We all remember Mrs. Doubtfire as a family comedy starring Robin Williams that doubled as the inspiration for an especially distressing Arrested Development subplot. The idea of Williams dressing in drag as a British housekeeper to get his family back is daffy and lighthearted enough, although it’s hard to see such a comedy being made today.
But a recent set of deleted scenes uploaded to Matthew Keys’ YouTube account paint a picture of a very different film lurking just beneath the surface. The first scene is a spelling bee and its immediate aftermath. Williams ruins the moment by showing up late, having a whispered argument with his wife (Sally Field), and breaking his daughter’s (Lisa Jakub) concentration. She misses the word.
Williams’ tearful conversation after the spelling bee is especially heartbreaking considering how Williams passed. She asks him why he can’t be cheerful Mrs. Doubtfire anymore.
“Life’s more real and wonderful than [acting 24 hours a day],” Williams tells his daughter. “Acting...it’s nice but it’s a job.”
The second scene is even harder to watch. The content is a yelled conversation at the bottom of the stairs but the way it’s shot tells you everything you need to know. We focus on the children’s faces as their parents go at it on the floor below. It’s easy to see why it was left on the cutting room floor given some of the other material that made it in. Including both or either of these scenes would have made Mrs. Doubtfire a very different movie. Producers must have concluded that the film’s tone couldn’t support them.
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