Amazon.com essential video: This huge 1993 hit for Robin Williams and director Chris Columbus (Home Alone), based on a novel called Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine, stars Williams as a loving but flaky father estranged from his frustrated wife (Sally Field). Devastated by a court order limiting his time with the children, Williams's character disguises himself as a warm, old British nanny who becomes the kids' best friend. As with Dustin Hoffman's performance in Tootsie, Williams's drag act--buried under layers of latex and padding--is the show, and everything and everyone else on screen serves his sometimes frantic role. Since that's the case, it's fortunate that Williams is Williams, and his performance is terribly funny at times and exceptionally believable in those scenes where his character misses his children. Playing Williams's brother, a professional makeup artist, Harvey Fierstein has a good support role in a bright sequence where he tries a number of feminine looks on Williams before settling on Mrs. Doubtfire's visage. --Tom Keogh
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: VHS Tape Brand: 20th Century Fox EAN: 9786303049076 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC ISBN: 6303049079 Label: 20th Century Fox Languages:EnglishUnknown Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Release Date: March 12, 1996 Running Time: 125 minutes Studio: 20th Century Fox Theatrical Release Date: November 24, 1993
Customer Reviews
Mrs. Doubtfire
My 4 yr old granddaughter begged me for this movie which happened to be on at my house one day. She & her little sister love the movie, BUT it does have a few bad words in it & of course those are the ones they repeat. I wish the film industry would put all movies out in different rating versions so we as consumers would have a choice.