitter and housekeeper as Mrs. Doubtfire in order to stay employed by Miranda, by doing things like make the kids do homework and chores before they can goof off (something he would let them do as Daniel), and keep the house clean and make delicious meals to make their mom happy. Eventually these skills become so second-nature that even after the kids learn who he is, he keeps encouraging them to balance fun with responsibilities, and he cooks and keeps house at his own place as well as Miranda's - which ironically is what starts causing problems when Miranda believes that he is responsible enough to see the kids more, but does not want to lose Mrs. Doubtfire completely.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: [[Creator/DiscoveryFamily The Hub's]] showing of the film takes scissors to everything from snippets of dialog to entire scenes. Dubbing over Frank saying "Bitch"? Perfectly understandable. Cutting the scene when Mrs. Doubtfire asserts her authority and makes the kids do chores because they won't do their homework? Hurts the film and makes the kids feel like props rather than characters. Oh, and Miranda cannot say "Hell" but "Lotsa luck, Smart Ass" was fine.

* ChekhovsSkill: At "her" interview, Mrs. Doubtfire's resume states that she knows first aid, including the Heimlich Maneuver. This apparently isn't a lie (like the rest of the qualifications clearly are), as Daniel ends up needing to administer the Maneuver to Stuart later on. [[spoiler: This is also how Daniel gets caught by Miranda, because the latex mask peels away as he is doing the Heimlich Maneuver]].

** At the end of the film, when Daniel comes to take the children for the afternoon, the TV is on and it airs Mrs. Doubtfire's show. In this programme, Mrs. Doubtfire answers a letter from a young girl who is concerned about her parents' recent divorce and the future of their family.

* ContrivedCoincidence: It is very convenient for Daniel that his brother happens to be a makeup artist.

* DamnedByFaintPraise: In the ending, the judge says that Daniel's final argument "seemed" convincing, then says that it is simply a good display of acting, showing that he does not buy it.
* DeadpanSnarker: Daniel, even when he is Mrs. Doubtfire.

** In-universe example. Early in the movie, Mr. Sprinkles is the painfully boring star of a failing children's show. At the end of the movie, he is replaced by Mrs. Doubtfire and is demoted to her mailman.

* DeusExMachina: It is a good thing Daniel had an entire vanilla cake in his fridge so he could plant his face on it and pass it off as facial cream! If not, the movie would've been over in half an hour.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Daniel's plan. He goes ahead with it despite the potential consequences for himself of violating a court order that the judge was going to review after three months anyway. It did not take Lydia and Chris long to rumble him and it was surely only a matter of time before Miranda did as well. Nor does he consider the possible psychological impact on his children (especially Natalie) of discovering their their beloved elderly nanny is really their father in drag.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: Refers to the alter ego Daniel takes on to have more time with his kids. How he comes about it is reading a bit in a newspaper saying: "Police doubt fire was accidental", figuratively expressing how he not only intends to insert himself back into his kids' lives full-time (the figurative fire is not accidental there), but how the chaos that comes about is not what he intended (figurative fire there would be accidental). There is also the accidental fire that's set on Daniel when he is trying to cook too.
* DudeNotFunny: Invoked in the scene when Mrs. Doubtfire first meets Miranda and the kids. Miranda begins to diss Daniel, and Mrs. Doubtfire tells Miranda that it is appropriate to send the kids out of the room before verbally bashing their father. Miranda tries to make a joke: "If I did that, I might never see them again." She immediately apologizes after Mrs. Doubtfire's stern look and lack of laughter from the kids.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Daniel quitting a paid voice-over gig over its depiction of smoking tells us everything we need to know about him going forward: he is great at character acting, he does what he feels is the right thing no matter what, and he goes ahead with it even if it is not the wisest choice for him to make.

* FatSuit: Really, the only way Daniel (Robin Williams) could appear as "Mrs. Doubtfire" around his kids was to utilize this with sort of (heavy) makeup. Given that, ''anything'' that changed his appearance on a large enough scale would have worked; the fact that "Mrs. Doubtfire" appeared to be an elderly, overweight, nanny was rather incidental to the behavior....

* GamesOfTheElderly: Daniel, dressed as the titular character, learns his family and a friend will be going to the same restaurant on the same date he is due to have a meeting with an executive at the studio he works. He attempts to get out of it saying "she" (Mrs. Doubtfire) has bingo on that night and it is her turn to pull the balls.

* GilliganCut: Early in the film, Daniel's brother is trying to console him about his impending divorce, but Daniel assures him that it is just a temporary thing and will soon blow over. Cut to Daniel and his wife standing in court listening to a judge discuss custody arrangements.

