I liked that the ending was realistic, with Daniel and Miranda staying divorced. Originally, it was supposed to end with them reconciling, but Robin Williams, Sally Field and Chris Columbus all thought that it sent false hope to kids with divorced parents, since they'd all been divorced in the past.
I’m glad cause even with that ending, child me still deluded myself into believing they got back together for a moment and projected that onto my parents
Aww, that’s so sad but it’s so true. My mom and biological dad got divorced when I was 9/10 and even tho he was incredibly abusive, I still wanted my mom and “dad” to be together again. Even in fourth grade I wrote a thing that said “I wish you could get back together again” but I was just a kid and now I understand what he did. ANYWAY, Mrs. Doubtfire is a really good movie
I agree, especially as a kid having my parents divorcing when this came out. I'm glad it was very real because it actually helped me process that closure
I remember seeing this in the theater thinking, as a 13-year-year-old does, "Surely she can tell that's her ex husband." And now I realize her not recognizing him for so long is symbolic of how disconnected they became from each other.
Human beings are pretty bad at recognizing each other when the other person's face is fatter, they have a different accent, and different hair. Plus in fiction, it's perfectly normal to not realize the obvious until it's plot relevant. In actuality, we folks are surprisingly unperceptive.
@@ADiceySituation Literally just saw a tiktok this morning of someone saying she always made fun of people in the Hannah Montannah show for not recognizing her with a wig but it took her 5+ years of watching the You Belong With Me music video to realize that the "bad girlfriend" with brunette hair was just Taylor Swift in a wig. We truly are unperceptive.
In her autobiography, Lisa Jakub, who played Lydia, stated that her school expelled her because she'd missed so many school days, on account of filming projects. Robin Williams wrote on her behalf to explain the situation, and to get her reinstated. Although he was unsuccessful, it shows what a gentleman Williams was, and how he's still forever missed.
I'm kind of surprised they didn't just have her do school on set like most child actors. Esp with her being a main character. They usually would hire a teacher for that.
The scene of her describing why she got divorced and Danny looking hurt but hiding it and LISTENING is amazing. He doesn't try to argue, and isn't thinking about his next sentence but actually listening. It's such a great scene. Also, I love that the script originally had the parents getting back together but Robbin Williams refused cause he wanted a better message for children of divorce parents.
That hit me hard. Idk that he did that. Thanks for sharing it. As a child of a very difficult divorce, this hit me differently than anything I've seen on the subject. I need to watch it now. Glad he did that because we deserved to know that we can be loved by our parents after a divorce. That we can have a happy ending too. That it can be okay. And if anybody is out there like me, I promise that's all true.
It really hits you emotionally. Because she doesn’t know it’s her ex-husband. Just a stranger that she’d heard was a great baby sitter, and a fellow woman who seems wise enough to listen and give advice in return. But for Danny, he’s receiving her true thoughts and feelings on what he’d put her through and how she’d felt about all of it. When otherwise, she’d be yelling and they’d be arguing. But him hearing the clear truth in a third person perspective, it hurts. But he listens because as he begins to feel awful for her and what he’d put her through, he realizes that this is the hard truth he needs to hear. That she needs to hear. With the arguing and biases filtered out, they both gain some needed clarity on understanding exactly why things fell apart. Why they both genuinely, logically, needed to end that chapter of their lives, and start a new one.
He is a bit of a jerk, but the type of jerk Daniel should just let his ex wife come to that conclusion about on her own and they won't last long instead of meddling? EDIT - most of his 'jerk' moments are how he speaks about Daniel, which is mostly what he's been told by the mother (probably venting). So even then it's more he's got her side of things and not the entire picture, and it does help Daniel realise he needs to step up with being a responsible dad
Agreed, Stuart was supposed to be the typical Jerk boyfriend, including wanting to send the kids off to Boarding School. But other than badmouth Daniel, he's not that bad of a guy. The reason that he disappears following the disastrous birthday party was because Daniel and Miranda were originally supposed to remarry. It's left ambiguous whether Miranda continued dating him or not.
Exactly, any lesser film would've made Stu the bad guy, or at the very least a greedy prick with other intentions. But I love that he genuinely just loves Miranda and the kids. Of course he'd have that mindset about Daniel when he's only getting half of the truth from Miranda.
@@gRinchY-op5vrIn a black and white sense, yes Daniel was a loser. A man in between jobs not supporting his family so mom has to always be working. Ofc he’s more than his job but that’s what it would look like to an outsider.
What can’t be understated is how BOLD it was to have this ending, in a time where the Hollywood ending was the popular ending. Thank goodness Robin fought for the real ending.
Not just him. Sally Field (who played Miranda) and director Chris Columbus wanted to keep the parents separated because they all went through divorce and wanted to show that it’s not the end of the world.
He took SOOO many bold roles: The Birdcage was 30 years ahead of its time. Fern Gully was a tiny Australian comedy with no budget but he cared about the message of saving the rainforest. One Hour Photo was a black vouyeristic thriller with so much nuance which would have been risque even now. Hook was scorned as stupid and pointless and still is by critiques despite it being one of the best kids movies of all time. He never cared about taking 'the right' roles. Almost every movie he took on would have been considered a career-ending risk by other actors, he wasn't bothered by that
The end of this movie has a special place in my heart. We had a foster child for a while and we showed him this movie. And in ms doubtfires final speech where she says "some children have foster parents" he looked up up my mum and I eyes shining and like "Like ME". He was so validated in that moment and it warms my heart to think about.
I use to think Miranda was the bad guy, I use to think my mother was the bad guy. Now I realize, Daniel really needed to work on himself and be better as a person and as a partner. Miranda wanted to be the best mom, she wanted the best for her kids, she knew the sacrifice it took in terms of her fun, her work, her time, her marriage. Luckily, Daniel did the work, not just for his existing relationships but as a father, as a potential partner. My dad, unfortunately, is no Daniel.
Well she kind of is, she wasn’t up to at least trying therapy or trying to make it work and just ended everything without any chance for him to try and change. If she ends stuff this easily why did she marry him in the first place? Not even thinking about what she will put her kids through.😬🤷🏽♀️🙄
i'm afraid i married a daniel, what jono said about one person in the couple becoming more serious (or "the heavy") and the other becoming more "light-hearted"/unserious and how they end up driving each other further to the extremes is very spot-on.
@@m.r5039 you seem to struggle with context and subtext so let me help you there : their fight alluded to the fact that this is 5-10 years of irresponsible behavior on his part and stiffness on hers, in addition to multiple issues regarding his job stability and parenting, which even his kids are aware of at the very young age of 15. It’s very typical and easy to blame the woman for choosing men with irresponsible behavior instead of the person behind the actual behavior. Putting her kids through a divorce is better than putting her kids through having the worst version of marriage and personal behaviors possible. I would also rather divorce than have a parenting partner who insists on keeping me out of the loop regarding OUR kids, at the expense of their well-being and schooling, which ws the case with that party. Not to mention, since she’s the main breadwinner“, she probably paid a fine for it. I recommend you watch the video again, because Jono and Allan touched down on the very things you’re saying, regarding his suggestions of therapy or “working on it”.
I so agree. When I was a kid, I hated Miranda for being a joykiller and was sorry for Daniel because I thought Miranda stole their kids from him. But watching this movie as an adult I see that Miranda really tried everything, to her last straw, and Daniel constantly disrespected her as a mother, as a person, as a breadwinner. As a kid, I thought Miranda alienated the kids from their father, now I see that the kids had their right mind and were completely aware that Daniel was only a good father on the surface. It's not cool to backstab your partner, and it's especially vile if you use your kids as a weapon. I'm glad that by the end of the movie, Daniel started to grow and mature to be a truly good father, but now I think that the greatest hero of the film was Miranda. So as an adult, I apologize to all the Mirandas in the world for my childhood thoughts. You tried everything, you're working hard. You are great.
I begged my ex husband for marriage counseling for over a year. He always said no, he wouldn’t. I did therapy alone. It wasn’t until I told him I was divorcing him that then he switched his tune and wanted to go. We had a single session because I told the therapist (different from who I was seeing personally) that I had continually asked for 18 months for this, and I reached the point where I realized divorce was the best decision for me. I was only there for his closure. Afterwards, I was told that this happens more often than not. A partners concern isn’t taken seriously until it affects them but is too late.
It's amazing how the mask of Mrs. Doubtfire allows Daniel to approach a level of maturity he usually doesn't express, and Robin Williams masterful performance demonstrates this concept.
In pretending to be a stranger that had to earn the trust of Miranda and prove that he was capable of caring for the kids, Daniel realised that the way he had been acting before the divorce was not acceptable, and that behaviour had only been forgiven for so long because of the love his wife and kids had for him, but over time it had eaten up all of the love and good will that Miranda had for him. He took his family for granted. If he had continued to act the same way when he turned up as Mrs Doubtfire, then he would never have been hired as a nanny. It showed him the ways he had been lacking as a father and coparent, and in the process of keeping up the act, he learned how to overcome those flaws.
@@Ikajoas Miranda mentioned in the movie, Daniel's behavior always made her feel like she had to play the overly strict and angry parent/ "bad cop", in order to make up for his laxidasical "good cop" parenting. even if his treatment towards his sons low grades was "kinder" and made him more of a friend, it still wasn't "good" parenting, because parents are meant to enforce some form of discipline. even if cancelling the party altogether was too extreme, so was the party that Daniel threw instead, without discussing it at all with Miranda, thus forcing her to be the bad guy when she comes home rightfully confused and angry
But also, he really hasn’t done anything to deserve almost getting killed. It also makes Daniel look almost disgusting, that he almost killed someone, even though he realized what he was doing was wrong.
I like that it avoided the 'getting back together' trope and it also doesn't completely demonize divorce. It emphasizes that a marriage can still end amicably, where they can at least be happy around one another even if the can't be happy together as a couple.
I love that when Daniel becomes Doubtfire, he starts to slowly understand the problem he impulsively tried to "fix" earlier. That scene where she's confessing about crying herself to sleep? It's the first time his wife can feel safe to just...communicate her pain directly. She lets herself be vulnerable to Mrs Doubtfire in a way she couldn't do for Daniel because his behaviour didn't assure her he would react to her suffering the seriousness it deserved, and as a result...Daniel finally gets to see the full gravity of his behaviour, and how it was hurting her. That scene is my favourite, because it's the point where Daniel shifts from being Mrs Doubtfire as a way to manipulate her and sabotage her...to slowly turning into someone who was being Mrs Doubtfire because it's starting to help him understand just what kind of parent his kids and wife both needed him to become. It takes time for him to fully realize that, but the entire course of the movie from that scene onwards is just that slow, gradual pivot from selfish bitterness...to selfless empathy. Vulnerability is frightening, especially when you've already shared so much of your life with someone that they know just how to hurt you in the worst ways, and you also know they don't understand you well enough after all that time to realize when they *are* hurting you, but the key to healing a damaged relationship in my experience is just that...vulnerability. Expressing it *and* respecting it. Not being so afraid of opening up and communicating honestly and clearly, that you just shut down and bottle it up instead. And not letting yourself get so wrapped up in your hurt that you shut down and refuse to listen when that communication happens, or worse...you never create an environment where the other person feels they *can* open up. That problem-solving mode shows someone *wants* to fix things, but the best way to fix something is to try to understand what's broken and why, or if it even *can* be fixed. Sometimes, you just need is good communication and even if it can't fix what was broken...sometimes it can build something else. Something healthier, and better for the both of you.
Oh my god that was beautiful to read. Such a good way to phrase the importance of communication and I already thought that scene was great when I first saw it but that adds so much extra depth to it and perspective on the whole movie. Thanks for sharing that
But…This is all great for a movie FOR ROBIN WILLIAMS CHARACTER. It’s good thought experiment / showcase / dream fantasy a La Scrooge. But I mean..omg is that traumatizing and manipulative. If your husband was never available for your vulnerability and then does THAT to you? That’s extremely toxic & would scar everyone involved who isn’t him for a long time. That’s an extreme level of betrayal to be tricked (to that extent) into being vulnerable in front of someone you didn’t feel safe being vulnerable in front of. Where is the consent?????? IRL this would be a horror movie abt a narcissistic sociopath (if it wasn’t Robin Williams w a cute script). I know it’s abt divorce psycology but seriously. I’m shocked this review isn’t a glaring negative with some divorce footnotes. Bc the equivalent of this behavior in a real divorce would be extreme emotional abuse, and it’s completely abt HIM. It doesn’t matter what he learns in the process bc it’s still shown in a positive hero’s light like everything is justified. The real work and positivity (not entertaining) would have been having these experiences and coming to these conclusions over time as himself with their knowledge and consent by showing up and tabling his ego, without it having to have been forced by the “comedic” circumstances of literally getting into an elaborate costume to break into their house and spy on /groom them. Sorry but wtf cinema therapy
@@obscuriosities I understand where you coming from. However, I don't think the character is manipulative on purpose. He's immature. He doesn't think things through, he doesn't plan in advance. He didn't plan to try to sabotage her relationship and spy on her just like he didn't plan on making her feel safe and vulnerable with him. As I see it, he just wanted to be close to his children and didn't think ahead. It was a desperate move to become Mrs. Doubtfire. He learned something along the way, matured, and became a better father. He also helped her a lot by being a great babysitter in a moment she and the children needed so much. He was a horrible husband because he needed to grow as a person and having a wife who always took care of everything and saw him as incapable didn't help. It has its problems (it was the 90s), but it is a good film.
