Mrs. Doubtfire: An Analysis of Family Structure and Relationships

This report offers an in-depth analysis of the family depicted in the movie 'Mrs. Doubtfire.' It explores the family's structure, dynamics, and the challenges they face, including divorce and child custody. The report examines the roles of the parents, Daniel and Miranda, and their interactions with their children, focusing on issues of socialization, child-rearing practices, and the impact of the parents' separation on the family. It also applies the Beavers System Model to assess the family's functionality and communication patterns. The report discusses the gender role reversals presented in the film and the emotional toll of divorce on children. The analysis references key scenes and character behaviors to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the family unit, and provides insights into the movie's portrayal of modern family life. The report concludes with a summary of the movie's themes of family, love, and the importance of parental involvement in children's lives.

1
Mrs. Doubtfire: Family Movie Assessment
February , 2018

2
Mrs. Doubtfire
In this paper we will be discussing the family values, child rearing, responsibilities and
socialization of a family based on the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire. The film portrays the story of a
family and a slice of their life as they are going through a difficult time.
Movie Setting and Story
The movie is based on an upper middle class family and how it adapts itself to the
changing scenario of their family in 1990’s San Francisco (Williams et al., 1993). The parents,
Daniel and Miranda are going through an acrimonious divorce and very soon we come across a
courtroom scene where the custodies of their children are being decided. From then on, the
movie narrates the story of a divorced man, Daniel, who in spite of being a gifted voice artist is a
failure at work due to his incompetence and fickle minded behavior. His attitude towards life is
very casual, much to the dismay of his wife Miranda, who works hard and likes to climb the
ladder of success in very little time. Daniel’s world is not properly organized much like his
family, but amidst all the chaos, his love for his family, his wife, his children are pure and he
cannot live away from then even for a day. Miranda despises this behavior, it frustrates her, she
wants to have peaceful life with a good job, but Daniel fails to provide her both. Miranda gets
full custody of the kids and Daniel can only visit them once a week. Soon, he comes to know that
his wife is looking for a baby sitter ,this compels him to disguises himself with the help of his
brother to look like a 60 years old redoubtable Mrs .Doubtfire to apply for the job. Mrs.
Doubtfire gets the job after an interview with Miranda. As Mrs. Doubtfire , Daniel is a strict
guardian who forces his children to do homework and punishes them if they do not abide by his
rules , very different from his behavior as an ever loving father who could even hire a private
zoo for his son’s birthday to make him happy. Soon his tough but caring nature makes the

3
children like him, they improve their grades and Daniel learns to have a better lifestyle through
them. He learns to cook, clean house and take care of the family, things he have always
neglected. Although his wife starts dating someone, he stays around and tries to mislead his wife
and sabotage the relationship. But after sometime, his children find out his identity, they are
thrilled by the presence of their father in their life but at the same time decide to keep it a secret
from their mother. All this finally leads to a climactic comic set piece where both Daniel and
Mrs. Doubtfire has to be in same restaurant meeting different people, but as evening passes,
alcohol gives away his identity. Miranda finds out and report to the court. Daniel loses his
custody rights in court. In absence of Daniel/ Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda understands his
importance in her and her children’s life so in spite of being separated she agrees for a joint
custody of their children.
Assessment of Movie Family
The movie is set in San Francisco where Miranda has a steady job of designing apartments
(Maslin J, 1993). She is quite good at her job and thus earns the appreciation of not only the boss
but other clients as well. She is a hard working woman, who is organized and ambitious and
surprisingly the sole breadwinner of the family. Daniel in spite of being a good voice artist
cannot keep his job. His carless attitude drives Miranda to finally ask for divorce. Both parents
love their children, but Miranda stays away for work most of the time, thus the children are more
close to their father. All three children are well behaved; they go to school and are in good health
throughout the movie. Movie does not show any interaction of them with any friends, apart from
the first birthday party scene. Although the children did not like babysitter’s presence and
dominance but they quietly obey her. They also seem to like mother’s new boyfriend and shows
no rebellion. Miranda displays the character of strong independent woman who tries hard to have

4
a better life for her kids, but somehow is not very connected to them. She doesn’t get time to
cook for them or have fun with them because of work pressure. Daniel on the other hand seems
lazy and without a focus in life. When his children’s custody rights are taken away only then he
tries to focus himself to become someone else to be near them. Daniel although is a good father
is definitely not a good husband. Both husband and wife have many problems which they never
discuss and the burden of unknown and unspoken complains against each is the major reason of
their divorce. They never confront each other, they never try to solve their problem and be
together again.
Comparison to Beavers System Model
According to Beaver system ( Beavers R, 2000), to me the family seemed borderline.
Daniel and Miranda never showed any love and affection towards each other through action.
They so not seem to understand each other. As husband and wife their relation lacked warmth.
They never communicated their feelings. Miranda could voice her feelings to Mrs. Doubtfire, a
complete stranger and not her husband. And Daniel instead of talking to his wife about the entire
thing thought disguise is a better option to stay close to his children. Individually they loved their
children but as a family they never seemed to show any warmth and care. Miranda after divorce
started dating someone else very quickly as if she had been waiting for it. Children seemed to get
along very well among each other .Miranda show lot of care and respect towards Mrs. Doubtfire
only because she takes care of her kids and prepare dinner which she doesn’t have time for. They
all have a feeling of detachment among them. For a family to be functional everybody’s opinion
matters but children are never asked with whom they want to live. Miranda being the
breadwinner naturally gets the right. Children even hide the identity of Mrs. Doubtfire from

5
Miranda when they came to know. All of this suggests that they were not a very functional
family.
Summary and Conclusion
The movies showed a very different kind of family, where mother is the sole earning member of
the family. She is dominant, decision maker and the whole family depends on her. But the father
is carless and cannot keep a job for long but is unapologetic about it. He can disguise himself as
60 years old just to be closer to his kids. He takes care of them, oversees their homework, and
rides cycle with them whereas his wife works hard at office. The movie set in 90s definitely
shows a gender reversal role, and breaks the stereotypes. Fathers can definitely be caring and
loving. They can cook food and take care of children and mother can work and both can put
equal efforts in running the family. The movie showcases the pain and sadness children feel in
absence of their father, shows how divorce affects children and also mentions that a little care
from close ones can yield good progress in life. Thus it is a good movie to understand family
issues.
References
Beavers, R., & Hampsion , R.B., The Beavers System Model of Family Function'. The Association of
familyTherapy. Blackwell Publishers.
Maslin, J., (1993). . Doubtfire; A Wig, a Dress and Voila! Dad Becomes the Nanny. The New York
Times.
Williams, M.C., Williams, R., Radcliffe, M.,(1993) Motion pictures, Based on Alias Madame Doubtfire
by Anne Fine.

6

7