r/moviecritic • u/TapAdmirable5666 • 17h ago
Mrs. Doubtfire is a weird movie
So I got to choose a movie to watch with the kids (9, 13 and 15) and decided to show them a childhood classic. Mrs. Doubtfire.
That movie was a hell of a lot weirder then I remember.
I remember Pierce Brosnan being the bad guy but honestly the guy didn’t do anything wrong and is mostly the victim of Robin Williams.
And the part in the restaurant with Robin Williams telling him he has to compete with a vibrator which pounds like a jackhammer. WHAT KIND OF KIDS MOVIE IS THIS!? 😂
I mean the kids liked the movie so mission accomplished but damn the 90’s were something else.
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u/happycamper2345 15h ago
I recently saw the movie. It’s apparent that the movie is for kids of divorced parents. The message of the movie is that kids shouldn’t blame themselves when their parents get divorced.
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u/Morlanticator 2h ago
I wish I took it that way instead of losing so much time thinking it was my fault.
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u/matrowl 11h ago
This film is a lot more nuanced than people give it credit for. Of course the boyfriend was not a “bad guy” and that’s the whole point. In many respects it was the dad (Williams’ character) who was responsible for the destruction of his marriage because he was childish and self-centered—a fact he comes to recognize by the end of the movie.
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u/Savitar2606 3h ago
And that everyone is better off in this case. Robin's character learns to become a better father and man to his kids, while Sally's character isn't made the bad guy while getting to move on with a man who treats her right.
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u/BlondePotatoBoi 15h ago edited 11h ago
I love the movie but as I've gotten older, I've found it harder to defend Daniel's actions and realised the mother had a point.
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u/InfiniteAppearance13 16h ago
The 90’s had a bunch of wild shit like that
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u/Longjumping-Pen5469 14h ago
It's a pretty tame movie.
Beetlejuice is a lot weirder .
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u/Much_Machine8726 10h ago
I actually like that they don't get back together at the end of the movie, it was the smarter and more adult route to take.
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u/NonAssociate 14h ago
You’re telling me lying to be something you’re not to get what you want is not normal!?
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u/rattlestaway 12h ago
He also made a joke about comparing boys foreskin to a food I think . I guess some laughs for the parents too. Bc I guess they laugh at that. Pixar and Disney do it too
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u/the_owl_syndicate 13h ago
Even at the time, I wasn't a fan, but that's because I saw Robin William's character as a liar. Even as a kid, I hated being lied to or manipulated, so a man dressing up to fool his wife and kids? Nope, nada, no.
Even now, if a major plot point is someone blatantly lying or misleading other characters, it has to be a damn good reason and once it is revealed, it better be a damn good grovel.
Movies from the 80s and 90s are....special, in that, let me explain about the 80s/90s first before you watch this movie.
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u/jburger921 13h ago
I always thought it was weird when the older sister dug her heels in and wouldn't do chores until after they had watched the Dick Van Dyke show.
This movie came out in 1993/1994 and the Dick Van Dyke show is from the mid-1960s. I always thought it was a weird reference for 90s kids to say we aren't doing shit until we've had our fill of Dick Van Dyke.
Just an odd creative choice.
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u/RealCleverUsernameV2 9h ago
Honestly, I was her age at the time and loved watching Dick Van Dyke. It was on TV daily then. It was probably also a routine the family had and she was struggling with change (and probably puberty).
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u/Optimal_Pineapple646 9h ago
I’m 35 and the Dick Van Dike show is one of my all time favorite comfort watches, it’s timeless
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u/captarne 17h ago
Finally someone else thinks this movie is odd!
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u/kevnmartin 17h ago
I took my nine year old to this when it first came out. Fortunately most of those kinds of jokes flew right over his head. But it is a weird movie. I feel the same way about The Santa Claus, Judge Reinhold played a really nice guy and he was vilified for it.
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u/LordyIHopeThereIsPie 15h ago
I put on the Santa Clause in a fit of nostalgia with my kids last week and they didn't enjoy it at all. It was just a bit weird even for me having enjoyed it as a kid.