** Daniel does such a good job as Mrs. Doubtfire, that when he himself has shown to be a competent parent (thanks to the skills he has learned as Doubtfire), Miranda won't consider letting him watch the kids outside his visitation rights because she and the kids cannot bear to let go of Mrs. Doubtfire.

* HardTruthAesop: Sorry kids, but sometimes it really ''is'' best for everybody involved that your parents get (and remain) divorced. People who are too different from one another simply cannot function together, and need to be apart in order to be the parents that you need in your life. The original script actually did end with Daniel and Miranda getting back together, but Chris Columbus and Robin Williams, who’d both been divorced, worried it would give children of divorced parents unreasonable hope and successfully got it changed.
* HighHeelHurt: Daniel complains about the high heels he is wearing while walking home from his first day as Mrs. Doubtfire.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: If Daniel hadn't decided to spike Stu's dinner, he would not have had to stop him from choking thus most likely keeping his identity as Mrs. Doubtfire safe.... at least for the time being.
* HoldingBothSidesOfTheConversation: The caseworker for the divorce makes a surprise visit to Daniel's apartment to check up on him, but comes while he is still in disguise. Daniel!Doubtfire covers for it by claiming that she is his sister. The caseworker calls his bluff, but Daniel gets around this by going into a room to "get" him; while in the room, where the caseworker cannot see him, he loudly holds both sides of the conversation as himself and Mrs. Doubtfire, all while changing out of disguise.

-->'''Daniel''':"Oh yeah, it's something I can really sink my teeth into! *removes false teeth*
-->It's like I don't have the same face anymore! *removes mask*

'''Natalie''': *To Daniel* Why would you want Mommy to die?

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: At the end of the film, Daniel comes to take the children for the afternoon, but regards Miranda somberly, and is too stricken to wait inside the house for the kids. The closing monologue is Mrs. Doubtfire's response to a letter from a young girl who is concerned about her parents' recent divorce and the future of their family. It is heard over scenes of the Daniel and kids leaving Miranda behind and driving into the distance.
* LethalChef: Daniel starts out as one, even ''setting himself on fire'' trying to salvage a dinner he has already cooked beyond saving. Naturally though with a few self-help courses and a lot of determination, he gets a lot better at it.

* {{Manchild}}: Daniel is definitely this, if the out-of-control birthday party is any evidence to go by. Unfortunately for him, it is this immaturity and lack of responsibility that costs him his marriage, and in Miranda's own words he "never took anything seriously". It is only after he becomes Mrs. Doubtfire that he begins to dial back these tendencies, but he is still very much a happy-go-lucky and funloving guy when he needs to be.
* MaybeEverAfter: Daniel and Miranda don't get back together in the end of the movie, but Daniel's time as Mrs. Doubtfire serves to ground him, reining in some of the excessive tendencies that drove them apart in the first place. Indeed, Mrs. Doubtfire's closing monologue (which Miranda watches) states that sometimes divorced parents do get back together...and sometimes they don't. The question of whether their marriage is salvageable is left ambiguous, and far less important than the fact that they have reached a happy medium with their children.

* MuggingTheMonster: A would-be mugger tries to steal Mrs. Doubtfire's purse. Mrs. Doubtfire [[NeverMessWithGranny fights him off]], yelling at the man in Daniel's normal voice (which scares the crap out of the snatcher and some bystanders), then goes over to Mrs. Doubtfire's voice. "Broke my bag, the bastard!"

** Miranda basically has one at the court case when Daniel is sentenced to psychiatric evaluation and increasingly restricted contact with the children despite his heartfelt speech, as she recognises that he isn't dangerous to the children even if she is unhappy with his deception.

* NoAntagonist: There are no villains or even characters [[HateSink we are meant to hate]]. Daniel and Miranda are both flawed but sympathetic and her boyfriend Stu, who would normally fit the role of bad guy, is presented as a perfectly nice and caring person. The judge and officers of the court are also presented as being reasonable and well-meaning even when they rule against Daniel.

** Daniel screams in horror when his realizes that his fake breasts are on fire while he is cooking.

* OneLastSmoke: At the beginning of the movie, Daniel is making voices for a cartoon where a cat who is about to eat a bird decides to give his "snack" a cigarette. The bird accepts the offer.

** In-universe and lampshaded. Daniel's accent for Mrs. Doubtfire is a second-hand, sort of bastardized Scottish accent and occasionally slips into others from the region. Stu, who is actually from the UK where accents are a big part of culture, points this out when he first meets "her". Daniel just barely covers by responding that she moved around a lot in her life.
** In one of the more serious moments in the movie, Miranda confides in Mrs. Doubtfire that she is happier when she is not around Daniel. Daniel briefly and subtly drops his Doubtfire accent to say, "Well you never..." before catching himself and continuing the conversation in the Doubtfire accent. Luckily for him, Miranda did not catch on.

