MRS. DOUBTFIRE (PG)
D: Chris Columbus
20th Century Fox/Blue Wolf (Marcia Garces Williams, Robin
Williams & Mark Radcliffe)
US 1993
125 mins
Comedy
W: Randi Mayem Singer & Leslie Dixon [based on the
novel "Alias Madam Doubtfire" by Anne Fine]
DP: Donald McAlpine
Ed: Raja Gosnell
Mus: Howard Shore
Robin Williams (Daniel Hillard / Iphigenia
Doubtfire), Sally Field (Miranda Hillard), Pierce Brosnan (Stu), Harvey Fierstein (Frank), Polly Holliday (Gloria), Lisa Jakub (Lydia), Matthew Lawrence (Chris), Mara Wilson
(Natalie)
Robin Williams delivers one of his most memorable
performances in this family comedy about an out-of-work actor so desperate to see his children following the bitter divorce from his wife, that he disguises himself as a quaint English nanny
in order to spend time with them.
The never-shy Williams has much freedom and opportunity
here for his trademark improvisation to deliver the laughs, whilst the prosthetic makeup transforming him into the title character is incredible.
It's also quite refreshing that the film doesn't settle
for a typically Hollywood happy ending, though there is still quite a hefty dose of sticky sentimentality that the film could have done without.
7/10