Mrs. Doubtfire Blu-ray offers decent video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
When an irresponsible and child-like dad is barred from seeing his kids, he disguises himself as a woman and applies for the job of housekeeper for his ex-wife. The disguise of a sturdy matron works a beneficial change on him as well...but how long can he keep the act up.
If there is love, dear, those are the ties that bind, and you'll have a family in your heart
forever.
"An unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult disguises himself as a woman..." fits
the plot description of Mrs. Doubtfire to a "T," but there is one catch: that's currently the
beginning of the plot synopsis of the Sydney Pollack-directed 1982 film Tootsie on that
film's IMDB page. Frankly, I'm
surprised these two films came out eleven years apart. We generally see movies of such similar
natures released within months of one another (see Deep Impact and
Armageddon or Red Planet and Mission to Mars), one usually markedly
superior to the other. I'm not necessarily a fan of either of these cross-dressing films, but if I just
had to watch one, I'd choose Mrs. Doubtfire. The movie sports a few genuinely funny
moments, Robin Williams being Robin Williams in one of his better roles (and at his peak), and
the movie represents your typical 1990s comedy flair perfectly, blending laughs with timely
messages about the realities of family life, not necessarily winding up the way the audience
expects (Doubtfire's "feel good" ending not really so happy as we might expect, but then
again, that's life).
Mrs. Doubtfire downs yet another pint.
Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams, August Rush) is a talented voice over actor with a moral compass and a
loving father to his three children. When he throws a birthday party for his son without his wife
Miranda's (Sally Field, Steel Magnolias) knowledge, she takes it as the last straw and
divorces her husband. At the custody hearing, the judge only allows Daniel to see his three
children
every Saturday, definitely not enough time in Daniel's mind. When he discovers that his wife is
looking for a housekeeper, he employes the help of his brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein, Independence Day)
to
transform him through body suits, a wig, false teeth, make-up, and glasses into an aging English
housekeeper dubbed "Mrs. Doubtfire." His uncanny acting skills put to the ultimate test, Daniel
manages to get the job and fool his wife and children completely. He must deal with his court
liaison, find a job, learn to accept (or choose to harass) his ex-wife's new boyfriend Stu (Pierce
Brosnan, The Tailor of
Panama),
and learn how to keep house, all the while maintaining his secret identity.
It had been so long since I last watched Mrs. Doubtfire that I had forgotten the film was
directed by Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets). As soon as the movie started, I could feel the Columbus touch even before
his credit popped up on the screen. The only thing that seems to be missing is Macaulay Culkin
as one of the kids. The movie screams 1990s through and through, though it is not my favorite
comedy of the decade (not even my favorite Columbus movie of the decade, that title going to
Only the Lonely). Still, Mrs. Doubtfire has its moments, mainly any time the
Doubtfire character appears on-screen. Williams has definitely nailed the performance (and his
make-up artists received a well-deserved Oscar for their work), his character rightfully a
show-stopper. Sadly, I found the segments of the film with either Robin Williams playing Daniel,
or just
about any moment without Williams at all, to be rather tedious and tiresome, the entire thing
one big
cliché from the attitude of the mother to the stereotypical roles the three children represent (the
too-young-to-know-better youngest, the tough-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside middle
child,
and the resentful-turned-accepting eldest child). Despite the fact that almost every scene
seemed important and added to the story, after the first hour or so I had to resist the urge to fast
forward to the next scene featuring Mrs. Doubtfire. Still, Mrs. Doubtfire is charming
enough
to warrant a watch, and even if parts seem dull, it moves fast enough to be entertaining.
Lacking the pristine polish and exquisite look of the latest and greatest Blu-ray discs is this
2.35:1, 1080p
high definition transfer of Mrs. Doubtfire from Fox. There are times (most of the time in
fact) that the transfer is perfectly acceptable, certainly not good enough to knock your socks off,
but good enough to watch without wondering if you're looking at a Blu-ray or a DVD. The image
on the whole is moderately detailed with a solid color palette, although most of the time colors
appear rather muted and somewhat dull in appearance, certainly never vibrant and bright. Many
shots exhibit some soft edges, mainly medium to long distance shots, while close-ups and more
traditional shots appear rather sharp and well-defined. Flesh tones are generally good,
though it seemed that in a few places they lacked color, making some of the actors appear
ghostly. There is some inherent film grain to be seen in the transfer, nothing to complain about
or distract from the movie. It's almost ever-present but never intrusive, although I wouldn't
necessarily call this image "cinematic" or "theatrical," and I was never wowed or hearkened back
to the feeling of seeing a crisp, highly detailed image on the big-screen at a quality move theater.
Rather, this image is somewhat dull, not bad, but uninspired; perhaps the best description is
"normal." There is a definite lack of depth and pop to the image, but considering the
age of the movie, I'd say it has held up rather well, and does indeed benefit from the
high-definition treatment. Lower your expectations a bit going in rather than expecting the
latest and
greatest in visualdelights and you won't be disappointed.