** There is a rather clever aversion that still gets the point across perfectly; when "Mrs. Doubtfire" is watching the children for the first time, and gives them the task of helping with the housework, the kids rebel, only to have Daniel, in character, give a small grin: "Don't ''fuss'' with me."

* RandomSmokingScene: InUniverse example: The cartoon Daniel is dubbing in the opening scene has the parakeet take a long drag of his OneLastSmoke before he is eaten by the cat, thoroughly enjoying it. Daniel objects and ad-libs dialogue to make it seem as if the bird does not like it, which gets him fired.

** The judge is sympathetic to Daniel during the initial proceedings, saying that he is an obviously loving father and it would be unfair to grant Miranda sole custody simply because she is the mother. He gives him 90 days to find a stable job and create a suitable living space, after which he offers to consider joint custody. Once Daniel is exposed, he does still seem to be sympathetic, but notes that while he is technically completed these tasks, his behaviour isn't exactly a sign of a stable, honest father-figure and refuses to expand visitation rights.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Daniel gives one to Miranda as to how she just sat by and let the judge think he was crazy when she knew the truth. Miranda calms him down by talking about how she was angry and does not want to do it anymore. Then she talks about how everyone was better when Mrs. Doubtfire was in their lives and agrees to change the custody arrangement.

** Luckily for Daniel, Lundy agrees that the show is awful and he is there to announce that he is taking it off the air.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: At the beginning of the film, Daniel quits his voice acting job because he does not approve of how it depicts the main character smoking and is also not allowed to improvise.

** The show at the very beginning doubles as GeniusBonus: Daniel's introduced singing Figaro's Aria from Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville - the animation style is a reference to Woody Woodpecker's WesternAnimation/TheBarberOfSeville - but just like the actual Figaro from the opera, Daniel's a talented and dramatic liar/actor, who is as good-humoured as he is snarky. [[WholePlotReference Both the opera and Mrs. Doubtfire are about men disguising themselves to be with their loved ones]].

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: After Chris and Lydia find out that Daniel is Mrs. Doubtfire, he is quick to tell them that he did not have gender reassignment surgery and that he is just wearing a latex suit.
* StalkingIsLove: Unusually, it is a man stalking his whole family rather than just his ex-wife.

* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: When Daniel is not allowed to deviate from the script that calls for him to promote smoking in a cartoon since the animation was completed, Lou reminds him that if he leaves the session, he cannot go back in. Daniel responds with "Piss off, Lou" in a WesternAnimation/PorkyPig impersonation, complete with [[PorkyPigPronunciation stutter]].

* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: An {{invoked|Trope}} example. In order for him to get Miranda's housekeeping job, Daniel changes the telephone number on the classified ad before it is sent to the newspaper, then calls Miranda's number as terrible interviewees before breaking out what would become Mrs. Doubtfire.

** Earlier in the film, Lydia told Mrs. Doubtfire that she made her mom so happy than she has ever seen before. In fact, Lydia states that she cannot even remember the last time her mom was ''ever'' happy.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: At the start of the movie, Daniel saying "Sure we do [have something in common], we love each other" during an argument with Miranda causes her to suddenly realize she does not love him anymore, and she wants a divorce, kicking off the plot of the film.

* WildTeenParty: Subverted. It is the dad who throws the wild party for his 12-year-old son. It is entirely age-appropriate but wildly excessive (involving an actual petting zoo) and against their mother's wishes. Not only does it cause trouble, but it turns out to be the last straw leading to their divorce.

* RomanticFalseLead: Averted. Miranda's new boyfriend Stu is portrayed as a perfectly decent guy who is a stable and mature partner for her and could be a good stepfather for the kids. A scene where he's away from the family (and is unaware Daniel/Mrs. Doubtfire is listening) has him directly state he's ready to settle down for a long-term commitment, and while he wasn't sure about dating a woman with children in the past Miranda's kids have really grown on him and he genuinely loves them. He sole bad moment is when he calls Daniel a loser, but that's easily justified for a number of reasons (he hurt Miranda, for one) and he never speaks ill of Daniel in earshot of the children. He's not seen or mentioned after the dinner, but it's entirely plausible he and Miranda continued their relationship.

* RomanticFalseLead: Averted. Miranda's new boyfriend Stu is portrayed as a perfectly decent guy who seems to be a stable and mature father for the kids. His sole bad moment is when he badmouths Daniel by the poolside, but that's easily justified for a number of reasons (he hurt Miranda, for one) and he never speaks ill of Daniel in earshot of the children.

* BigNo: Daniel yells one when he sees a truck running over his mask on the street below him.

* BigNo: Daniel yells "No" when he sees a truck running over his mask on the street below him.