You brought back some memories for me of my own failed marriage. Where in the past I trusted him enough to be vulnerable with him and he ended up using it to hurt me. It was such a betrayal, and he used my reactions to justify his own abuse.
I also like that the movie shows that even though a couple doesn't work out romantically, they do still do great platonically and that they can be friends and get along even after all of the crap that takes place before.
yeah, i saw a lot of my parents in this movie. when they were together it was constant fighting and my mom HATED being married to him. but once they had their own spaces and weren't responsible for each other anymore, they got along great as friends.
Preach, ex couples don't have to constantly be on the warpath, and can act civil to each other. In some cases, divorce really is the best solution for everyone involved.
I'm the adult child of a SUPER messy divorce, both during and after the fact (blame is ENTIRELY on my dad, sounds one-sided, but he, over my lifetime pulled A LOT of crap I'm not comfortable sharing with a bunch of strangers), and this was kind of the dream for me here. I knew perfectly well that my parents were NOT getting back together, I just wanted my mom, father and stepmother to actually be friendly with one another and not just have moments of very obviously pretend civility interspersed with constant continued arguments and my dad and stepmom pulling things like gaslighting me and generally trying to use me as a weapon to hurt my mom (like I said, my dad pulled A LOT of shit, even after the divorce). For me, the bit where they ended up not together but still loving, caring and being freinds was the perfect happy Hollywood ending.
My parents never divorced, but every time I watch this movie it reminds me of an old classmate. His parents had gotten divorced but they actually purchased houses next door to each other. I thought that was a brilliant idea. My classmate and his siblings were very well behaved and the parents were always polite and cordial with each other. It goes to show how focusing on what the children need after a divorce goes a long way
This is what makes me think that Stu is a decent guy cuz he shows he’s not just pretending to like the kids to please Miranda. He’s actually interested in having them around
Men like Stu are very rare, for example, after my cousin had two kids and divorced her abusive husband, it took her years to find someone who would definitely love her children as much as she does. She found someone kind, hardworking, guardian material, really funny -- while on a cruise with her friends -- when he met the kids by then in their teens. They got along really well! Again, very rare for most men to get along and find a balance of parent/friend with the stepchild/children.
As a man who married a woman with children, it's discouraging seeing so many movies where the step dad (or Mom's boyfriend) ends up cast aside or who turns out to be a jerk or using her. I'd forgotten about this example. It came out long before I was in this situation
@@SuprousOxide if you need another example, Santa Clause with Tim Allen also comes to mind - like yes, he's constantly making fun of his Ex's new guy and tries to make him look bad, but again - it's only due to his own childish actions and sentiments. The movie never depicts him as a bad guy and he's never cast aside. He stays with the Ex wife for all 3 sequels ^^
As a daughter of divorced parents who still cannot stand the thought of even being under the same roof or in the same room for one event (it has been 15 years now), this movie makes me cry like pretty much no other. The damage done to us kids seems completely unmendable.
I was looking for validation somewhere in these comments. This could have been me writing this comment. I see you, and I completely understand how you feel. When the parents don't find a way to be around eachother, and do what's best for the kids, it does indeed a number on us. I'll be 32 soon. And still am on an incredibly long healing journey of my parents' divorce when I was 14. I hope you are okay.
My ex-wife and I have an arrangement where the kids stay in the house and we would trade off. My biggest step forward was one evening at the house, prior to leaving for the weekend, my ex-wife and her new boyfriend were being (appropriately) playful and affectionate in the kitchen. The sight of her glowing and laughing and having fun was so long lost to me that when I saw it, it actually wamred my heart and made me legitimately happy to see her with someone who could bring that person back to the surface.
May you experience this heart warmth. May you feel joyful, playful, and bright. With or without a partner. What you describe is sympathetic joy, also known as mudita in Buddhism. You truly have a beautiful heart to allow yourself to want this for someone who you no longer are with romantically. That is true unconditional love. I will love and care about you, want well for you even if it means you are not in a partnership with me. I don't think that there is anything more beautiful.
As a child of divorced parents, thank you for stepping up and doing the right thing for the kids’ sake. Too many divorced couples forget or don’t care about how the children are affected.
In one of the deleted scenes, you get a real look at how angry Daniel and Miranda were at each other. Lydia is participating in a school spelling bee, and Daniel shows up late. He and Miranda start arguing about holding a seat for him, and Lydia, after watching this, can't concentrate and misses a word. It was cut for pacing purposes, but man, it was not pretty.
I would personally relate to that since my father fought with my mother in front of me at three years old. And my mom would comment on how I was an angry teen. Like lady, you married and had a child with a man who is selfish and a possible narcissist. What did you expect to happen?
I can't think of this movie without thinking of the "Hellooooo." scene it's iconic. I never really though of it being a movie about grief and loss, because as a kid, I was too absorbed by Williams' antics. And now as an adult...I can actually appreciate those antics because they're a relief FROM that grief. It's kinda crazy how when you're older you can look at movies entirely differently than how you did as a kid or teenager.
It's disheartening reading comments of Mrs Doubtfire videos. The amount of people, who still genuinely believe Miranda is the villain, calling her a 'heartless bitch'. The movie goes to great lengths to show how Daniel had hurt her and that they were better apart. They also made it clear how easily Daniel could've fixed things. He only lost custody because the Mrs Doubtfire stunt was really him lying and technically extorting money from Miranda. His was given 30 days to find a proper job and then they would've revisited it. Both characters are so wonderfully human. But no, only she's the monster apparently.
Exactly. People are like, "well she should have agreed to try therapy," or "she gave up too easily," completely ignoring what Jono said about how most couples go to therapy in the 11th hour, and a lot of the time, it's too late to save the marriage. The custody thing is VERY realistic. As far as the courts were concerned, Daniel was unreliable, potentially dangerous with the lengths he went through to get close to the kids. This movie doesn't have a villain, it doesn't need a villain.
She's definitely not a monster, but she's also not entirely blameless. And she also does some bad things in the movie, like introducing a brand new man to her kids only what, weeks after she kicked their father out? Or her showing up to collect the kids hours early and getting angry at Daniel when he wanted to keep his own children for the entire time he was given? Or how she basically spends the entire movie seemingly annoyed and frustrated that her own kids want to see their father and miss him, and expecting them to just forget about him and get over it? She's not a monster. But she isn't some saint who never did any wrong throughout the film
I've been reading the comments and I haven't seen anyone say this?? maybe when they were little and FIRST saw the movie they thought she was the villain, but watching it again as an adult we can see she's not
I love that Robin and Sally were vested in this movie because they both were children of divorced parents. They both wanted a movie people could find catharsis. Well done, well done.
Seeing these gentlemen tearing up over a comedy is something we all are coming here for, so we'd do this together. Thank you for your presence. Keep up the good work ❤
This movie is both incredibly comforting and a huge dagger in my heart. Not just because Robin is gone, but because the final scene with him saying "Bye Bye", riding away with his family... I wish I had that. My dad was abusive. My mum enabled him. I haven't spoken to my parents in a decade. I miss feeling like I belong in a family. Mrs Doubtfire is as close as I'll ever get.
I'm so sorry that your parents failed you so badly. I hope you can build a found family of friends - that was my solution and Mrs Doubtfire's last speech applies just as well for my relationships with them as it does for biological &/or traditional families. I hope you're doing well and building a beautiful life for yourself. Solidarity ❤
@jackobrienacting I hope you find your tribe.Families are so much more than biology; they're the people who become our home. They can call me on my s**t without making me feel like s**t. They have my back when I'm at my best, and especially when I'm not. Not all of us are lucky enough to be born to the right people. I hope you find yours.
I'm so sorry. Feeling like you're lacking a family is a horrible feeling. I can't relate to the abuse, but I relate in a different way. I'm the black sheep of my family in the form of literally everyone in my family is either christian or conservative or both and it causes a lot of fighting as they stand for a lot of things that take right away from people. I can't get along with my family unless politics/religion is avoided at all costs. It doesn't hold a candle to your situation though. I hope you're able to form a different, healthier family for yourself.
As others have said, I hope you've been able to find comfort in yourself and/or in a found family. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong somewhere. Sending hugs ❤️
When I was a kid, I was lucky to have this to help me process my parents divorce. Though Robin's character wasn't nearly as abusive as what I experienced, it really helped me as a kid understand that my parents were unhealthy for each other. Mrs. Doubtfire will be forever in my top films. ❤
Thank you for covering this movie, especially that last scene. My parents divorced when I was 3, and this came out when I was 7. ALL the innuendo/adult stuff went completely over my head, but this movie meant so much to me. It helped me understand and come to terms with my parents' divorce, and made me feel seen ❤ #cryingwithalan
Mine got divorced when I was 4 or 5 and just like I thought Miranda was the bad guy I thought my mom was too. I was closer to my birth father and I didn't realize until I was older how much my birth father sucked as a person because I was a daddy's girl and that blinded me to things like how little he was really there for my brother and I and how much my mom had to do all by herself. I couldn't be more grateful for my mom and how much she was there for us and loved us.
I just noticed the symbolism of that scene at the end where sally fields invited him into the house and he declined. It was him acknowledging and accepting her boundaries finally and him respecting and upholding them instead of her having to demand them. He’s finally helping keep her emotional needs (with in the relationship) balanced rather forcing them to extremes. There are other perspectives to the symbolism behind the scene than I can’t quite articulate yet. What a genius scene!!
I think Robin was able to perfectly demonstrate sheer comedy and also sentimental, heavy topics because comedy was his mask when in reality, he was completely broken inside. Both of those things were a huge part of him, and I think that’s what made him such a phenomenal actor on both accounts. I’m still so broken-hearted that we lost him too soon. He deserved to feel the joy he brought to so many other people.
Yes... I think many, perhaps even most, people mask difficult emotions (sadness, awkwardness, disappointment, etc) with humour when we can so I think that's fairly universal/resonates with most of us. I think also is partly due to his character, he was rarely laughing *at* people, he didn't 'punch down' in his jokes, he was laughing with his audience, not at people. He was sincere and cared about people, and I think that balance of gentle but boisterous humour is hard to fake. He was a very special man
This is precisely it. I really can't think of any other explanation as to why he was a special as he was. 9 years later and we still miss him. I can't think of another actor who the populace still misses this much this long after their death.
What I like the most about this movie is that it only works as a comedy because of Robin Williams; if you take him out of its story, it becomes a suspense pretty quickly 🤗😅.
Yeah a guy deciding that the best way to see his kids after a divorce and losing custody is to dress up as an old woman, pretend to be a Scottish nanny and try to ruin his ex wife's relationship with her new boyfriend is creepy.
I see that, but I also see it as a man who has hit rock bottom and is willing to go to any length to see his kids. I see a country full of men who have been stripped of their children by faulty and predatory family courts. I see men that truly love their children, even if they're too emotionally stunted to know how to do it in the best ways. I see a society that thinks men don't deserve a say, that "they didn't really want a family anyways," or that "men don't deserve to have a say in the lives of their children." It's a tragedy, and so many things are faulty. But there's a lot of heart and truly sincere emotions here.
This episode hits deep. My parents got divorced in 1996 when I was 8 years old. They sat us down to explain it and the first thing I said was " So it will be like Mrs. Doubtfire?" Movies have always resonated with me and I would refer to them during new experiences. Mrs. Doubtfire showed me that divorce wasn't my fault, that both my parents still loved me, that they wanted what was best for me, and that we could still be a family. I'm now so grateful that this movie existed as a beautiful example for me to refer to during such a life changing time in my childhood.
I watched this movie once, and I still can’t ever watch it again. A child of a bad divorce with a bad father, I was always jealous and hurt that the kids in the movie had a father who wanted to be there with them enough to become Mrs Doubtfire. I’m glad to see in the comments that others have been helped by and love this movie.
"One of the most beautiful things you can realize if your familty is falling apart, is that it's still a family...It's just taken a different shape".....that was very beautiful and heartwarming.....you spoke from my soul after losing my dad... Thank you... great video as always
My dad passed away away 6 years ago , I feel everything you write, I still have the feeling that we are broken , and is true , we are not the same , we miss my dad so much , but we still a family , so we keep moving forward hugs to you
I would like to point-it-out the symbolism of Daniel saving the mother's boyfriend life. He did not hesitate on saving him, not even a glimpse of considering let it happening, risking of him dying and potentially take advantage of a vulnerable mom. No, that moment he realize he is a much greater person than he has been and he knows it is for the best of the family.
I'm approx. 6 mins in, three days ago my wife of almost 7 years asked for a divorce, and I will be watching this way too late like so many others. This is going to be a rough but necessary revisit for sure, lol! edit/post review: Def hit the nail on the head. No need to go deeper into my own issues, but re-watching Daniel and Miranda say goodbye and still be able to be the best versions of themselves gives me hope.
I feel she so often gets overlooked, because she's working with Robin and he's amazing, but she's incredible in this film, and I think deserves more of a Meryl Streep level of reputation. Maybe there was industry bias because she came from a TV background, but I feel like she doesn't have the clout she deserves. Anyway, I agree she's amazing! ❤
As a kid when I watched this I always thought the mom and the new guy was the villain, and Rob was the hero trying to bring his family back together. As an adult I can understand both sides now, and appreciate the message behind it. Growing up is understanding that there really isn't a hero or a villain in these situations but instead making the best of things for everyone, especially the children.