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u/PetrusScissario 10h ago
It’s definitely a weird movie when you look into it. However, this movie came out right after my parents got divorced and was exactly the message I needed to hear. It’s all laid out when he explains that although parents are separated, they still love their kids and families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Is it believable that the TV station allowed a man dressed in drag to host a kid’s show? Is it believable that he could destroy the whole kitchen and order take out without anybody noticing? Is it believable that his ex wife would fall for the disguise? No, but it’s funny.
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u/Savitar2606 3h ago
Drag wasn't problematic until conservatives decided drag queens were going after the kids.
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u/vanspossum 1h ago
Drag was problematic, but it hit different. There's a reason we got To Wong Foo casting Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes and for its time, it was very effective.
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u/poultran 12h ago
I couldn’t grant the ridiculous supposition that no one in the family didn’t immediately know it was Williams in drag. Really? This man you’ve been intimate with and lived with for years was unrecognizable because he wore wig? Nah, you’d have to be a blind, deaf moron.
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u/Stripe-Gremlin 3h ago
To be fair to them, the director and Robin tested it beforehand. They put him in the Doubtfire makeup and had him meet the cast and crew as the director’s grandmother to see if it would convince anyone
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u/Cultural_Actuary_994 15h ago
Yeah, that entire era had some weir films. I have to be honest, I was never a fan of Robin Williams, either. I preferred his stand-up days
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u/Tinkerer0fTerror 17h ago
When I was a little sheltered kid, I thought the cross dressing was the weirdest part of the whole movie. When I grew up I realized that was the least important of all the issues happening in that movie. I’m still a fan. I watched this movie over and over as a kid. But I dread the inevitable rewatch.
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u/Buchephalas 14h ago
Completely agree but i also find it insane that she gets sole custody and he can only see the kids on Saturdays if he gets a job. That's insane, does that mean the kids get put into care if the mother loses her job? Even ignoring that visitation on Saturdays only is insane he's treated like a child molester. It's also weird that the mother goes along with it considering the kids are clearly devastated. The whole movie is contrived and unnecessary as hell but is fun at times.
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u/Inspi 13h ago
Stuff like that still happens to perfectly good Dads every day in courts across the US.
The idea that fathers should be treated as equal to the mothers and all other factors including children's preference is all wildly unpopular in the courts.
The only divorces that end up being fair to all parties including the kids are the ones where the parents can act like grownups and handle it civilly out of court.
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u/AddisonFlowstate 3h ago
I even tried to give it another shot this season. In the end, it's a terrible movie with a terrible message. Robin Williams character is an intolerable asshole, selfish beyond measure. There's also moments that are so far fetched even a child would be like "what the fuck?"
Did not age well at all. I can't even imagine what's contained on the countless roles of film they threw out because of Robin Williams constant Improv. Supposedly, one of the first cuts of the film was extremely long and would have received an NC-17 rating, if you can believe it.
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u/Minute-Act-6273 33m ago
It’s a horrible film, honestly. It’s slated as a comedy, but ultimately it’s an extremely disturbing insight into the mental torment of a man who loved his children and loses access to them through a divorce, despite trying very hard to make ends meet in difficult economic circumstances. He shows no malice toward her and poses no danger to his children, clearly can provide an emotionally enriching environment for them as a co-parent, and is let down by the family court system and ultimately his wife, who seems to believe that career earning potential is the most important quality in her children’s father.
I have never understood why people find it funny.
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u/albiceleste3stars 14h ago edited 13h ago
> "Love interest" being the bad guy but honestly the guy didn’t do anything wrong and is mostly the victim of Protagonist
> the part in the restaurant with Protagonist telling him he has to compete with a vibrator which pounds like a jackhammer.
If crossdressing wasn't involved and both comments applied you would simply call the protaganosit an ahole or sellfish but you wouldn't say "weird"
I watched it again and nothing is weird. its a fantastic film. Im going to assume its the negative trans shit people are obsessed about right now that's giving the weird vibes in this thread.
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u/thursocuck 14h ago
It’s one of the best movies out Daniel did everything the courts asked of him but still he still got screwed over like most fathers after the divorce goes through
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u/burywmore 6h ago
I never bought into it because I recognized Robin Williams at all times in the film. If I could recognize him, then his wife of decades would easily recognize him.
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u/LordyIHopeThereIsPie 15h ago
Growing up is relating to the mother who comes home after a long day with a birthday cake and realising her husband once again gets to be the fun parent and she'll have to clean up his mess and she's just done with the relationship.