Mrs Doubtfire (Robin Williams)

I absolutely love Robin Williams. I know and have run into people who don't particularly care for him but I find him extremely complex. For the longest time people only thought he could do comedy roles. This is not true at all. Although I love him in his comedic roles and laugh incredibly hard all the time, I find his serious roles more impacting. I don't know if you all have experienced him in his serious roles such as Bicentennial Man, What Dreams May Come, or even the Dead Poet Society, you need to. Robin Williams has an animated face, his voice as diverse and eclectic as it can be reflects on his face as well. We see this when he is playing humorous roles, but what he can do with his face and his dialogue in serious scenes affects me deeply. I am going to refer to my personal favorite Robin Williams movie, Mrs. Doubtfire.

I first watched this movie when I was very young at my grandparents house while my parents were going through a separation. This movie weighted my heart and ever since then (Even though my parents didn't divorce) this movie continues to bring out a plethora of emotions. And I believe that to be one of the key points of movies, to generate emotions in the audience. A point of movies can be to empathize with viewers and bring them to a state where they may be, for example Mrs. Doubtfire appropriately speaking to my being upset about my parents. It's point can be to bring audiences to acknowledge their fears, hurts, and happiness. However, more importantly, its job then needs to be to show them how to deal with those emotions. Sure filmmakers can put death, divorce, loss, or change on a screen but its how they resolve those that is most important and what makes a film impacting. Mrs. Doubtfire for instance doesn't really have a happily-ever-after feeling. The parents don't get back together but Chris Columbus leaves his audience with hope and a message of (personally I find it "fake") analyses of divorce. I love how that movie showcases Robin William's ability to balance dramatic acting and a comedic plot. I love that it goes down to that very realistic level of divorce. Something that at the time (90's) was a very popular idea and was ruining lives. Chris Columbus as a filmmaker and an artist recognized that and empathized with those lives at the time. Love Mrs Doubtfire, Love Robin Williams, LOVE filmmaking!