This movie is brilliant in so many ways. The fact that they didn’t make the father, the mother or even the new boyfriend the bad guy is wonderful. They show the pain, the bitterness of divorce and then bring it all back to a healthy place without giving a fairytale ending. That last message resonated with me so much as a child raised by my grandmother. It’s a beautiful movie!
I came back to this after jono's recent announcement, and it just hits different. Lots of tears knowing jono was going through something very similar at the time he made this
Yeah, after his announcement, it actually adds a lot of context. I feel this bizarre sense of sadness about it, bc it’s not my relationship, and Jono himself seems like he’s at peace, or at very least well on the road to peace. It kind of made me worry….bc if a Marriage and Family Therapist can’t make a relationship work, what hope do the rest of us have? But that’s just my anxiety. And obviously people are way more than just their job. Hopefully everyone in Jono’s circle is doing ok and will be the better for this choice.
@@anjelica948 This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think Jono's ex-wife is a very nice person. Honestly, I can't stand her anymore. I've been watching their Mended Light videos for a while, long before their divorce, and he is *constantly* taking accountability for things, constantly saying how he could've done things better, how he was this or that, etc--always putting himself in a place where he's the one who messed up. And never ONCE does she take any accountability for anything. Ever. Not once. She's always letting him fall on the sword. In relationships, it's never just one person that needs to make adjustments to make things work. It takes two. Even as a family therapist, there's only so much one person can do in a relationship when the other person doesn't believe they're ever in the wrong. He deserves better.
@@8missblue8 Remember we are watching videos, snippets, not a whole life. Let's not fall into defining a person for what we see in videos and definitely let's not fall into assuming we know what happens inside a very particular relationship, that's for them to figure out and resolve.
@@terebertuccivoicemusic9821 I know people don’t like to hear it about folks they look up to, but having been abused consistently throughout my life and forced to put my abuser on a pedestal, I tell you-her silence as she lets him repeatedly take *ALL* the blame for their relationship issues speaks very loudly. I guarantee she’s not a good person-or at least, not a person you’d want to be in an intimate relationship with. This is what they do. They expect you to always apologize, always take the fall, figure out how *you’re* always the reason why they were so cold or mean about something, getting you to always beg for their forgiveness and approval. It’s very subtle unless you know what to look for. Watch those videos closely. She always does it. She never takes accountability, but she’s more than willing to be “vulnerable” as she delicately throws Jono under the bus. I’ve seen it in my own life-my mom did this to us kids and my dad, always shifting blame until we were all so insecure that we didn’t feel like we could trust ourselves. And imagine having a partner that makes you SO insecure, and then convinces you that it’s your insecurity that has ruined the relationship… how interesting. I’ve seen it in the lives of my siblings who ended up being stuck in abusive relationships due to the abuse they endured growing up. I’ve seen it in friends. It’s just the reality. Snippets can say a lot more than people want to believe if you’re watching carefully. And they did resolve it. They broke up. And I promise, he’s better off. He’s a good dude. He deserves someone who also takes accountability and is willing to put the same work into the relationship as he does. I finally-FINALLY-have someone like that in my life. It’s worth going through all the failed relationships to finally find that person who gives as much as you do. It just sucks that he still has to work with her. He’d do even better if he could get some solid space from her.
I love that any time there's a movie reaction on this channel that stars Robin Williams, half the comments talk about the actual movie and the other half is just loving and reminiscing on the great man we lost. It really shows what an absolutely enormous impact he had on people and I wish he could still be around to see it
My parents got divorced when I was 4 or 5, and just like I thought, Miranda was the bad guy I thought my mom was too. I was closer to my birth father and I didn't realize until I was older how much my birth father sucked as a person because I was a daddy's girl and that blinded me to things like how little he was really there for my brother and I and how much my mom had to do all by herself. I couldn't be more grateful for my mom and how much she was there for us and loved us. I still, 20 years later, feel terrible for how I treated my mom when I was little. Even though she had forgiven me for so many years, I just can't help it but feel guilty
You were a child and weren't able to fully understand. If you haven't told your mother how you feel then I suggest that you do so, if not in person, a card and letter will do. That would make her feel appreciated and feel her sacrifice was worthwhile. I think you both would grow closer for it. Also, it will help rid you of that guilt. Something to consider.
@@pauladuncanadams1750 I have, years ago and she said has forgiven me but I don't think the guilt will go away, I think I may have a guilt complex. Thanks for the advice
I hope some day you can forgive yourself. The fact that you regret what you did means you have grown past it, and forgiving yourself doesn't mean forgetting the lesson.
I'm so sorry for your bad news, it will be tough to transition to your new family life, but it will get easier with time. Good luck and I hope you have all the love and support of friends and extended family to help you through it. All the best!
My parents divorced when I was 8, I’m 22 now. They showed this movie to my brother and me to help us understand before they broke the news to us. Unfortunately, it went over my head and was devastated when they finally told me. That being said, I’m here to tell you that it’s going to be okay! I know how much it hurts, but it does get better after awhile! Keeping you in my thoughts as you start to go through the transition🙂
I'm 40 now and I was crying at the end of the video (Robin, as Mrs. Doubtfire, talking to the camera/ /to Katie, and to us the audience in a way). This movie hits home for me a good bit because my parents got divorced when I was 14 and yeah it was hard but like the other 2 who replied said..it does get better. You're going to be ok especially if surrounded by the love of family, friends, and I'll even include pets cause they give out all the love whenever we need it. Best of luck and lots of love as you go through this change-as I said it does/will get better in time. Oh and lots of hugs from me to you as well.
I'm really sorry to hear that. My parents told me a few months ago that they're divorcing, and it hit me hard (and still continues to be difficult). Divorce isn't just hard for the young kids of the couple, it can also be difficult for teens, young adults, and really people of any age.
Robin Williams was one of those rare individuals that didn't point and laugh at you over the painful thing. He would come over, give you a hug and laugh with you over the painful thing.
why is it SO COMMON that the woman has to get to the point of "it's over, i'm done, i'm leaving, i don't love you anymore and i've already called a laywer" before the man's like "oh snap i better step up"? she said she's been trying to fix their marriage for 14 YEARS, did he ever listen to a word she said in all that time? it's too late now, bro, you are 14 YEARS too late to get help and try to fix this and change yourself in the ways she's asking you to change. why did it take her literally walking out the door for you to realize she was serious?
I'm a 47 year old man who hardly cries at anything. My parents separated when I was 11 and later divorced. It's amazing to me how this movie has always made me cry. Even just a review of this movie makes me teary. It's a testiment to how good the writing is and the spot on acting of Robin Williams, Sally Field, and the kids.
i remember watching this as a grown up, and thinking this is such an underrated movie about divorce. it goes over the topic so well, and I didn’t know how I missed it before.
I think it’s interesting that as Mrs. Doubtfire begins taking on the emotional and home management work that far too often is take on by solely by women; Miranda is given the space to rest and enjoy her children. I hope that more people get to see the burden of family & home care as a shared responsibility.
I genuinely do feel bad for thr mum in this because you see the kindness and sweetness there but so exhausting being an adult when no one understands hiw much emotional work it takes to be a parent....and it can just suck all the fun out of you. That vitality that makes you you.
Exactly, she’s taking on all the emotional labor, as well as the work labor AND the house labor. She’s expected to do and fix everything, and when things get too far, then she’s the monster for blowing up in anger and exhaustion, and it’s just not fair. Being a parent is wonderful, but it really does drain you and bury the fun part of your personality when you prioritize everyone else over you. I’m glad they stayed divorced in the end, because the problem really was how incompatible the two of them were, and how each of them had different ideas on what their roles were, not just as parents, but as people.
What really got me was the line about how she’d make the effort to leave work early and then find the house trashed and have to spend the evening cleaning it up.
@@grutarg2938 what struck me is her saying she didn't like the person she had become when she was with him and she's a better person when she's NOT around him.... that's gotta hurt
She drooled over another man while she still was married and still thought that she was so perfect. She decided to cancel her son's birthday party and ruined the party that his father gave him. Then she wouldn't let her ex-husband see his own kids but decided to hire a stranger to take care of them. And yeah, she decided to announce her wish for a divorce before her son's birthday even was over!!! Then she forced a new man upon the kids and wanted them to forget about their own father. Where exactly do you see any kindness or sweetness in this heartless selfish entitled shrew of a woman? If I had been any of the kids, I would have made my mother's life a living Hell if she had kept me away from my loving father. But except for a bit of understandable attitude towards Mrs Doubtfore from Lydia before she knew it was her father, those kids were much too well-behaved...
I think this one and Freaky Friday are the ones that stuck with me the most, not only because it shows the characters growing, and how painful it is, but also showing that happy endings come in many forms outside what’s stated as normal. What a wonderful episode guys!
I think I saw it for the first time at my grandma's house about a year before my parents got divorced, and I helped me have a better outlook than I would have without seeing it
@@kingtrashpanda1570a friend was bummed because they didn’t get back together and live happily ever after. The “easy answer” would have been a cop out; it would have set a lot of kids up with unrealistic expectations and painful disappointment. I think kids learn and benefit more from this film exactly the way it is. Maybe a few adults too.
When my parent's divorced, my mother made sure that we could see our dad, because she had seen Mrs. Doubtfire and knew how important it is for us, the kids, to have both parents in our life. It allowed my brother and I tro transition through that rough part of our life, and when I got older, I realized how horrible my father really was, and the damage he did to the family. Now, I'm in an emotional bind. By all rights, I should hate my father with every fiber of my being, but I still love him and hang out with him on occassion. I really should get therapy....
Similar situation here. I don't like my father as a person but feel like I should have a relationship with him because he is my parent. He's been in and out of my life so I know I can't count on him and I don't confide in him about anything. I used to think that he was embarrassed or ashamed of me when he'd go long periods without contacting me. He treats his current partner like garbage, says she's only around because of my half sister, etc. He's a big part of the reason I have low self esteem. I'm already in therapy lol.
I had a toxic relationship with my abusive father too, and I really tried to make a relationship work, but in the end, for my own sake, I had to distance myself from him. He died about 10 years ago (I think, I honestly never held that date in my heart) and sitting with my brother and sister in the church listening to his stepkids and stepgrandkids go on and on about what a wonderful man he was, I remember turning to my brother and saying "he sounds like a great guy, I wish I knew him." I loved my dad despite his abusiveness, he was my dad after all. But I just couldn't allow that level of negativity and manipulation in my life anymore.
It's completely normal to still love people who are terrible, even those who are terrible to you, personally. Most of the time, we end up relating to our internalized hope or memory of who a person is as opposed to the actual person themselves. We live in denial of the truth because the lie we tell ourselves is much more comforting. Eventually, though, we have to get past that and let ourselves grieve for the loss of the person that doesn't exist so that we can move on to something healthier. @tracyroweauthor My husband's father passed a few years back and the wake had a similar vibe. But his half-siblings are all adults and well aware that they had a father that my husband never knew and they made a point to recognize and allow that he had a completely different experience. They're a pretty solid bunch of people. I'm glad his father got his act together enough to give them the solid foundation my husband never got.
@@AndaraBledinI don't have any relationship with my steps anymore. I was kind of closer to my younger stepsister, she is very sweet, but we drifted apart as we didn't really have much in common and she is much younger than me. I cut off my stepmother and stepbrother completely. They are awful people. I don't think any of them ever acknowledged that he was a different father with them than with us.
One of my favorite movies as a child. I remember watching it outside on a big screen in Alamo Square in San Francisco several years ago. So many good memories. We miss you, Robin. ❤
My parents got divorced when I was 10, this movie hits close to home in so many scenes. Especially the part where Daniel yells at the kids for leaving and says " Sit down! You're on my time now. You're my goddamn kids too!" Unlike a lot of kids who always wanted their parents to get back together, I would get sick to my stomach and nervous whenever my parents were even in the same room together. Their divorce was pretty ugly, and it sucked being caught in the middle of it with my younger brother. The best way I can describe it is "We were casualties caught in the crossfire of a marital battleground."
Apparently there was several different cuts of mrs. Doubtfire because they let robin riff a lot. One of them is NC-17. I want to see that more than anything else
I watched this movie on repeat for months to deal with my own parents divorce, it was a very nasty divorce and I was a trophy to be won and put on a shelf somewhere. Without this movie I don’t know how I would’ve survived, I wore out the VHS and my grandma bought me the DVD, and now with digital I have it everywhere. Thank you Robin we miss you
I think I had already started tearing up before I even clicked on the video. So much of my childhood is in that movie. And UGH. Robin Williams is the only actor that has died that makes me teary every time I remember that he isn't here anymore.
22:16 This scene makes me cry every time. My parents divorced when I was little and this scene helped me get through my feelings and helped me realize that I was going to be ok.
this movie helped me, as a teen dealing with my parents' messy divorce, to cope with it and hope that both my parents will grow to be better parents at the end of it. I'm glad to say that, that they really have grown to be better people
It's such a testament to this movie that even after all these years, when Robin Williams walks through the door as their "new" nanny, I still get chills and a little teary-eyed
My friend's fave films are Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom, and The Santa Clause, which I always found so random. Then it occurred to me that, unlike my parents who were married 50 years, he was a child of divorce. Most divorced film couples hate each other, never see each other again, or get back together. We need more films that portray divorce in a healthy, realistic way.....ya know, minus the deceit via drag. 😂 Now please do Billy Elliot!
