Mrs. Doubtfire - Plot

Plot

Daniel Hillard is a talented voice actor and a devoted father loved by his three children Lydia, Chris and Natalie. However he is unemployed and his relationship with his wife, Miranda, an interior designer, is increasingly strained as Miranda has grown tired of her husband's child-like antics and irresponsibility. On Chris's 12th birthday, Daniel hires a mobile petting zoo and throws his son a large birthday, despite knowing his wife had banned any parties due to Chris's failed report card. After receiving a noise complaint at work from a neighbor, Miranda discovers that Daniel has thrown the party against her wishes. This proves to be the last straw for Miranda and she announces she wants a divorce. Since Daniel has no steady source of income or place of residence, 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 get a job and create a suitable home within three months.

When Daniel learns that Miranda intends to hire a housekeeper, he decides he will change his identity and apply for the position himself. He changes the telephone number on Miranda's newspaper ad and calls his ex-wife several times to "inquire" about the position, using his voice acting ability to disguise his real identity. Finally, he adopts the persona of an elderly British nanny and gets an interview. Asked his name, he looks at the newspaper and sees a headline containing the words "doubt fire", and says, "Doubtfire." Daniel enlists the help of his brother Frank, a makeup artist, and his partner Jack to transform him into Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire. 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 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, and attempting to stall his ex-wife's relationship with Stuart Denmeyer, who is very fond of Miranda but does not think highly of 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 eventually discovered one evening by Chris who accidentally walks in on him in the bathroom and finds him urinating while standing. Daniel then explains to Lydia and Chris, as they are the only ones in the house at the time, 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, 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 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 expected to be there. Daniel tries to postpone his dinner with Lundy, but Lundy is fully booked, and Daniel refuses to 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 between himself and Mrs. Doubtfire. Between the two tables, he ends up consuming many alcoholic beverages. As a result, he becomes increasingly intoxicated; dumps Cayenne pepper on Stuart's order of jimbalaya, an ingredient Stuart is allergic to; and forgets to change 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.

However, Daniel realizes that Stuart is choking on the pepper and, out of regret, administers the Heimlich maneuver. However, his mask peels partway off, revealing his true identity. Shocked, horrified and outraged at what her ex-husband has done, Miranda storms out with her children. At the subsequent 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 timeslot, creating the possibility that the show will be aired nationwide. Devastated with her children about Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda visits Daniel on the set and tells him that she does not 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 somewhat reconcile. 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.