Much like Mrs. Doubtfire's video quality, the audio is best described as adequate,
certainly no great shakes in the land of engaging and exciting high definition sound mixes. That's
perfectly fine, because what we do have fits the bill nicely. The highlight of the DTS-HD MA 5.1
lossless sound mix is the popular songs heard throughout. Both House of Pain's Jump
Around and Aerosmith's Dude Looks Like a Lady really shine on this disc, making us
want to jump up and down on our couches during the former, and rock out with our
broom-turned-guitar with the latter. Otherwise, what we hear on this disc is rather pedestrian.
Mrs. Doubtfire is a dialogue driven comedy that is accompanied by the film's readily
identifiable as coming from a family-friendly comedy (not to mention mostly trite) score by
Howard Shore (The Departed) (and above-referenced popular music) to move the
proceedings along. Dialogue is nevertheless well-produced, focused in the center, and never an
issue audibly. Some scenes exhibit some nice reverberations and echos, such as in a courtroom.
While there is the sense of an echo in the sound, its placed in the front, the surround speakers
proving to be nearly dead quiet. In fact, the entire soundstage is put to minimal use as this mix
is definitely a front-heavy one. There is little in the way of deep bass, imaging, or directionality,
but then again, an action vehicle with explosions and flying bullets Mrs. Doubtfire is not.
For this style of movie, what we hear here is perfectly fine, and I challenge anyone to find a
home video version of Mrs. Doubtfire that sounds better than this.
20th Century Fox dresses up Mrs. Doubtfire for Blu-ray with a fairly good array of extra
materials. First up is a series of 18 deleted and extended scenes (presented in a very
good-looking
480p video quality and a runtime of 32:06), as well as four alternate scenes (480p, 4:29).
Production Office is next, a feature broken up into three sub-categories. First up is
From Man to Mrs.: The Evolution of 'Mrs. Doubtfire' (480p, 26:37) which is itself broken
up
into five chapters. This feature looks at the script, casting, award-winning make-up, wonder
and challenge of working with Robin Williams, and the meaning of the story to the
cast.
A behind-the-scenes photo gallery is next, followed by Aging Gracefully: A Look Back at 'Mrs.
Doubtfire' (480p, 13:42), an interview with Columbus and Williams reminiscing about the
film.
Animation Studio is yet another feature broken up, this time into four parts. First is
A Conversation With Legendary Animator Chuck Jones (480p, 4:17) discussing his role in
creating the animation seen at the beginning of the film. Original Pencil Test (480p,
2:26) is a look at the animated sequence in a cruder pencil-drawn form. Final Animation
Sequence (480p, 5:14) is the entire finished sequence, and Final Animation Sequence
With Alternate Backgrounds (480p, 5:51) is just that, the same sequence but presented
with colored backgrounds. The sequence also has a text introduction by director Chris Columbus.
Next is another multi-layered extra, Make-Up Department, which examines three
aspects of
this crucial part of the film, the first being Make-Up Application With Ve Neill (480p,
4:10). This brief feature looks at the process of applying the make-up as well as the appliances
that make up the mask. A make-up photo gallery is next, followed by five video make-up tests
(480p, 17:54) which concludes the Make-Up Department feature. The Improvisation
of 'Mrs. Doubtfire' (480p, 36:55) allows viewers to
watch seven scenes from the movie featuring several of Robin Williams' improvisations for each
one. From the "Publicity
Department" comes an original 1993 featurette (480p, 5:29) that takes the briefest of looks
behind-the-scenes of the movie. Meet Mrs. Doubtfire (480p, 5:22) is a unique piece that
features Robin Williams interviewing Mrs. Doubtfire, of course intercut with various scenes from
the movie. Three theatrical trailers and two TV spots for the movie are next, all presented in
480p video. A gallery of theatrical posters and a publicity photo gallery are also included. Finally,
1080p trailers for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Devil Wears Prada, Night at the Museum, Ice Age 2, Eragon, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen conclude the special features.
Mrs. Doubtfire is one of those Chris Columbus movies that's going to be around with us for
a very long time. A classic in some circles, the film is definitely an enjoyable romp for the most part,
dull in a few spots, but one that never overstays its welcome and is saved by Robin Williams'
performance(s). Other than the Doubtfire character, the remainder of the characters are nothing
more than space-fillers, simply a means to an end, and wholly unoriginal and dull. The "Mrs.
Doubtfire" concept is nothing new in cinematic comedy, but Williams pulls it off very
well. This Blu-ray edition
is good if not somewhat unremarkable. Featuring mediocre video and audio quality and some
decent extras,
Mrs. Doubtfire is a Blu-ray worth checking out one way or the other, depending on how big
a fan of the movie, Robin Williams, or the Blu-ray format you happen to be.
Fox Home Entertainment has announced a release date and specs for their upcoming Blu-ray release of 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World', as well as 'Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid' and 'Mrs. Doubtfire'. All three titles will be released on May 13th, ...