That camera hold on Miranda, not saying a word (how many times does this happen in this movie?!?) at the end while Mrs. Doubtfire responds to the letter….chef’s kiss
I cried in the last scene when he's giving advice to the little girl as Mrs Doubtfire. I have no idea why exactly. Thanks for sharing this one with us❤
Definitely a nod to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Sometimes kids need to have an adult chat on adult topics. Too often we (as parents/adults) leave them in the dark.
I watched this movie this summer with my two daughters (12 & 9) for the first time in more than 20 years. I thought it could be just a fun movie to watch, plus, I divorced their mother about 7 years ago so I thought we could all relate a bit. But damn, this movie touched my feelings HARD. After watching this, the 3 of us had a beautiful conversarion about family, divorce and happiness. I've always liked this movie, but now I love it. It holds a very special place in my heart❤.
I feel what makes Robin Williams so touching. Was he wasn't just irreverent, he didnt just love to joke, nor be crass and dopey. When it mattered he knew how to be and feel sincere. I loved watching him be goofy and fun and silly. However whenever he gave performances like this I think we were able to have a peek into his who he was as a person. That's where we see what makes us all human. To me that's what makes him stay with us even after his passing. It makes me cry everytime seeing these performances because he was so genuine not as an actor but as a person in performance of himself. He is a soul that will be forever missed and his memory will carry on with is forever.
If Jonathan does a Mrs Doubtfire impression I will be so happy 😊 RIP Mr Robin Williams, this is definitely one of your best films and it will always be a favorite of mine 💗
AliAngelPie. Absolutely! Robin's top movies to me are Mrs Doubtfire, Bicentennial Man and The Dead Poets Society. BM had interesting concepts for its time and its messaging about AI awakening to be human or wanting to be whole is quite poetic. And let's not forget Robin's amazing comedic moments 😊
So one thing that was common in the 90s (and not any other decade) was the exploration of the divorced or single parent household. A lot of the Disney renaissance films the parents where dead or distant from the protaganist. And many cases they never felt the need to explain the parents being dead or distant, it just was. The Santa clause also explores a recently divorced household where the parents eventually do something similar.
It's been almost 20 years since my parents got divorced and my dad still can't get over it. At the time he was cruel and vile towards my mom and when it caused my sister and myself to not want to be around him he accused mom of turning us against him. And now that we are adults he gets angry at us about the divorce, claiming it's okay that he says cruel things to us because we made him angry. As a kid I would cry, wishing he would fight for me even a tenth of the amount that Danial fought for his kids.
The most heartwrenching part was when everything imploded & Daniel was exposed as " Mrs. Doubtfire". The betrayal the 3 kids felt just tore my heart out.
It was only the ypu gest child and the mother who felt betrayal. The eldest 2 kids found out earlier in the movie that Mrs.Doubtfire was their father the whole time. They didn't rat him out because they WANTED their father in their life again... and arguably they liked seeing their mom and dad get along again, even if it's a relationship based on deception. What they were feeling wasn't betrayal, but more "Oh no, his cover is blown..."
This is what I had wished my parents had done. No kids being used at pawns but both parents learning what is best for their kids while understanding how best to communicate between each other.
“One of the most beautiful things you can realize if your family is falling apart, is that it’s still a family. It just…is taking a different shape.” Just wanted to highlight that absolutely lovely quote.
I think what took it from typical 90s family comedy to absolute classic is Robin Williams (of course) and the fact that the characters are not the one dimensional stereotypes that dominated the theaters at the time. It's more real and believable than you expect going in to watch it for the first time.
This film came out during my parents divorce. I gravitated to this film. I watched the hell out of this movie and I still cry ever time I watch this film. One of my Favorite Robin Williams films.
I started sobbing within the first 5 minutes of this video, I am not having a good day and this movie hurts but I love all of the commentary these guys provide
Honestly one of my favorite comfort movies of all time !! The world lost probably its most comedic and lovable person in Robin Williams and this movie continues to help me cherish his legacy of laughter....
Some stray observations about this movie: I love that Pierce Brosnan's character isn't a jerk. He adores Miranda's kids and they seem to like him. He's only a little harsh on Daniel since he only has his ex-wife's side of things. "Voiceover actor" is a legitimate profession, and Daniel would have a resume of previous work experience with various production companies. He should be able to provide better credentials than meekly saying "I do voices". A lot of people seem to paint Miranda as the bad guy. Well, that's part of why the marriage failed. Daniel kept being the kids' friend instead of their father, and Miranda was the only one left to be the adult in the house. Daniel got to be the fun best pal, and Miranda always had to be the ogre who shut down everything fun and made them do things they didn't want to do. Once Daniel is picking up his half of the couch as Mrs. Doubtfire in terms of looking after the house and kids, Miranda loosens up a lot and becomes a much more fun person around her kids. Like she always wanted to be, but never could before. And Daniel... he probably was just doing what always worked: he'd screw up, she'd be mad at him for awhile, but he'd charm his way into her good graces again. From Daniel's perspective, something's wrong: this woman he fell in love with in college _has changed._ For Miranda, something's wrong: this boyish goofball she fell in live with in college _hasn't changed!_ Their situation hits home because it's a lot like what my own parents were like before they got divorced.
My parents only just divorced very recently but it was tumbling down for a very long time and a year before it was official they didnt even live in the same house. I saw this movie for the first time during that period and i didnt even know how focused it was on divorce until i saw it (i just came to see Robin Williams in drag). This movie feels exactly like my experience but if things worked out. They are precisely like my parents and they even have the same number of kids at the same age range watching it happen. This movie is so personal to me because I have never seen anything so similar to my experience. I really do love this films take on divorce and its a million times better than the films that just get them back together in the end. Ive witnessed how staying together can be way worse than moving on.
I think it’s a beautiful movie about parents splitting up and I love when sally fields says “I didn’t like the person I was when I was with him” that they are better people when they are apart because to think of the amount of children who has parents that had a volatile relationship but refused to separate “for the kids” but in the end them staying together angry and upset with each other probably did way more damage than if they separated. Also I’m glad that they didn’t make Pierce Brosnan’s character a straight douche who hates kids and just wanted to have Miranda. It gives it so much more depth that he likes the kids and treats them well and makes Miranda happy. Beautiful movie I rewatch all the time
I just watched this movie on Hulu! Some scenes didn't age with me as well as others, like thinking Daniel was the best dad ever as a child only to see the mess he truly was as an adult. But this film is still one of my childhood favorites. I'm so glad you guys made a video about it!
The movie didn’t age badly, you just evolved and saw things that kids don’t see. Which is also part of the problem the mother is dealing with in the movie.
In a way, this movie broke my heart as a kid. Bc my parents divorced, and it was messy, even violent at times. I felt like a chew toy being pulled on by dogs that hated each other. And I remember watching this movie wishing that my parents could be more like this, not love each other, because that was never going to happen, but at least be kind and understanding towards each other, and to do what’s best for the kids.
As a kid I was rooting for Daniel and his ex wife to get back together, because “hey! Your kids want you to be together just BE TOGETHER!” As an adult I understand why the marriage had to end and thrilled for Miranda finding a great guy knowing how hard it can be for a woman with kids to remarry. And proud for Daniel for getting it in the end. Even as a kid though I loved the story of a family figuring out how to make it work even if they have to separate.
The ability to take something so delicate and painful to a child as divorce, and show that while it might be scary, it's not evil or mean, it's just what it is, and that you are never the reason (even if you have abusive parents who say otherwise) is just amazing. This kind of movie lives forever with the care and grace it was crafted, and letting the talented actors play between each other to give the amazing resonant performances that touch hearts to this day. Robin Williams took such care to touch lives with joy, and healing. He knows pain, and he knows children. He knows that children's pain is not a toy, and he wants anyone to know they have someone who cares. As a kid whose parents were divorced by the time she could speak, but with weird tensions between them all the time as her dad playboy'd around and her mother worked herself to the bone, it was so important to know that there was still love.
My mom passed away in June of this year and my parents have been divorced for 9 years at this point (they separated when I was a pre-teen) and a lot of people who don't come from divorced families can't quite grasp why my Dad is mourning too. They don't understand that even if the romantic love was gone, my parents still had, and will forever have this familial love for one another. That's something that this movie shows really well.
I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you were lucky enough to have two wonderful parents. I'm certain that she will be missed. As long as you keep her in your heart, a piece of her remains.
Director Chris Columbus said the original script had Daniel and Miranda getting back together again at the end of the film. But both Columbus and Robin Williams felt the ending was too “romanticized” and would give kids of divorced parents a sense of “false hope”. The ending was changed to what’s in the final film, both Columbus and Williams felt this better conveyed to kids going through a divorce that - “Not all divorced-parents get back together again, but that’s okay. As long as there’s still love, that’s all that matters.”
I appreciate films like this because it helps remind me that my step daughter’s bio dad is flawed but not an evil monster. I had to watch him break my partner’s heart, and that makes my hackles go up when he’s around. But my daughter deserves a father, so when he tries to show up I try to do better to remember he’s a person. A person I might not like all the time, but a person. Thanks for the reminder guys :3
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If you only care about a croup of people when they having political power or stop supporting you isn't that nice girl syndrome
Men are often the ones more strict in the marriage and mom the easier parent
Some of it is female fantasy's
How media doesn't put accountability for women who hurt men .
The current structure of child support system is not about helping the children it's about punishing the man
I liked that the ending was realistic, with Daniel and Miranda staying divorced. Originally, it was supposed to end with them reconciling, but Robin Williams, Sally Field and Chris Columbus all thought that it sent false hope to kids with divorced parents, since they'd all been divorced in the past.
I’m glad cause even with that ending, child me still deluded myself into believing they got back together for a moment and projected that onto my parents
Sally Field is also fab, also as Forest Gumps mum x
So glad they left it that way, it's so important that they did!
Aww, that’s so sad but it’s so true. My mom and biological dad got divorced when I was 9/10 and even tho he was incredibly abusive, I still wanted my mom and “dad” to be together again. Even in fourth grade I wrote a thing that said “I wish you could get back together again” but I was just a kid and now I understand what he did. ANYWAY, Mrs. Doubtfire is a really good movie
I agree, especially as a kid having my parents divorcing when this came out. I'm glad it was very real because it actually helped me process that closure
I remember seeing this in the theater thinking, as a 13-year-year-old does, "Surely she can tell that's her ex husband." And now I realize her not recognizing him for so long is symbolic of how disconnected they became from each other.
Duuuuude…🤯 good insight! Didn’t think about that
She actually did find something about Mrs Doubtfire familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it and brushed it off.
Human beings are pretty bad at recognizing each other when the other person's face is fatter, they have a different accent, and different hair. Plus in fiction, it's perfectly normal to not realize the obvious until it's plot relevant.
In actuality, we folks are surprisingly unperceptive.
I love how thirteen-year-old you sounds like a fifty-something chap XD
@@ADiceySituation Literally just saw a tiktok this morning of someone saying she always made fun of people in the Hannah Montannah show for not recognizing her with a wig but it took her 5+ years of watching the You Belong With Me music video to realize that the "bad girlfriend" with brunette hair was just Taylor Swift in a wig. We truly are unperceptive.
In her autobiography, Lisa Jakub, who played Lydia, stated that her school expelled her because she'd missed so many school days, on account of filming projects. Robin Williams wrote on her behalf to explain the situation, and to get her reinstated. Although he was unsuccessful, it shows what a gentleman Williams was, and how he's still forever missed.
Wow... that school was run by assholes.
Robin Williams - what a hero. I wish he was still here.
I'm kind of surprised they didn't just have her do school on set like most child actors. Esp with her being a main character. They usually would hire a teacher for that.
@@pw.70I know what you mean
*I think she also acted along side Jim Carrey*
The scene of her describing why she got divorced and Danny looking hurt but hiding it and LISTENING is amazing. He doesn't try to argue, and isn't thinking about his next sentence but actually listening. It's such a great scene.
Also, I love that the script originally had the parents getting back together but Robbin Williams refused cause he wanted a better message for children of divorce parents.
That hit me hard. Idk that he did that. Thanks for sharing it. As a child of a very difficult divorce, this hit me differently than anything I've seen on the subject. I need to watch it now. Glad he did that because we deserved to know that we can be loved by our parents after a divorce. That we can have a happy ending too. That it can be okay. And if anybody is out there like me, I promise that's all true.
great idea
As if he is listening to her for the first time ever
It really hits you emotionally. Because she doesn’t know it’s her ex-husband. Just a stranger that she’d heard was a great baby sitter, and a fellow woman who seems wise enough to listen and give advice in return. But for Danny, he’s receiving her true thoughts and feelings on what he’d put her through and how she’d felt about all of it. When otherwise, she’d be yelling and they’d be arguing. But him hearing the clear truth in a third person perspective, it hurts. But he listens because as he begins to feel awful for her and what he’d put her through, he realizes that this is the hard truth he needs to hear. That she needs to hear. With the arguing and biases filtered out, they both gain some needed clarity on understanding exactly why things fell apart. Why they both genuinely, logically, needed to end that chapter of their lives, and start a new one.
Iirc it wasn't just Williams, several cast members were remarried and didn't want to give children of divorce false hope.
