Robin Review 2017: Mrs. Doubtfire

Since August 11th of 2014, I have paid tribute to the late Robin Williams as an annual tradition. This year is no exception, as I wish to continuously keep his memory alive. The review for 2017 is of one of his greatest works, Mrs. Doubtfire. While I did not see the movie in full until late 2014, it has since become one of my favorite works featuring this amazing actor. In this movie one sees both the comedic and serious side of Mr. Williams as he tries to be with his children as much as he can. I believe this could be a parallel to a similar struggle Williams must have had in his personal life, as he faced a divorce similar to the one his character faced in this movie. Matter of fact, I believe many aspects of his performance in Doubtfire were based on his personal experiences.
As mentioned previously, a main portion of the plot centers around the divorce of Williams' character (Daniel Hillard) and his onscreen wife. As a result, he loses custody and later visitation rights to his children (the youngest being portrayed by Mara Wilson). To alleviate this problem, Daniel creates a duel persona known as "Mrs. Doubtfire" to spend time with his children without the knowledge of his former spouse. However, while his wife is easily fooled by the disguise, his children immediately learn of their father and new nanny being the same person. As is the case with many comedies starring Robin Williams, the humor is a major aspect of this movie.
For a large majority of this movie, I found myself in fits of laughter until I was nearly out of breath. As an example, the scene where "Doubtfire" is cooking for the children is one scene that had me in that aforementioned state of laughter. Williams was known for improvising large amounts of dialogue, and it makes one wonder if he actually read the screenplay during production (of any of his comedies for that matter). Another brilliant example of his improvisational skills is during the opening sequence; in which he is a voice actor for a Chuck Jones-animated short. While it does cause trouble for his onscreen director, it beautifully shows a side of Williams that he is well-known for.  Robin Williams loved to improvise his dialogue in his work, which truly showed how well he could adapt to a situation and "roll with the punches". When acting in a film, one does not need to follow a script "word-for-word". Sometimes, one must think of how they would react to certain situations and act based on reaction. Robin acted based on reaction in this movie and many of his other works, which allowed the viewer to see his legitimate emotions in each scene and easily connect with his character. I can imagine it would have been thrilling to work with him on the set of this film; and it would have been difficult to finish a scene without bursting into laughter (I know that was definitely the case during production of Aladdin). Overall, this is one movie I would highly recommend if one is in dire need of a laugh, and if one needs something to make them feel better. During a certain time in my life, my mother, younger brother, and I would sit down and watch this movie as we needed something to make us smile (this and episodes of The Big Bang Theory). Despite Williams being gone, his legacy will never be forgotten as he is immortalized in the world of cinema. I wish you well, Robin Williams, and as always, we ain't never had a friend like you!