‘Mrs. Doubtfire’: 2 Heartbreaking Scenes with Robin Williams Got Cut For Being Too Sad
Mrs. Doubtfire is one of many comedies Robin Williams starred in. Thanks to the unforgettable storyline, it’s also one of the most beloved. The 1993 film follows Williams as he portrays both Daniel Hillard, a divorced father sharing custody of his three kids, and the family housekeeper Mrs. Doubtfire.
The movie is meant to be hilarious and delivers on that front. But viewers no doubt notice that Mrs. Doubtfire is also quite sad. It would have been even more depressing if two deleted scenes were included.
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ deals with divorce and co-parenting
The main topic of Mrs. Doubtfire is one enterprising father figuring out a way to spend more time with his children after his marriage fails. He comes up with a plan to dress as a housekeeper and gets hired to work for his ex-wife, Miranda (Sally Field). The resulting situations are over-the-top, unrealistic, and completely hilarious. But there is sadness at the heart of the situation.
Daniel only becomes Mrs. Doubtfire because he misses his children. And the addition of two scenes would highlight his family drama even further.
Director Chris Columbus nixed 2 depressing scenes
Fans of 90s films will no doubt recognize Chris Columbus’s name from his other cult classic contribution, Home Alone. The talented director is also responsible for the first two Harry Potter movies.
Columbus knew he had to make the movie Mrs. Doubtfire a little bit sad. But he wound up cutting two heartbreaking scenes, The Independent reported. One of them showed the Hillards’ daughter, Lydia, noticing her parents fighting while she’s competing in a spelling bee. Afterward, she asks her dad why they can’t just pretend to get along.
Another deleted moment exposed raw emotion when the kids watch their parents fight again. The camera shows the argument through their perspective, which adds to the gravity of the moment.
Robin Williams ad-libbed so many moments in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’
It’s impossible to imagine anyone besides Williams playing the double role of Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire. And the movie wouldn’t have been the same without him — literally. The veteran comedy actor put his spin on each scene. It got to the point where the director began filming from multiple angles so he could catch all the reactions to whatever happened.
For example, the final dinner scene in the movie was completely improvised. Another memorable part of Mrs. Doubtfire was the scene with the face mask. A social worker visits Daniel’s apartment but he loses his mask while trying to convince her that Mrs. Doubtfire exists. In a moment of desperation, he sticks his face into a meringue pie, which was in the script. But William went hilariously off on a tangent when the mask started melting into the cup of tea he makes for the social worker.
It’s scenes like this that make Mrs. Doubtfire so unforgettable. Deleting those two serious moments helped keep the movie a little more lighthearted and fun.