While not exclusive to Mrs. Doubtfire, I am glad that the film doesn't make the step-husband/boyfriend an abusive monster.
He is a bit of a jerk, but the type of jerk Daniel should just let his ex wife come to that conclusion about on her own and they won't last long instead of meddling?
EDIT - most of his 'jerk' moments are how he speaks about Daniel, which is mostly what he's been told by the mother (probably venting). So even then it's more he's got her side of things and not the entire picture, and it does help Daniel realise he needs to step up with being a responsible dad
@@gRinchY-op5vr Very true.
Agreed, Stuart was supposed to be the typical Jerk boyfriend, including wanting to send the kids off to Boarding School. But other than badmouth Daniel, he's not that bad of a guy. The reason that he disappears following the disastrous birthday party was because Daniel and Miranda were originally supposed to remarry. It's left ambiguous whether Miranda continued dating him or not.
Exactly, any lesser film would've made Stu the bad guy, or at the very least a greedy prick with other intentions. But I love that he genuinely just loves Miranda and the kids. Of course he'd have that mindset about Daniel when he's only getting half of the truth from Miranda.
@@gRinchY-op5vrIn a black and white sense, yes Daniel was a loser. A man in between jobs not supporting his family so mom has to always be working. Ofc he’s more than his job but that’s what it would look like to an outsider.
Every time I hear this line, “All my love to you, Poppet. You’re gonna be alright,” I sob. I can’t help it. I’m a child of divorce.
So am I, and my parents divorced about two years after this movie came out. It still hits hard.
This movie was the only thing that helped me cope through my parents divorce
Same! This movie helped a lot through my parent's divorce, and that line still hits me right in my soul!
Lucky. My parents were never married to begin with.
@@nuclearcatbaby1131LUCKY???? Wtf???? Lmfao
What can’t be understated is how BOLD it was to have this ending, in a time where the Hollywood ending was the popular ending. Thank goodness Robin fought for the real ending.
Not just him. Sally Field (who played Miranda) and director Chris Columbus wanted to keep the parents separated because they all went through divorce and wanted to show that it’s not the end of the world.
We love to see it
I think the Ending we got was SO MUCH BETTER Than The Original.
I love the ending. I love how Mrs. Doubtfire explains that family comes in many forms. @@animeotaku307
He took SOOO many bold roles: The Birdcage was 30 years ahead of its time. Fern Gully was a tiny Australian comedy with no budget but he cared about the message of saving the rainforest. One Hour Photo was a black vouyeristic thriller with so much nuance which would have been risque even now. Hook was scorned as stupid and pointless and still is by critiques despite it being one of the best kids movies of all time. He never cared about taking 'the right' roles. Almost every movie he took on would have been considered a career-ending risk by other actors, he wasn't bothered by that
The end of this movie has a special place in my heart. We had a foster child for a while and we showed him this movie. And in ms doubtfires final speech where she says "some children have foster parents" he looked up up my mum and I eyes shining and like "Like ME". He was so validated in that moment and it warms my heart to think about.
So Sweet.
I use to think Miranda was the bad guy, I use to think my mother was the bad guy. Now I realize, Daniel really needed to work on himself and be better as a person and as a partner. Miranda wanted to be the best mom, she wanted the best for her kids, she knew the sacrifice it took in terms of her fun, her work, her time, her marriage. Luckily, Daniel did the work, not just for his existing relationships but as a father, as a potential partner. My dad, unfortunately, is no Daniel.
Well she kind of is, she wasn’t up to at least trying therapy or trying to make it work and just ended everything without any chance for him to try and change. If she ends stuff this easily why did she marry him in the first place? Not even thinking about what she will put her kids through.😬🤷🏽♀️🙄
You nailed it in the head, the other half of my DNA is no Daniel either.
i'm afraid i married a daniel, what jono said about one person in the couple becoming more serious (or "the heavy") and the other becoming more "light-hearted"/unserious and how they end up driving each other further to the extremes is very spot-on.
@@m.r5039 you seem to struggle with context and subtext so let me help you there : their fight alluded to the fact that this is 5-10 years of irresponsible behavior on his part and stiffness on hers, in addition to multiple issues regarding his job stability and parenting, which even his kids are aware of at the very young age of 15. It’s very typical and easy to blame the woman for choosing men with irresponsible behavior instead of the person behind the actual behavior. Putting her kids through a divorce is better than putting her kids through having the worst version of marriage and personal behaviors possible. I would also rather divorce than have a parenting partner who insists on keeping me out of the loop regarding OUR kids, at the expense of their well-being and schooling, which ws the case with that party. Not to mention, since she’s the main breadwinner“, she probably paid a fine for it. I recommend you watch the video again, because Jono and Allan touched down on the very things you’re saying, regarding his suggestions of therapy or “working on it”.
I so agree. When I was a kid, I hated Miranda for being a joykiller and was sorry for Daniel because I thought Miranda stole their kids from him. But watching this movie as an adult I see that Miranda really tried everything, to her last straw, and Daniel constantly disrespected her as a mother, as a person, as a breadwinner. As a kid, I thought Miranda alienated the kids from their father, now I see that the kids had their right mind and were completely aware that Daniel was only a good father on the surface. It's not cool to backstab your partner, and it's especially vile if you use your kids as a weapon. I'm glad that by the end of the movie, Daniel started to grow and mature to be a truly good father, but now I think that the greatest hero of the film was Miranda.
So as an adult, I apologize to all the Mirandas in the world for my childhood thoughts. You tried everything, you're working hard. You are great.
I begged my ex husband for marriage counseling for over a year. He always said no, he wouldn’t. I did therapy alone. It wasn’t until I told him I was divorcing him that then he switched his tune and wanted to go. We had a single session because I told the therapist (different from who I was seeing personally) that I had continually asked for 18 months for this, and I reached the point where I realized divorce was the best decision for me. I was only there for his closure.
Afterwards, I was told that this happens more often than not. A partners concern isn’t taken seriously until it affects them but is too late.
It's amazing how the mask of Mrs. Doubtfire allows Daniel to approach a level of maturity he usually doesn't express, and Robin Williams masterful performance demonstrates this concept.
Great point!
I agree
In pretending to be a stranger that had to earn the trust of Miranda and prove that he was capable of caring for the kids, Daniel realised that the way he had been acting before the divorce was not acceptable, and that behaviour had only been forgiven for so long because of the love his wife and kids had for him, but over time it had eaten up all of the love and good will that Miranda had for him. He took his family for granted. If he had continued to act the same way when he turned up as Mrs Doubtfire, then he would never have been hired as a nanny. It showed him the ways he had been lacking as a father and coparent, and in the process of keeping up the act, he learned how to overcome those flaws.
@@emilyprice178Miranda wasn't that great of a parent either. She basically cancelled her son's birthday because of low grades
@@Ikajoas Miranda mentioned in the movie, Daniel's behavior always made her feel like she had to play the overly strict and angry parent/ "bad cop", in order to make up for his laxidasical "good cop" parenting. even if his treatment towards his sons low grades was "kinder" and made him more of a friend, it still wasn't "good" parenting, because parents are meant to enforce some form of discipline. even if cancelling the party altogether was too extreme, so was the party that Daniel threw instead, without discussing it at all with Miranda, thus forcing her to be the bad guy when she comes home rightfully confused and angry
I love how they resisted the urge to make Pierce's character a jerk. He genuinely cares for Miranda and the kids.
But also, he really hasn’t done anything to deserve almost getting killed. It also makes Daniel look almost disgusting, that he almost killed someone, even though he realized what he was doing was wrong.
Yeah, i mean, its not like he caused the divorce. He's just a normal dude. But i can understand Daniel's jealousy
I like that it avoided the 'getting back together' trope and it also doesn't completely demonize divorce. It emphasizes that a marriage can still end amicably, where they can at least be happy around one another even if the can't be happy together as a couple.
I love that when Daniel becomes Doubtfire, he starts to slowly understand the problem he impulsively tried to "fix" earlier. That scene where she's confessing about crying herself to sleep? It's the first time his wife can feel safe to just...communicate her pain directly. She lets herself be vulnerable to Mrs Doubtfire in a way she couldn't do for Daniel because his behaviour didn't assure her he would react to her suffering the seriousness it deserved, and as a result...Daniel finally gets to see the full gravity of his behaviour, and how it was hurting her.
That scene is my favourite, because it's the point where Daniel shifts from being Mrs Doubtfire as a way to manipulate her and sabotage her...to slowly turning into someone who was being Mrs Doubtfire because it's starting to help him understand just what kind of parent his kids and wife both needed him to become. It takes time for him to fully realize that, but the entire course of the movie from that scene onwards is just that slow, gradual pivot from selfish bitterness...to selfless empathy.
Vulnerability is frightening, especially when you've already shared so much of your life with someone that they know just how to hurt you in the worst ways, and you also know they don't understand you well enough after all that time to realize when they *are* hurting you, but the key to healing a damaged relationship in my experience is just that...vulnerability. Expressing it *and* respecting it.
Not being so afraid of opening up and communicating honestly and clearly, that you just shut down and bottle it up instead. And not letting yourself get so wrapped up in your hurt that you shut down and refuse to listen when that communication happens, or worse...you never create an environment where the other person feels they *can* open up. That problem-solving mode shows someone *wants* to fix things, but the best way to fix something is to try to understand what's broken and why, or if it even *can* be fixed.
Sometimes, you just need is good communication and even if it can't fix what was broken...sometimes it can build something else. Something healthier, and better for the both of you.
Oh my god that was beautiful to read. Such a good way to phrase the importance of communication and I already thought that scene was great when I first saw it but that adds so much extra depth to it and perspective on the whole movie. Thanks for sharing that
But…This is all great for a movie FOR ROBIN WILLIAMS CHARACTER. It’s good thought experiment / showcase / dream fantasy a La Scrooge. But I mean..omg is that traumatizing and manipulative. If your husband was never available for your vulnerability and then does THAT to you? That’s extremely toxic & would scar everyone involved who isn’t him for a long time. That’s an extreme level of betrayal to be tricked (to that extent) into being vulnerable in front of someone you didn’t feel safe being vulnerable in front of. Where is the consent?????? IRL this would be a horror movie abt a narcissistic sociopath (if it wasn’t Robin Williams w a cute script). I know it’s abt divorce psycology but seriously. I’m shocked this review isn’t a glaring negative with some divorce footnotes. Bc the equivalent of this behavior in a real divorce would be extreme emotional abuse, and it’s completely abt HIM. It doesn’t matter what he learns in the process bc it’s still shown in a positive hero’s light like everything is justified. The real work and positivity (not entertaining) would have been having these experiences and coming to these conclusions over time as himself with their knowledge and consent by showing up and tabling his ego, without it having to have been forced by the “comedic” circumstances of literally getting into an elaborate costume to break into their house and spy on /groom them.
Sorry but wtf cinema therapy
@@obscuriosities I understand where you coming from. However, I don't think the character is manipulative on purpose. He's immature. He doesn't think things through, he doesn't plan in advance. He didn't plan to try to sabotage her relationship and spy on her just like he didn't plan on making her feel safe and vulnerable with him. As I see it, he just wanted to be close to his children and didn't think ahead. It was a desperate move to become Mrs. Doubtfire. He learned something along the way, matured, and became a better father. He also helped her a lot by being a great babysitter in a moment she and the children needed so much. He was a horrible husband because he needed to grow as a person and having a wife who always took care of everything and saw him as incapable didn't help. It has its problems (it was the 90s), but it is a good film.
@@anaalbuquerque9824What?
Daniel already was a good father and husband, Miranda was a bad mother and wife though.
You brought back some memories for me of my own failed marriage. Where in the past I trusted him enough to be vulnerable with him and he ended up using it to hurt me. It was such a betrayal, and he used my reactions to justify his own abuse.
I also like that the movie shows that even though a couple doesn't work out romantically, they do still do great platonically and that they can be friends and get along even after all of the crap that takes place before.
yeah, i saw a lot of my parents in this movie. when they were together it was constant fighting and my mom HATED being married to him. but once they had their own spaces and weren't responsible for each other anymore, they got along great as friends.
@@dietotaku same here. Watching it recently as an adult gave me a bit of good understanding about that, which I definitely didn't have as a kid.
Totally agree!
Preach, ex couples don't have to constantly be on the warpath, and can act civil to each other. In some cases, divorce really is the best solution for everyone involved.
I'm the adult child of a SUPER messy divorce, both during and after the fact (blame is ENTIRELY on my dad, sounds one-sided, but he, over my lifetime pulled A LOT of crap I'm not comfortable sharing with a bunch of strangers), and this was kind of the dream for me here.
I knew perfectly well that my parents were NOT getting back together, I just wanted my mom, father and stepmother to actually be friendly with one another and not just have moments of very obviously pretend civility interspersed with constant continued arguments and my dad and stepmom pulling things like gaslighting me and generally trying to use me as a weapon to hurt my mom (like I said, my dad pulled A LOT of shit, even after the divorce).
For me, the bit where they ended up not together but still loving, caring and being freinds was the perfect happy Hollywood ending.
