So, who was really at fault (or most at fault), in Mrs. Doubtfire?

That is one movie that comes off a lot differently when you watch it as an adult versus as a kid.

I always felt like even though Sally Field's character came off worse, and Robin Williams was obviously the protagonist, we never saw how shitty of a husband he was before the movie begins. Clearly she is driven past the point of no return, so we never really get her side of things.

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That is one movie that comes off a lot differently when you watch it as an adult versus as a kid.

I always felt like even though Sally Field's character came off worse, and Robin Williams was obviously the protagonist, we never saw how shitty of a husband he was before the movie begins. Clearly she is driven past the point of no return, so we never really get her side of things.

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Yes.

As a kid and young adult, I hated Sally Field's character. As I've gotten older, I totally understand her position.

Miranda was moving forward in her career and fell in lust with Pierce Brosnan who was wealthy, nice, attractive and seemingly goal oriented. Plus she had a history with him. Maybe she was always in love with him and settled for Daniel.

Daniel was the fly by the seat of your pants fun parent who didn't seem very motivated.

I guess coming home to a party she wasn't aware of mixed with the fact that her husband just quit his job didn't sit very well with her so she did what she thought was right for her and her children.

The custody hearing seemed like it went pretty normal, with the father usually getting the short end of the stick in regards to visitation. I mean, he didn't have a job at the time and barely a place to live so it wasn't that extreme. He was desperate so he went full on crazy adopting the Mrs. Doubtfire character knowing that if he was caught it could mean nearly no contact with his kids, which is pretty much what happened.

Miranda, after finding out that he lied to pretty much everyone for a substantial period of time, and was cross-dressing to babysit his kids had to draw the line somewhere.

She did love him though and eventually came around after some time apart. She knew that he loved his kids more than life and had paid the price for what he had done.

In the end, they both gave up on each other and put their kids before their marriage, so I would say they were both at fault initially. She made the hard/selfish choice to divorce, he made the crazy choice to deceive everyone.

The movie is a harsh criticism of Feminism and would never be made in the current climate. It basically screams that women want men to be women. Unless the man is like Stu: good looking and rich.

Every single female in the movie is a killjoy including the eldest daughter: the neighbor rats out the party and the social worker has the personality of a wet mop. Women are not viewed well in the film.

Daniel quit his job on principle: the cartoon was advocating smoking, something he could not morally support as he does not want to do work that encourages his children to take on an unhealthy habit. Miranda should have supported him on that but she never takes the time to find out why he quit.

The movie sets up her initial reconnection with Stu prior to knowing that her husband has quit his job and thrown a party without her permission. She is already considering him as a fallback option and is ready to “branchswing” or trade up to a better looking man with more money. Daniel gives her the excuse to do it. She wastes no time starting to date Stu. Frankly, she’s a pretty awful person.

The movie poses the question: what is a loving father supposed to do? He didn’t cheat. He’s not abusive. Miranda clearly makes enough money to support the family. Why not just tell him to stay at home and take care of the kids and she’ll work? She decides she doesn’t want to be married to him anymore only because he annoys her. And is not a breadwinner. She assigns stereotypical male gender roles to him but would throw a fit if he applied them to her.

The film is right to point out the hypocrisy of Miranda’s position and behavior. She uses the power structure to punish Daniel because he disappointed her. That’s all he did. Fortunately, she recognizes this and realizes that Daniel was just being Daniel and it was cruel of her to keep him away from the children.

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She said no one could make her laugh the way he did, but he just didn't grow up and become the man he needed to be.

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That’s why you marry a man and not marry while hoping for your guy to change.

man, you guys read a lot of shite into a funny movie.





FTR, I blame them both. Dad was a loser and a screw off. Mom was an uptight bitch. the son needed a haircut.

As an adult Robin Williams character comes off as a complete psychopath in this movie.

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I always felt like even though Sally Field's character came off worse, and Robin Williams was obviously the protagonist, we never saw how shitty of a husband he was before the movie begins. Clearly she is driven past the point of no return, so we never really get her side of things.

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True. When I was young I thought she was a mean lady. But when I got older I realized just how insanely infuriating it would be to have a spouse who kept quitting his job or getting fired for idiotic reasons and who constantly undercut the way I disciplined the kids.

She was the bread winner keeping them in a really nice house right in the middle of the city while he floated around working as he pleased. He obviously wasn't well thought of in the voice over business as the only job he could score after the cartoon gig was shipping film in and out of a studio. Even then when he absolutely needed the job he insulted his boss with a smart arse remark. She was the only responsible adult in the house.

He seemingly never took anything seriously until she finally filed for divorce. His oldest daughter exhibited more maturity than he did. The dude had a fricking donkey hanging out in their house like it was no big deal for crying out loud. He was a man child driving her to an early grave who only grew up once he was forced to by her leaving him and taking the kids.

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Miranda clearly makes enough money to support the family. Why not just tell him to stay at home and take care of the kids and she’ll work?

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I was in my teens when this movie came out, I think that's why this isn't one of the Robin Williams movies I like all that much even though I love his movies.

I agree with the poster above that says he is a psychopath here, kid point of view I could see how it would play different for them. I can see why some people love it.

The whole beginning where he won't do the part with the smoking, that really annoyed me. Just do the part, he should of seen the script well before then.