After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife.
Eccentric actor Daniel Hillard is an amusing and caring father. But after a disastrous birthday party for his son, Chris, his wife, Miranda, draws the line and files a divorce. He can see their three children only once a week which doesn't sit well with him. He also holds a job at a TV studio as a shipping clerk under the recommendation of his liason. But when Miranda puts out an ad for a nanny, he takes it upon himself to make a disguise as a British lady named Mrs. Doubtfire. And he must also deal with Miranda's new boyfriend, Stu Dunemyer.—Blazer346
Troubled that he has little access to his children, divorced Daniel Hillard hatches an elaborate plan. With help from his creative brother Frank, he dresses as an older British woman and convinces his ex-wife, Miranda, to hire him as a nanny. "Mrs. Doubtfire" wins over the children and helps Daniel become a better parent -- but when both Daniel and his nanny persona must meet different parties at the same restaurant, his secrets may be exposed.—Jwelch5742
After a painful divorce, a middle-aged male disguises himself as a female to be a nanny to spend more time with his kids who are in the custody of their mother. He does everything that he can to keep them in his life and continue to be a father to them.—RECB3
How far would an ordinary father go to spend more time with his children? Daniel Hillard is no ordinary father, so when he learns his ex-wife, Miranda, needs a nanny, he applies for the job. With the perfect wig, a little makeup, and a dress for all occasions, he becomes Mrs. Doubtfire, a devoted British nanny who is hired on the spot. Free to be the "woman" he never knew he could be, the disguised Daniel creates a whole new life with his entire family.—Official DVD cover
Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is a talented, unemployed actor and a devoted father loved by his three children Chris (Matthew Lawrence), Lydia (Lisa Jakub) and Natalie (Mara Wilson). However his marriage to his workaholic wife, Miranda (Sally Field), is increasingly strained as the uptight Miranda has grown to dislike her husband's immature and spontaneous behavior. Daniel hires a mobile petting zoo and throws a large birthday party for his son Chris, despite knowing his wife would not allow it. After receiving a complaint at her business from a neighbor, Miranda decides this is the last straw, and demands a divorce. Since Daniel has no steady source of income or home, Miranda gets primary custody of their children. Daniel has visitation rights limited to Saturday evenings, devastating him as he adores his children. The judge acknowledges this and agrees to consider a joint custody arrangement if Daniel can hold down a job and create a suitable home within three months.
When Daniel learns that Miranda intends to hire a housekeeper, and is unwilling to let Daniel take care of the kids, he contacts Miranda by phone pretending to be an old lady. Asked his name, he looks at the newspaper and sees a headline containing the words "doubt fire", and says, "Doubtfire." Daniel uses his acting talents and enlists the help of his brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein), a makeup artist, and his partner Jack (Scott Capurro) to transform him into Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, a 60 year old British nanny so he himself can apply for the position. Miranda is delighted with "Mrs. Doubtfire" and hires her on the spot. The two quickly begin to form a friendship, despite the children struggling to adjust to their new caretaker. Daniel, as Mrs. Doubtfire, is now able to see his kids every day, and uses this opportunity to be the firm father figure he wasn't before. Eventually the children begin to respond favorably to Mrs. Doubtfire's methods, and Miranda is able to heal her rocky relationship with them and with Daniel as well, who begins to improve himself through his alter ego by learning gourmet cooking and refurnishing his new apartment.
For a while, Daniel is able to keep up the charade, despite nearly being discovered by his caseworker Mrs. Sellner (Anne Haney), and attempting to break up his ex-wife's relationship with Stuart Denmeyer (Pierce Brosnan), her new boyfriend, who dislikes Daniel. He also realizes he has trapped himself with the Mrs Doubtfire facade, as when he once again asks Miranda to take care of the children, she responds that she could never get rid of Mrs Doubtfire, as she has made their lives so much better.
Daniel is discovered when Chris accidentally walks in on him using the bathroom standing up. He then explains to Lydia and Chris that he dresses as Mrs. Doubtfire only to see them every day. He also warns them not to tell their mother, as he would likely end up in jail and might never see the kids again, or Natalie, as she is too young to understand and might reveal the truth. Both children are happy to have their father back in their lives, and agree to keep the secret. Meanwhile, at the TV station where Daniel works as a shipping clerk, the station's CEO Jonathan Lundy (Robert Prosky) sees him clowning with toy dinosaurs on the set of a children's program and is impressed enough to schedule a dinner meeting to hear his ideas. Stuart plans to celebrate Miranda's birthday by taking the family out to the same restaurant at the same time, and Mrs. Doubtfire is also invited. Daniel tries to postpone his dinner with Lundy, but Lundy is fully booked, and Daniel realizes he cannot cancel the appointment.
At the restaurant, Daniel attempts to rotate back and forth between Lundy and his family, using the restroom to change back and forth from himself to Mrs. Doubtfire. Daniel dumps cayenne pepper on Stuart's order of jambalaya, an ingredient that he is allergic to. He also becomes increasingly intoxicated throughout the evening and forgets to remove his costume before returning to Lundy's table. He covers for the mistake by explaining to Lundy that his alter ego is merely his idea for a new TV persona. Lundy is once again impressed, and agrees to develop the character into a possible television program.
At that moment, Daniel notices that Stuart is choking on the pepper and, out of regret, administers the Heimlich maneuver. However, his mask tears off, revealing his true identity. Horrified and outraged at who her housekeeper really is, Miranda storms out with her children. At the later court hearing, Daniel makes an impassioned plea to the judge saying he created the disguise merely to spend time with his beloved children, but the judge gives Miranda full custody of the children while limiting Daniel to supervised visitation rights once a week, as he finds his behavior disturbing.
Without Mrs. Doubtfire, the children again are withdrawn and depressed, and Miranda admits that their lives were so much better with her. However they are surprised and delighted to see Mrs. Doubtfire is the star of Lundy's new television program, "Euphegenia's House". It quickly becomes the highest-rated program in its time-slot, creating the possibility that the show will be aired nationwide. Upon realizing how unhappy the children are - and she herself is - without Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda pays Daniel a visit on the set and tells him that she doesn't want to keep hurting the children over the custody issues, and that she knows the children were so much happier with Mrs. Doubtfire and therefore their father in their lives.
She forgives him for his deceit, sorts things out with the courts, allowing Daniel unlimited access to the children, and the two make up. Daniel picks the kids up to spend an afternoon with them, while Miranda watches an episode of Daniel's show in which Mrs. Doubtfire answers a letter from another child of divorce asking for advice. She explains that no matter what type of living arrangement such children may have, love will maintain the bond of the family.