My parents never divorced, but every time I watch this movie it reminds me of an old classmate. His parents had gotten divorced but they actually purchased houses next door to each other. I thought that was a brilliant idea. My classmate and his siblings were very well behaved and the parents were always polite and cordial with each other. It goes to show how focusing on what the children need after a divorce goes a long way
very My Big Fat Greek Wedding of them 😅😊
This is what makes me think that Stu is a decent guy cuz he shows he’s not just pretending to like the kids to please Miranda. He’s actually interested in having them around
Men like Stu are very rare, for example, after my cousin had two kids and divorced her abusive husband, it took her years to find someone who would definitely love her children as much as she does. She found someone kind, hardworking, guardian material, really funny -- while on a cruise with her friends -- when he met the kids by then in their teens. They got along really well! Again, very rare for most men to get along and find a balance of parent/friend with the stepchild/children.
As a man who married a woman with children, it's discouraging seeing so many movies where the step dad (or Mom's boyfriend) ends up cast aside or who turns out to be a jerk or using her.
I'd forgotten about this example. It came out long before I was in this situation
@@SuprousOxide oh absolutely! I have a stepdad and I’m sure he’d agree with you on that
@@SuprousOxide if you need another example, Santa Clause with Tim Allen also comes to mind - like yes, he's constantly making fun of his Ex's new guy and tries to make him look bad, but again - it's only due to his own childish actions and sentiments. The movie never depicts him as a bad guy and he's never cast aside. He stays with the Ex wife for all 3 sequels ^^
@@GodofGamesss Excellent points. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
As a daughter of divorced parents who still cannot stand the thought of even being under the same roof or in the same room for one event (it has been 15 years now), this movie makes me cry like pretty much no other. The damage done to us kids seems completely unmendable.
same. My parents modeled to us relationship toxicity instead of how to have healthy relationships.
Im so sorry you’ve had to go through that. I hope you know how much you’re worth
I’m so sorry, honey. Hugs to you. Xx
Huh - try 46 years later… my parents still won’t be in the same room 😒😒😒
I was looking for validation somewhere in these comments. This could have been me writing this comment. I see you, and I completely understand how you feel. When the parents don't find a way to be around eachother, and do what's best for the kids, it does indeed a number on us. I'll be 32 soon. And still am on an incredibly long healing journey of my parents' divorce when I was 14. I hope you are okay.
My ex-wife and I have an arrangement where the kids stay in the house and we would trade off. My biggest step forward was one evening at the house, prior to leaving for the weekend, my ex-wife and her new boyfriend were being (appropriately) playful and affectionate in the kitchen. The sight of her glowing and laughing and having fun was so long lost to me that when I saw it, it actually wamred my heart and made me legitimately happy to see her with someone who could bring that person back to the surface.
Good for you. May you glow too. I am sure you did in that moment too.
So glad there are people like you in this world, making it a better place . Blessings.
This is the most wholesome comment I've read in a while. Thank you for posting it!
May you experience this heart warmth. May you feel joyful, playful, and bright. With or without a partner. What you describe is sympathetic joy, also known as mudita in Buddhism. You truly have a beautiful heart to allow yourself to want this for someone who you no longer are with romantically. That is true unconditional love. I will love and care about you, want well for you even if it means you are not in a partnership with me. I don't think that there is anything more beautiful.
As a child of divorced parents, thank you for stepping up and doing the right thing for the kids’ sake. Too many divorced couples forget or don’t care about how the children are affected.
In one of the deleted scenes, you get a real look at how angry Daniel and Miranda were at each other. Lydia is participating in a school spelling bee, and Daniel shows up late. He and Miranda start arguing about holding a seat for him, and Lydia, after watching this, can't concentrate and misses a word. It was cut for pacing purposes, but man, it was not pretty.
It shows how toxic fighting can really affect kids… should have been left in or at least in the dvd release sooner.
That's heartbreaking
I would personally relate to that since my father fought with my mother in front of me at three years old. And my mom would comment on how I was an angry teen. Like lady, you married and had a child with a man who is selfish and a possible narcissist. What did you expect to happen?
I can't think of this movie without thinking of the "Hellooooo." scene it's iconic. I never really though of it being a movie about grief and loss, because as a kid, I was too absorbed by Williams' antics. And now as an adult...I can actually appreciate those antics because they're a relief FROM that grief. It's kinda crazy how when you're older you can look at movies entirely differently than how you did as a kid or teenager.
All that crazy stuff divorce were said about men. Simpsons for example
What a privilege. I had to grow up pretty fast.
"It was a run-by fruiting" has lived rent free in my head since I was 12 when this movie came out.
Same. Also the mumbling thru a fake smile of "heeeEEheh-touch me again I'll drownya, ya English bastard..."
It's disheartening reading comments of Mrs Doubtfire videos. The amount of people, who still genuinely believe Miranda is the villain, calling her a 'heartless bitch'.
The movie goes to great lengths to show how Daniel had hurt her and that they were better apart.
They also made it clear how easily Daniel could've fixed things. He only lost custody because the Mrs Doubtfire stunt was really him lying and technically extorting money from Miranda. His was given 30 days to find a proper job and then they would've revisited it.
Both characters are so wonderfully human. But no, only she's the monster apparently.
Exactly. People are like, "well she should have agreed to try therapy," or "she gave up too easily," completely ignoring what Jono said about how most couples go to therapy in the 11th hour, and a lot of the time, it's too late to save the marriage. The custody thing is VERY realistic. As far as the courts were concerned, Daniel was unreliable, potentially dangerous with the lengths he went through to get close to the kids. This movie doesn't have a villain, it doesn't need a villain.
She's definitely not a monster, but she's also not entirely blameless. And she also does some bad things in the movie, like introducing a brand new man to her kids only what, weeks after she kicked their father out? Or her showing up to collect the kids hours early and getting angry at Daniel when he wanted to keep his own children for the entire time he was given? Or how she basically spends the entire movie seemingly annoyed and frustrated that her own kids want to see their father and miss him, and expecting them to just forget about him and get over it?
She's not a monster. But she isn't some saint who never did any wrong throughout the film
I've been reading the comments and I haven't seen anyone say this?? maybe when they were little and FIRST saw the movie they thought she was the villain, but watching it again as an adult we can see she's not
@@danielleking262
i mean on Mrs Doubtfire clips on TH-cam
@@jupitersnoot4915 I never said she was blameless, just that certain people act like Daniel did nothing wrong
I love that Robin and Sally were vested in this movie because they both were children of divorced parents. They both wanted a movie people could find catharsis. Well done, well done.
God, that ending scene always kills me.
“All my love to you, poppet. You’re going to be all right.
Bye bye.”
Thank you, Robin.
I’m gran always called me poppet and is gone now. So that hit me hard 😢
I always cry
@@alexpeterson124same, every. Single. Time.
🥹🥺
This whole episode hits so much harder when we have context for what our internet dad Jono was/is going through. 😢
Just want to say thank you. - Jono
Seeing these gentlemen tearing up over a comedy is something we all are coming here for, so we'd do this together.
Thank you for your presence. Keep up the good work ❤
Yes it's a comedy and yes I still cry every time I watch it. Brilliant movie.
@@AlterNatRealiT facts 👌
I like that after the divorce, the parents both became better parents, teaching the kids how to balance fun and responsibility.
This movie is both incredibly comforting and a huge dagger in my heart. Not just because Robin is gone, but because the final scene with him saying "Bye Bye", riding away with his family... I wish I had that.
My dad was abusive. My mum enabled him. I haven't spoken to my parents in a decade. I miss feeling like I belong in a family. Mrs Doubtfire is as close as I'll ever get.
I'm so sorry that your parents failed you so badly. I hope you can build a found family of friends - that was my solution and Mrs Doubtfire's last speech applies just as well for my relationships with them as it does for biological &/or traditional families.
I hope you're doing well and building a beautiful life for yourself. Solidarity ❤
@jackobrienacting I hope you find your tribe.Families are so much more than biology; they're the people who become our home. They can call me on my s**t without making me feel like s**t. They have my back when I'm at my best, and especially when I'm not. Not all of us are lucky enough to be born to the right people. I hope you find yours.
I'm so sorry. Feeling like you're lacking a family is a horrible feeling. I can't relate to the abuse, but I relate in a different way. I'm the black sheep of my family in the form of literally everyone in my family is either christian or conservative or both and it causes a lot of fighting as they stand for a lot of things that take right away from people. I can't get along with my family unless politics/religion is avoided at all costs.
It doesn't hold a candle to your situation though. I hope you're able to form a different, healthier family for yourself.
Well, count me in as your cyber sister. ❤ Sending you lots of love and cyberhugs! 🫂 💕
As others have said, I hope you've been able to find comfort in yourself and/or in a found family. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong somewhere. Sending hugs ❤️
When I was a kid, I was lucky to have this to help me process my parents divorce. Though Robin's character wasn't nearly as abusive as what I experienced, it really helped me as a kid understand that my parents were unhealthy for each other. Mrs. Doubtfire will be forever in my top films. ❤
Hope you're doing okay !
Oh yes, Therapy is honestly a life saving thing
Thank you for covering this movie, especially that last scene. My parents divorced when I was 3, and this came out when I was 7. ALL the innuendo/adult stuff went completely over my head, but this movie meant so much to me. It helped me understand and come to terms with my parents' divorce, and made me feel seen ❤ #cryingwithalan
Mine got divorced when I was 4 or 5 and just like I thought Miranda was the bad guy I thought my mom was too. I was closer to my birth father and I didn't realize until I was older how much my birth father sucked as a person because I was a daddy's girl and that blinded me to things like how little he was really there for my brother and I and how much my mom had to do all by herself. I couldn't be more grateful for my mom and how much she was there for us and loved us.
I just noticed the symbolism of that scene at the end where sally fields invited him into the house and he declined. It was him acknowledging and accepting her boundaries finally and him respecting and upholding them instead of her having to demand them. He’s finally helping keep her emotional needs (with in the relationship) balanced rather forcing them to extremes.
There are other perspectives to the symbolism behind the scene than I can’t quite articulate yet. What a genius scene!!
I think Robin was able to perfectly demonstrate sheer comedy and also sentimental, heavy topics because comedy was his mask when in reality, he was completely broken inside. Both of those things were a huge part of him, and I think that’s what made him such a phenomenal actor on both accounts. I’m still so broken-hearted that we lost him too soon. He deserved to feel the joy he brought to so many other people.
Yes... I think many, perhaps even most, people mask difficult emotions (sadness, awkwardness, disappointment, etc) with humour when we can so I think that's fairly universal/resonates with most of us.
I think also is partly due to his character, he was rarely laughing *at* people, he didn't 'punch down' in his jokes, he was laughing with his audience, not at people. He was sincere and cared about people, and I think that balance of gentle but boisterous humour is hard to fake. He was a very special man
I agree with you
This is precisely it. I really can't think of any other explanation as to why he was a special as he was. 9 years later and we still miss him. I can't think of another actor who the populace still misses this much this long after their death.
The symbols of the theater are masks of comedy and tragedy. They aren't the symbols for nothing.
Alan PLEASE just start doing Mrs. Doubtfire impressions randomly, it brings me Great joy
What I like the most about this movie is that it only works as a comedy because of Robin Williams; if you take him out of its story, it becomes a suspense pretty quickly 🤗😅.
Oh yeah this is a template for a really good paychological horror movie without robin williams
I've never been able to get past the film's creep factor myself.
Pretty sure someone did a mock movie trailer of Mrs. Doubtfire as a psychological thriller movie
Yeah a guy deciding that the best way to see his kids after a divorce and losing custody is to dress up as an old woman, pretend to be a Scottish nanny and try to ruin his ex wife's relationship with her new boyfriend is creepy.
I see that, but I also see it as a man who has hit rock bottom and is willing to go to any length to see his kids. I see a country full of men who have been stripped of their children by faulty and predatory family courts. I see men that truly love their children, even if they're too emotionally stunted to know how to do it in the best ways. I see a society that thinks men don't deserve a say, that "they didn't really want a family anyways," or that "men don't deserve to have a say in the lives of their children." It's a tragedy, and so many things are faulty. But there's a lot of heart and truly sincere emotions here.
This episode hits deep. My parents got divorced in 1996 when I was 8 years old. They sat us down to explain it and the first thing I said was " So it will be like Mrs. Doubtfire?" Movies have always resonated with me and I would refer to them during new experiences. Mrs. Doubtfire showed me that divorce wasn't my fault, that both my parents still loved me, that they wanted what was best for me, and that we could still be a family. I'm now so grateful that this movie existed as a beautiful example for me to refer to during such a life changing time in my childhood.
I watched this movie once, and I still can’t ever watch it again. A child of a bad divorce with a bad father, I was always jealous and hurt that the kids in the movie had a father who wanted to be there with them enough to become Mrs Doubtfire. I’m glad to see in the comments that others have been helped by and love this movie.
❤
"One of the most beautiful things you can realize if your familty is falling apart, is that it's still a family...It's just taken a different shape".....that was very beautiful and heartwarming.....you spoke from my soul after losing my dad... Thank you... great video as always
My dad passed away away 6 years ago , I feel everything you write, I still have the feeling that we are broken , and is true , we are not the same , we miss my dad so much , but we still a family , so we keep moving forward hugs to you
I would like to point-it-out the symbolism of Daniel saving the mother's boyfriend life. He did not hesitate on saving him, not even a glimpse of considering let it happening, risking of him dying and potentially take advantage of a vulnerable mom. No, that moment he realize he is a much greater person than he has been and he knows it is for the best of the family.
