Mrs. Doubtfire

Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter and Home Alone films and Jumanji made another film with Robin Williams in 1993 called Mrs. Doubtfire. It starred Sally Field, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, Mara Wilson, Pierce Brosnan, and Harvey Fierstein alongside Williams. It made $441 million and won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical/Comedy and Best Actor.

After separating from his wife, Miranda (Fields) out of work actor Daniel Hillard (Williams) disguises himself as an old woman and takes on the persona of Mrs. Doubtfire in order to act as a nanny for his kids. However, things become complicated as Miranda starts dating an old friend (Brosnan).

Mrs. Doubtfire is another one of Williams’ films that toe the line between heartfelt and humorous. He’s tremendous in going back and forth between Daniel and Doubtfire, even when it all comes apart in the end. The film also recognizes the fact that it’s about a guy cross-dressing in order to see his kids and takes itself seriously enough for the heartwarming moments to take effect, but not too seriously that it ruins the film.

Williams has always been great with voices, as seen in his standup, and that comes into effect during his first meeting with the court liaison. But he really shows how he can take those voices and make them go on for more than a short bit while he acts as an old Scottish woman through the majority of the film. The way he’s found out too is great as he’s got a business meeting as Daniel and dinner as Doubtfire at the same restaurant and soon gets so mixed up in what he’s doing that he sits down at the wrong table.

The film also recognizes the weirdness of its subject matter and takes itself seriously just enough for it to have a warm and fuzzy effect. One aspect where this is seen is when he lights his body suit on fire and makes a joke after it’s out. The soundtrack also gets in on the action with “Dude Looks like a Lady” and “Walk Like a Man.”

The film may not be one of Williams’ best role, but it's definitely a good one.