Robin Williams plays a goofy, irresponsible and immature husband who loves his kids, but his Wife (Sally Field) divorces him because she has had it with his irresponsibility. Williams can only see his children on Saturdays for a very limited amount of time, has to get a job, and learn how to be a responsible father. Sounds like a decent family film that's both a comedy and drama, about a Father trying to regain his family, BUT, THERE'S MORE TO IT! Williams' wife tries to hire a housekeeper to take care of her house and kids, Williams finds out about it, and decides to disguise himself as an old British woman named Mrs.Doubtfire, so he can be close to his kids with no one suspecting it. As messed up, weird, and crazy as the plot sounds, the film surprisingly does a great job with it! It not only takes advantage of almost every humorous situation that Williams has to go through to be in disguise as this British nanny, but it also manages to juggle the serious stuff that Williams' learns from his experience really well, as well as giving his character, excellent development, despite how goofy this plot sounds. The film really knows how to make this silly concept plausible, and suck you in enough to go with it!
Williams's performance in this film is really great! People tell me it's one of his best performances, and I can see why. As a regular Father without the fat suit, the mask, the dress, and the wig, he not only stays funny, but you can definitely feel the emotion and love that he has for his kids. Every scene with him and his kids together are really emotional and heartwarming; you can really feel the chemistry between them, and feel how sad and disoriented that Williams is without his kids. Some may find those scenes cheesy or corny, but I personally think they're done effective, with the exception of one important element, which I'll discuss later. One of the moments where I felt Williams' emotion and instability is when Williams breaks and says "You're My God D--N Kids", and when the little girl told her Mom what he said, the reaction from Field's and the nervous reaction from Williams just made the situation feel a little more at risk. When he becomes Mrs.Doubtfire, he gives not only a very funny performance with all the comical material that he's given, but he hides his identity very convincingly. Sure the Make-Up plays a really big part in that, but the mannerisms and the English accent he puts on, really does look and sound so convincing that at times you'd think he's playing an entirely different character. On top of it, he still manages to give a very emotional and heartwarming performance as he's cross-dressing, which is indeed really, really hard to pull and make it seem plausible. If being a sad, divorced Father, and dressing in drag isn't enough for you, the film literally opens with him voicing animated characters, which of course we know he's really good at. He even has a few improv scenes, and while you'll get a forced scene of him improving (Like him entertaining the Court Liaison for example), he still manages to be entertaining and funny, and trust me that's saying plenty compared to some of his other films.
Most of the supporting characters are acted really well. Sally Field as Williams' ex-wife does give a very realistic performance as this frustrated wife who's divorced, trying to spend time with her kids, and supply them with her busy job. I can definitely feel the stress, the emotion, and bitterness of her character through her wonderful performance. The kids played by Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson, also give a good performance as well, and as I said before, the chemistry between them and Williams, as well as Fields's character are great! Pierce Brosnan, as the man that Fields is dating is actually very likable, then being some mean rich guy with a diabolic plan. Sure, we want to see Williams get back together with his kids, and there is a bit rivalry between Williams and Bronsnan, but for the most part, Brosnan still remains likable, and might be a good Step-Father. In fact, if the film put that as a theme with the kids trying to adapt with a Step-Father, and Williams going from revenge to accepting his wife's decision, even if he still doesn't like him, it would actually make the film a lot stronger. Sadly, the film doesn't do that at all, and after the near death situation with Brosnan's character, we never see or hear from him again. In fact, the film does develop characters and then just throws them away. The Court Liaison that has to constantly report on Williams, is only in two scenes; and Harvey Fierstein as Williams' gay Brother that helps him with his disguise, is in the film very little, who I thought play a larger role in the film since he's his brother. The only supporting character who has a complete story arc is Robert Prosky as a TV station CEO where Williams character works at. However, I always did wonder what his reaction was towards the whole situation at the restaurant. They all give a memorable performance, but the film decides to cut these supporting characters short, making us either wish that we saw more of them; or making us wonder what some their reactions were to Williams's actions, and what happened to some of them after the events.
The film itself again is really funny, with its slapstick, visual jokes, disgusting humor, the many comical situations that Williams has to go through, and of course, Williams himself does a very humorous job! I also love the choice of music used whenever we see Williams in drag, like "Dude, Looks Like A Lady" performed by Aerosmith, and "Walk Like A Man" performed by The Four Seasons, because they really enhance the humor of the situation. The only few times where I feel like the humor was forced or not funny (Not just counting Williams' forced improv scene, with the Court Liaison) is the whole Zoo Party that Williams throws for his kids was a little too much, which is saying a lot since Williams dresses up in drag throughout the whole film. I don't know, I know it's supposed to show how insecure and crazy Williams can be, but for me, it was kind of pushing it and became obvious that it was going to lead to a very huge consequence. However, I do give it a bit of a leeway because we wouldn't have the divorcee. I just feel like they could have done something different. How the film handles its themes about divorce is done for the most part really well and effectively by Williams and his family. Even that speech that Williams gives to close out the film is really heartwarming and inspiring. However, I will admit, the major flaw that at times ruins the moment is the music because I find it to be insufferably corny. Sometimes it works but very, very little, because for the most part it gets annoyingly corny, which I find it a shame because the film's composer is Howard Shore, who brought the emotion with his music in "Big"; gave a great atmosphere in "Silence Of The Lambs"; and will later on, bring an epic adventurous feel, in the famous "Lord Of The Rings" Trilogy. I'm not saying the film doesn't do a good job with its themes and drama, because the writing and acting does rise above against that corny music most of the time, but man does that music get very sappy. It's like when that corny emotional music in "Full House" plays when we get to something emotional, it just doesn't work or feel needed.
While the film at times forces or pushes the humor; gets very corny with its music, nearly ruining half of the emotion that we're supposed to feel; and throws away characters that have a big role in the film, it's still a really great comedy. Sure, the concept is very goofy and silly, and would in many respects work better without the whole dressing in drag concept, but that's not only part of the fun of the film, but the film executes that weird concept really well, with its writing, comedy, performances (Especially from Robin Williams), Make-Up effects, and its themes. I'm really glad I saw this film from beginning to end, and for a guy like me who witnessed his parents go through divorce, while in High School, this film did indeed touch me, while making me laugh at the same time.
RATING 4/5
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