I'm approx. 6 mins in, three days ago my wife of almost 7 years asked for a divorce, and I will be watching this way too late like so many others. This is going to be a rough but necessary revisit for sure, lol!
edit/post review: Def hit the nail on the head. No need to go deeper into my own issues, but re-watching Daniel and Miranda say goodbye and still be able to be the best versions of themselves gives me hope.
I wish you all the best.
Best of luck to you.
I'm so sorry. Wish I could take you out for a drink. My heart is with you.
Just remember: it will get better, no matter what you're feeling now.
@@Phaleux This is so true! Please don't be discouraged or give up! It really does get better.
This video just reminded me how amazing Sally Field is in this role. She's such a good actor
I was just remembering she is also fab as Forest Gumps mum ❤
I feel she so often gets overlooked, because she's working with Robin and he's amazing, but she's incredible in this film, and I think deserves more of a Meryl Streep level of reputation. Maybe there was industry bias because she came from a TV background, but I feel like she doesn't have the clout she deserves.
Anyway, I agree she's amazing! ❤
Her reaction to finding out about Daniel was so damm perfect and iconic. She straight up went through all the stages of grief in a matter of seconds
2 Oscars!
Any time someone says "the whole time", I only ever hear Sally Fields saying "The whole time? The whole time? THE WHOLE TIME??!"
As a kid when I watched this I always thought the mom and the new guy was the villain, and Rob was the hero trying to bring his family back together. As an adult I can understand both sides now, and appreciate the message behind it. Growing up is understanding that there really isn't a hero or a villain in these situations but instead making the best of things for everyone, especially the children.
This movie is brilliant in so many ways. The fact that they didn’t make the father, the mother or even the new boyfriend the bad guy is wonderful. They show the pain, the bitterness of divorce and then bring it all back to a healthy place without giving a fairytale ending. That last message resonated with me so much as a child raised by my grandmother. It’s a beautiful movie!
I came back to this after jono's recent announcement, and it just hits different. Lots of tears knowing jono was going through something very similar at the time he made this
Yeah, after his announcement, it actually adds a lot of context. I feel this bizarre sense of sadness about it, bc it’s not my relationship, and Jono himself seems like he’s at peace, or at very least well on the road to peace. It kind of made me worry….bc if a Marriage and Family Therapist can’t make a relationship work, what hope do the rest of us have? But that’s just my anxiety. And obviously people are way more than just their job. Hopefully everyone in Jono’s circle is doing ok and will be the better for this choice.
@@anjelica948 This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think Jono's ex-wife is a very nice person. Honestly, I can't stand her anymore. I've been watching their Mended Light videos for a while, long before their divorce, and he is *constantly* taking accountability for things, constantly saying how he could've done things better, how he was this or that, etc--always putting himself in a place where he's the one who messed up. And never ONCE does she take any accountability for anything. Ever. Not once. She's always letting him fall on the sword. In relationships, it's never just one person that needs to make adjustments to make things work. It takes two. Even as a family therapist, there's only so much one person can do in a relationship when the other person doesn't believe they're ever in the wrong. He deserves better.
@@8missblue8 Remember we are watching videos, snippets, not a whole life. Let's not fall into defining a person for what we see in videos and definitely let's not fall into assuming we know what happens inside a very particular relationship, that's for them to figure out and resolve.
@@terebertuccivoicemusic9821 I know people don’t like to hear it about folks they look up to, but having been abused consistently throughout my life and forced to put my abuser on a pedestal, I tell you-her silence as she lets him repeatedly take *ALL* the blame for their relationship issues speaks very loudly. I guarantee she’s not a good person-or at least, not a person you’d want to be in an intimate relationship with. This is what they do. They expect you to always apologize, always take the fall, figure out how *you’re* always the reason why they were so cold or mean about something, getting you to always beg for their forgiveness and approval. It’s very subtle unless you know what to look for. Watch those videos closely. She always does it. She never takes accountability, but she’s more than willing to be “vulnerable” as she delicately throws Jono under the bus. I’ve seen it in my own life-my mom did this to us kids and my dad, always shifting blame until we were all so insecure that we didn’t feel like we could trust ourselves.
And imagine having a partner that makes you SO insecure, and then convinces you that it’s your insecurity that has ruined the relationship… how interesting.
I’ve seen it in the lives of my siblings who ended up being stuck in abusive relationships due to the abuse they endured growing up. I’ve seen it in friends. It’s just the reality. Snippets can say a lot more than people want to believe if you’re watching carefully.
And they did resolve it. They broke up. And I promise, he’s better off. He’s a good dude. He deserves someone who also takes accountability and is willing to put the same work into the relationship as he does. I finally-FINALLY-have someone like that in my life. It’s worth going through all the failed relationships to finally find that person who gives as much as you do. It just sucks that he still has to work with her. He’d do even better if he could get some solid space from her.
I love that any time there's a movie reaction on this channel that stars Robin Williams, half the comments talk about the actual movie and the other half is just loving and reminiscing on the great man we lost. It really shows what an absolutely enormous impact he had on people and I wish he could still be around to see it
My parents got divorced when I was 4 or 5, and just like I thought, Miranda was the bad guy I thought my mom was too. I was closer to my birth father and I didn't realize until I was older how much my birth father sucked as a person because I was a daddy's girl and that blinded me to things like how little he was really there for my brother and I and how much my mom had to do all by herself. I couldn't be more grateful for my mom and how much she was there for us and loved us. I still, 20 years later, feel terrible for how I treated my mom when I was little. Even though she had forgiven me for so many years, I just can't help it but feel guilty
You were a child and weren't able to fully understand. If you haven't told your mother how you feel then I suggest that you do so, if not in person, a card and letter will do. That would make her feel appreciated and feel her sacrifice was worthwhile. I think you both would grow closer for it. Also, it will help rid you of that guilt. Something to consider.
@@pauladuncanadams1750 I have, years ago and she said has forgiven me but I don't think the guilt will go away, I think I may have a guilt complex. Thanks for the advice
I hope some day you can forgive yourself. The fact that you regret what you did means you have grown past it, and forgiving yourself doesn't mean forgetting the lesson.
@@oyunomiyumi605 thanks
My kid just apologized for how they treated me post-divorce, and I absolutely forgive them. (In fact, it's kind of vindicating.)
5 minutes into the episode and I'm already crying. My parents told me last week that they're getting a divorce so this episode really hit me
I'm so sorry for your bad news, it will be tough to transition to your new family life, but it will get easier with time. Good luck and I hope you have all the love and support of friends and extended family to help you through it. All the best!
My parents divorced when I was 8, I’m 22 now. They showed this movie to my brother and me to help us understand before they broke the news to us. Unfortunately, it went over my head and was devastated when they finally told me. That being said, I’m here to tell you that it’s going to be okay! I know how much it hurts, but it does get better after awhile! Keeping you in my thoughts as you start to go through the transition🙂
I'm 40 now and I was crying at the end of the video (Robin, as Mrs. Doubtfire, talking to the camera/ /to Katie, and to us the audience in a way). This movie hits home for me a good bit because my parents got divorced when I was 14 and yeah it was hard but like the other 2 who replied said..it does get better. You're going to be ok especially if surrounded by the love of family, friends, and I'll even include pets cause they give out all the love whenever we need it. Best of luck and lots of love as you go through this change-as I said it does/will get better in time. Oh and lots of hugs from me to you as well.
I'm really sorry to hear that. My parents told me a few months ago that they're divorcing, and it hit me hard (and still continues to be difficult). Divorce isn't just hard for the young kids of the couple, it can also be difficult for teens, young adults, and really people of any age.
Robin Williams was one of those rare individuals that didn't point and laugh at you over the painful thing. He would come over, give you a hug and laugh with you over the painful thing.
Laughter through tears, the hardest emotion to invoke, just like Alan always says. And that was Robin’s entire deal, he embodied it
I love that this movie still holds up 30yrs later. The acting is so phenomenal. You very easily end up feeling what they're feeling.
Oh this episode was so lovely, dear. RIP Robin, you are missed but never forgotten💚.
why is it SO COMMON that the woman has to get to the point of "it's over, i'm done, i'm leaving, i don't love you anymore and i've already called a laywer" before the man's like "oh snap i better step up"? she said she's been trying to fix their marriage for 14 YEARS, did he ever listen to a word she said in all that time? it's too late now, bro, you are 14 YEARS too late to get help and try to fix this and change yourself in the ways she's asking you to change. why did it take her literally walking out the door for you to realize she was serious?
I'm a 47 year old man who hardly cries at anything. My parents separated when I was 11 and later divorced. It's amazing to me how this movie has always made me cry. Even just a review of this movie makes me teary. It's a testiment to how good the writing is and the spot on acting of Robin Williams, Sally Field, and the kids.
i remember watching this as a grown up, and thinking this is such an underrated movie about divorce. it goes over the topic so well, and I didn’t know how I missed it before.
I think it’s interesting that as Mrs. Doubtfire begins taking on the emotional and home management work that far too often is take on by solely by women; Miranda is given the space to rest and enjoy her children. I hope that more people get to see the burden of family & home care as a shared responsibility.
❤❤
I genuinely do feel bad for thr mum in this because you see the kindness and sweetness there but so exhausting being an adult when no one understands hiw much emotional work it takes to be a parent....and it can just suck all the fun out of you. That vitality that makes you you.
I realize this now as well !
Exactly, she’s taking on all the emotional labor, as well as the work labor AND the house labor. She’s expected to do and fix everything, and when things get too far, then she’s the monster for blowing up in anger and exhaustion, and it’s just not fair. Being a parent is wonderful, but it really does drain you and bury the fun part of your personality when you prioritize everyone else over you. I’m glad they stayed divorced in the end, because the problem really was how incompatible the two of them were, and how each of them had different ideas on what their roles were, not just as parents, but as people.
What really got me was the line about how she’d make the effort to leave work early and then find the house trashed and have to spend the evening cleaning it up.
@@grutarg2938 what struck me is her saying she didn't like the person she had become when she was with him and she's a better person when she's NOT around him.... that's gotta hurt
She drooled over another man while she still was married and still thought that she was so perfect.
She decided to cancel her son's birthday party and ruined the party that his father gave him.
Then she wouldn't let her ex-husband see his own kids but decided to hire a stranger to take care of them.
And yeah, she decided to announce her wish for a divorce before her son's birthday even was over!!!
Then she forced a new man upon the kids and wanted them to forget about their own father.
Where exactly do you see any kindness or sweetness in this heartless selfish entitled shrew of a woman?
If I had been any of the kids, I would have made my mother's life a living Hell if she had kept me away from my loving father.
But except for a bit of understandable attitude towards Mrs Doubtfore from Lydia before she knew it was her father, those kids were much too well-behaved...
I think this one and Freaky Friday are the ones that stuck with me the most, not only because it shows the characters growing, and how painful it is, but also showing that happy endings come in many forms outside what’s stated as normal. What a wonderful episode guys!
As a child with divorced parents, I loved this movie... I felt like I could relate so much to it.
I think I saw it for the first time at my grandma's house about a year before my parents got divorced, and I helped me have a better outlook than I would have without seeing it
@@kingtrashpanda1570a friend was bummed because they didn’t get back together and live happily ever after.
The “easy answer” would have been a cop out; it would have set a lot of kids up with unrealistic expectations and painful disappointment.
I think kids learn and benefit more from this film exactly the way it is.
Maybe a few adults too.
When my parent's divorced, my mother made sure that we could see our dad, because she had seen Mrs. Doubtfire and knew how important it is for us, the kids, to have both parents in our life. It allowed my brother and I tro transition through that rough part of our life, and when I got older, I realized how horrible my father really was, and the damage he did to the family. Now, I'm in an emotional bind. By all rights, I should hate my father with every fiber of my being, but I still love him and hang out with him on occassion. I really should get therapy....
Similar situation here. I don't like my father as a person but feel like I should have a relationship with him because he is my parent. He's been in and out of my life so I know I can't count on him and I don't confide in him about anything. I used to think that he was embarrassed or ashamed of me when he'd go long periods without contacting me. He treats his current partner like garbage, says she's only around because of my half sister, etc. He's a big part of the reason I have low self esteem. I'm already in therapy lol.
I had a toxic relationship with my abusive father too, and I really tried to make a relationship work, but in the end, for my own sake, I had to distance myself from him. He died about 10 years ago (I think, I honestly never held that date in my heart) and sitting with my brother and sister in the church listening to his stepkids and stepgrandkids go on and on about what a wonderful man he was, I remember turning to my brother and saying "he sounds like a great guy, I wish I knew him."
I loved my dad despite his abusiveness, he was my dad after all. But I just couldn't allow that level of negativity and manipulation in my life anymore.
It's completely normal to still love people who are terrible, even those who are terrible to you, personally.
Most of the time, we end up relating to our internalized hope or memory of who a person is as opposed to the actual person themselves. We live in denial of the truth because the lie we tell ourselves is much more comforting. Eventually, though, we have to get past that and let ourselves grieve for the loss of the person that doesn't exist so that we can move on to something healthier.
@tracyroweauthor My husband's father passed a few years back and the wake had a similar vibe. But his half-siblings are all adults and well aware that they had a father that my husband never knew and they made a point to recognize and allow that he had a completely different experience. They're a pretty solid bunch of people. I'm glad his father got his act together enough to give them the solid foundation my husband never got.
@@AndaraBledinI don't have any relationship with my steps anymore. I was kind of closer to my younger stepsister, she is very sweet, but we drifted apart as we didn't really have much in common and she is much younger than me. I cut off my stepmother and stepbrother completely. They are awful people. I don't think any of them ever acknowledged that he was a different father with them than with us.
One of my favorite movies as a child. I remember watching it outside on a big screen in Alamo Square in San Francisco several years ago. So many good memories. We miss you, Robin. ❤
He was such an amazing actor and this was my favourite of his roles, RIP
My parents got divorced when I was 10, this movie hits close to home in so many scenes. Especially the part where Daniel yells at the kids for leaving and says " Sit down! You're on my time now. You're my goddamn kids too!"
Unlike a lot of kids who always wanted their parents to get back together, I would get sick to my stomach and nervous whenever my parents were even in the same room together. Their divorce was pretty ugly, and it sucked being caught in the middle of it with my younger brother. The best way I can describe it is "We were casualties caught in the crossfire of a marital battleground."
Apparently there was several different cuts of mrs. Doubtfire because they let robin riff a lot. One of them is NC-17. I want to see that more than anything else
Dear lord, can only the amount of riffing Robin did that would've made the movie NC-17 😂😂. I wonder if it's still on the shelf somewhere
Apparently it was the same thing with Aladdin lol
I watched this movie on repeat for months to deal with my own parents divorce, it was a very nasty divorce and I was a trophy to be won and put on a shelf somewhere. Without this movie I don’t know how I would’ve survived, I wore out the VHS and my grandma bought me the DVD, and now with digital I have it everywhere. Thank you Robin we miss you
I have to say, whoever chooses/edits in the quotes from other movies is always so on point 😂 ILYSM
I wanted to comment this! The aliens from Mars Attacks and omg Alan coming out of the water as a chick absolutely sent me!!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Our editors do that for each episode. They’re all amazing!
I think I had already started tearing up before I even clicked on the video. So much of my childhood is in that movie. And UGH. Robin Williams is the only actor that has died that makes me teary every time I remember that he isn't here anymore.
22:16 This scene makes me cry every time. My parents divorced when I was little and this scene helped me get through my feelings and helped me realize that I was going to be ok.
Same here
This movie taught me what divorce was and made me realise how horrible my parents relationship was. It prepared me for the inevitable.
this movie helped me, as a teen dealing with my parents' messy divorce, to cope with it and hope that both my parents will grow to be better parents at the end of it. I'm glad to say that, that they really have grown to be better people
Then things worked out for you that you got better parents. Lucky you.
It's such a testament to this movie that even after all these years, when Robin Williams walks through the door as their "new" nanny, I still get chills and a little teary-eyed
My friend's fave films are Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom, and The Santa Clause, which I always found so random. Then it occurred to me that, unlike my parents who were married 50 years, he was a child of divorce. Most divorced film couples hate each other, never see each other again, or get back together. We need more films that portray divorce in a healthy, realistic way.....ya know, minus the deceit via drag. 😂 Now please do Billy Elliot!
Fun fact: They have so much footage of Robin's different takes, they have 3 versions of the film, including one rated R. I wish they'd release it.
omg I didn't even think what those movies had in common 😳
Step Mom really hits 😭
Yo… Mrs. Doubtfire and Stepmom are in my top ten too!
I LOVE Billy Elliot!!
That camera hold on Miranda, not saying a word (how many times does this happen in this movie?!?) at the end while Mrs. Doubtfire responds to the letter….chef’s kiss
I cried in the last scene when he's giving advice to the little girl as Mrs Doubtfire. I have no idea why exactly. Thanks for sharing this one with us❤
I always have. :/
Definitely a nod to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.
Sometimes kids need to have an adult chat on adult topics. Too often we (as parents/adults) leave them in the dark.
I always cried at it too
I imagined I was little Katie getting talked to more than once. :(
Well, he is giving advice to all of us (former) kids watching. I guess that is part of his legacy. 💚
I watched this movie this summer with my two daughters (12 & 9) for the first time in more than 20 years. I thought it could be just a fun movie to watch, plus, I divorced their mother about 7 years ago so I thought we could all relate a bit. But damn, this movie touched my feelings HARD. After watching this, the 3 of us had a beautiful conversarion about family, divorce and happiness. I've always liked this movie, but now I love it. It holds a very special place in my heart❤.
This move came out when I was 6 and learning to process and understand my parents divorce. It is one of the reasons that I absolutely love Robin.
I feel what makes Robin Williams so touching. Was he wasn't just irreverent, he didnt just love to joke, nor be crass and dopey. When it mattered he knew how to be and feel sincere. I loved watching him be goofy and fun and silly. However whenever he gave performances like this I think we were able to have a peek into his who he was as a person. That's where we see what makes us all human. To me that's what makes him stay with us even after his passing. It makes me cry everytime seeing these performances because he was so genuine not as an actor but as a person in performance of himself. He is a soul that will be forever missed and his memory will carry on with is forever.
If Jonathan does a Mrs Doubtfire impression I will be so happy 😊 RIP Mr Robin Williams, this is definitely one of your best films and it will always be a favorite of mine 💗
Honestly, Alan's Mrs. Doubtfire voice was ON POINT!
AliAngelPie. Absolutely! Robin's top movies to me are Mrs Doubtfire, Bicentennial Man and The Dead Poets Society. BM had interesting concepts for its time and its messaging about AI awakening to be human or wanting to be whole is quite poetic. And let's not forget Robin's amazing comedic moments 😊
@@Miss_Myth 🤩🤩🤩
@@hameley12 I love Dead Poets Society as well, Jumanji, and Hook.
So one thing that was common in the 90s (and not any other decade) was the exploration of the divorced or single parent household. A lot of the Disney renaissance films the parents where dead or distant from the protaganist. And many cases they never felt the need to explain the parents being dead or distant, it just was. The Santa clause also explores a recently divorced household where the parents eventually do something similar.
Of all the movies I expected to see, I did not see this one coming but boy, am I THRILLED !! I LOVE THIS MOVIE
His whimsical tenderness makes the pain that took him so much sadder
It's been almost 20 years since my parents got divorced and my dad still can't get over it. At the time he was cruel and vile towards my mom and when it caused my sister and myself to not want to be around him he accused mom of turning us against him. And now that we are adults he gets angry at us about the divorce, claiming it's okay that he says cruel things to us because we made him angry. As a kid I would cry, wishing he would fight for me even a tenth of the amount that Danial fought for his kids.
The most heartwrenching part was when everything imploded & Daniel was exposed as " Mrs. Doubtfire". The betrayal the 3 kids felt just tore my heart out.
It was only the ypu gest child and the mother who felt betrayal. The eldest 2 kids found out earlier in the movie that Mrs.Doubtfire was their father the whole time. They didn't rat him out because they WANTED their father in their life again... and arguably they liked seeing their mom and dad get along again, even if it's a relationship based on deception.
What they were feeling wasn't betrayal, but more "Oh no, his cover is blown..."
Robin Williams is the first person I would bring back from the dead if I could. He deserved better. RIP Robin
This is what I had wished my parents had done. No kids being used at pawns but both parents learning what is best for their kids while understanding how best to communicate between each other.
“One of the most beautiful things you can realize if your family is falling apart, is that it’s still a family. It just…is taking a different shape.”
Just wanted to highlight that absolutely lovely quote.
I think what took it from typical 90s family comedy to absolute classic is Robin Williams (of course) and the fact that the characters are not the one dimensional stereotypes that dominated the theaters at the time. It's more real and believable than you expect going in to watch it for the first time.
Actually, there was a lot more three dimensionality in the 90s than in today's flicks which are focused more on plot and intrigue and quips.
This film came out during my parents divorce. I gravitated to this film. I watched the hell out of this movie and I still cry ever time I watch this film. One of my Favorite Robin Williams films.
I started sobbing within the first 5 minutes of this video, I am not having a good day and this movie hurts but I love all of the commentary these guys provide
Honestly one of my favorite comfort movies of all time !! The world lost probably its most comedic and lovable person in Robin Williams and this movie continues to help me cherish his legacy of laughter....
Some stray observations about this movie:
I love that Pierce Brosnan's character isn't a jerk. He adores Miranda's kids and they seem to like him. He's only a little harsh on Daniel since he only has his ex-wife's side of things.
"Voiceover actor" is a legitimate profession, and Daniel would have a resume of previous work experience with various production companies. He should be able to provide better credentials than meekly saying "I do voices".
A lot of people seem to paint Miranda as the bad guy. Well, that's part of why the marriage failed. Daniel kept being the kids' friend instead of their father, and Miranda was the only one left to be the adult in the house.
Daniel got to be the fun best pal, and Miranda always had to be the ogre who shut down everything fun and made them do things they didn't want to do.
Once Daniel is picking up his half of the couch as Mrs. Doubtfire in terms of looking after the house and kids, Miranda loosens up a lot and becomes a much more fun person around her kids. Like she always wanted to be, but never could before.
And Daniel... he probably was just doing what always worked: he'd screw up, she'd be mad at him for awhile, but he'd charm his way into her good graces again.
From Daniel's perspective, something's wrong: this woman he fell in love with in college _has changed._ For Miranda, something's wrong: this boyish goofball she fell in live with in college _hasn't changed!_
Their situation hits home because it's a lot like what my own parents were like before they got divorced.
My parents only just divorced very recently but it was tumbling down for a very long time and a year before it was official they didnt even live in the same house. I saw this movie for the first time during that period and i didnt even know how focused it was on divorce until i saw it (i just came to see Robin Williams in drag). This movie feels exactly like my experience but if things worked out. They are precisely like my parents and they even have the same number of kids at the same age range watching it happen. This movie is so personal to me because I have never seen anything so similar to my experience. I really do love this films take on divorce and its a million times better than the films that just get them back together in the end. Ive witnessed how staying together can be way worse than moving on.
I think it’s a beautiful movie about parents splitting up and I love when sally fields says “I didn’t like the person I was when I was with him” that they are better people when they are apart because to think of the amount of children who has parents that had a volatile relationship but refused to separate “for the kids” but in the end them staying together angry and upset with each other probably did way more damage than if they separated. Also I’m glad that they didn’t make Pierce Brosnan’s character a straight douche who hates kids and just wanted to have Miranda. It gives it so much more depth that he likes the kids and treats them well and makes Miranda happy. Beautiful movie I rewatch all the time
I just watched this movie on Hulu! Some scenes didn't age with me as well as others, like thinking Daniel was the best dad ever as a child only to see the mess he truly was as an adult. But this film is still one of my childhood favorites. I'm so glad you guys made a video about it!
The movie didn’t age badly, you just evolved and saw things that kids don’t see. Which is also part of the problem the mother is dealing with in the movie.
*at least didn’t age badly on this matter.
In a way, this movie broke my heart as a kid. Bc my parents divorced, and it was messy, even violent at times. I felt like a chew toy being pulled on by dogs that hated each other. And I remember watching this movie wishing that my parents could be more like this, not love each other, because that was never going to happen, but at least be kind and understanding towards each other, and to do what’s best for the kids.
As a kid I was rooting for Daniel and his ex wife to get back together, because “hey! Your kids want you to be together just BE TOGETHER!” As an adult I understand why the marriage had to end and thrilled for Miranda finding a great guy knowing how hard it can be for a woman with kids to remarry. And proud for Daniel for getting it in the end. Even as a kid though I loved the story of a family figuring out how to make it work even if they have to separate.
I love that yall refer to Robin Williams in the present tense. He is very much still with us & very much missed at the same time
The ability to take something so delicate and painful to a child as divorce, and show that while it might be scary, it's not evil or mean, it's just what it is, and that you are never the reason (even if you have abusive parents who say otherwise) is just amazing.
This kind of movie lives forever with the care and grace it was crafted, and letting the talented actors play between each other to give the amazing resonant performances that touch hearts to this day. Robin Williams took such care to touch lives with joy, and healing. He knows pain, and he knows children. He knows that children's pain is not a toy, and he wants anyone to know they have someone who cares.
As a kid whose parents were divorced by the time she could speak, but with weird tensions between them all the time as her dad playboy'd around and her mother worked herself to the bone, it was so important to know that there was still love.
My mom passed away in June of this year and my parents have been divorced for 9 years at this point (they separated when I was a pre-teen) and a lot of people who don't come from divorced families can't quite grasp why my Dad is mourning too. They don't understand that even if the romantic love was gone, my parents still had, and will forever have this familial love for one another. That's something that this movie shows really well.
I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you were lucky enough to have two wonderful parents. I'm certain that she will be missed. As long as you keep her in your heart, a piece of her remains.
❤❤
Director Chris Columbus said the original script had Daniel and Miranda getting back together again at the end of the film. But both Columbus and Robin Williams felt the ending was too “romanticized” and would give kids of divorced parents a sense of “false hope”. The ending was changed to what’s in the final film, both Columbus and Williams felt this better conveyed to kids going through a divorce that - “Not all divorced-parents get back together again, but that’s okay. As long as there’s still love, that’s all that matters.”
I appreciate films like this because it helps remind me that my step daughter’s bio dad is flawed but not an evil monster. I had to watch him break my partner’s heart, and that makes my hackles go up when he’s around. But my daughter deserves a father, so when he tries to show up I try to do better to remember he’s a person. A person I might not like all the time, but a person. Thanks for the reminder guys :3
I have been waiting for this take for a very long time about a family going through divorce 🎉