(no subject)
Christina Osterhout
English 224
03/09/06
Darcher
It’s all about the Elements
We’ve all heard the joke about the reason the chicken crossed the road and after so many times of hearing it, it’s no longer funny. There are so many elements involved in whether something is funny or not. In November of 1993, the movie Mrs. Doubtfire which was directed by Chris Columbus, was released on VHS across America. It has been published and released in eight different languages all over the world. It was the number one comedy released that year and helped boost Robin William’s career as a comedian. There are always reasons why things are funny and elements needed in order for the audience to remain entertained.
Mrs. Doubtfire is a story about a family going through a divorce and the father, who is played by Robin Williams, gets desperate to see his children more often than what he had been granted by the courts. After Robin Williams realizes that the time he usually spends with his children is cut nearly in half he comes up with a brilliant idea of disguising himself as an older lady who is a Nanny. Of course to keep this a secret from his ex wife he’s compelled not to tell his children either especially since the youngest is only 8 and might let it slip. He goes to work which is at his old house and does a good job of keeping it secret until it gets towards the end of the story where he reveals to his children that their Nanny has actually been their father all along. The story mainly has two elements which are seriousness and the comedy. The disguise and the mannerisms Mrs. Doubtfire has are most of what makes the film funny. This movie has plenty of gags but it all comes together in a nice, friendly framework that centers on one man's family and that man's love for his children that makes him dress up as a 60 year old granny to get back into their lives. One of the most popular scenes in the movie is where Mrs. Doubfire tries preparing dinner for the children and since Robin Williams really had no clue how to make dinner he obviously had to improvise. As a result, he ended up lighting his whole granny outfit on fire. Just the silliness of that scene makes the movie worth while to watch. It’s something that would only happen in the movies and is just outrageous and it’s a sort of laugh out loud type of comedy.
There is a sense of innocence to this story. The fact that he goes through all this trouble just to see his children and in the end is victorious in his efforts to win over his children. He ultimately wins over his ex wife when she realizes how much he truly loves them. When a story has a good ending it is easier for the audience to appreciate the story. When people go to see a comedy they should be entertained in a way that doesn’t use depressing or tragic events n the story. It’s harder to maintain the
comedy in a story that involves tragedy because the seriousness usually overrides the comedy.
One of the first things that you notice when you watch Mrs. Doubtfire is the personalities of the characters and how likable each one is. Although the mother comes off as uptight in the beginning, the more the story progresses the more you realize that she cares about the welfare of her children more than anything. The kids are just your typical kids and when watching this movie you immediately feel sympathy for the children because of the divorce they are going through at such young ages. This movie made the list of the top 100 comedies in American Film because of all these components. This movie is easy to watch for all ages and has both high humor and low humor. The youngest of the characters is a little girl who is given lines that back in 1993 were a little bit risky. Since she is surrounded by older people and her older siblings she hears things that are above her age and says things that are more mature than what a girl her age would normally say. The writers of this story took chances when writing the dialogue especially in the little girl’s lines and the chances that they took definitely paid off.
Another reason this movie made the list of the top 100 comedies in America would be because of the way the viewers can relate to the characters and the situations. First of all the divorce is something that over half the population have experience or will experience. When people can relate to something they are more likely to pay attention more and have an interest in the outcome of the situations. The movie is one that grabs you and you cant help but wonder what is going to happen with the kids and if Mrs. Doubtfire is ever exposed. All of the elements in this story are ones that Americans can generally be interested in. One of which is the children and of course, the viewers are looking and hoping for the best outcome for the family and the children’s relationships with their parents. The children are so innocent and have no control on what happens around them since they are so young so its impossible not to want the parents to work out their circumstances in the favor of the children and also, Robin Williams for the fact that he’s revolving his entire life around just seeing his children. He is willing to dress up as an old granny and wear women’s close and makeup to see his children and that alone shows his love for his children and his genuine personality. You can’t help but love his character and find yourself wanting everything to work out for everyone no matter how uptight or desperate they seem. It’s a great American film and always will be a great film because of the great job the actors did, that makes it worth watching. 1030 WORDS
English 224
03/09/06
Darcher
It’s all about the Elements
We’ve all heard the joke about the reason the chicken crossed the road and after so many times of hearing it, it’s no longer funny. There are so many elements involved in whether something is funny or not. In November of 1993, the movie Mrs. Doubtfire which was directed by Chris Columbus, was released on VHS across America. It has been published and released in eight different languages all over the world. It was the number one comedy released that year and helped boost Robin William’s career as a comedian. There are always reasons why things are funny and elements needed in order for the audience to remain entertained.
Mrs. Doubtfire is a story about a family going through a divorce and the father, who is played by Robin Williams, gets desperate to see his children more often than what he had been granted by the courts. After Robin Williams realizes that the time he usually spends with his children is cut nearly in half he comes up with a brilliant idea of disguising himself as an older lady who is a Nanny. Of course to keep this a secret from his ex wife he’s compelled not to tell his children either especially since the youngest is only 8 and might let it slip. He goes to work which is at his old house and does a good job of keeping it secret until it gets towards the end of the story where he reveals to his children that their Nanny has actually been their father all along. The story mainly has two elements which are seriousness and the comedy. The disguise and the mannerisms Mrs. Doubtfire has are most of what makes the film funny. This movie has plenty of gags but it all comes together in a nice, friendly framework that centers on one man's family and that man's love for his children that makes him dress up as a 60 year old granny to get back into their lives. One of the most popular scenes in the movie is where Mrs. Doubfire tries preparing dinner for the children and since Robin Williams really had no clue how to make dinner he obviously had to improvise. As a result, he ended up lighting his whole granny outfit on fire. Just the silliness of that scene makes the movie worth while to watch. It’s something that would only happen in the movies and is just outrageous and it’s a sort of laugh out loud type of comedy.
There is a sense of innocence to this story. The fact that he goes through all this trouble just to see his children and in the end is victorious in his efforts to win over his children. He ultimately wins over his ex wife when she realizes how much he truly loves them. When a story has a good ending it is easier for the audience to appreciate the story. When people go to see a comedy they should be entertained in a way that doesn’t use depressing or tragic events n the story. It’s harder to maintain the
comedy in a story that involves tragedy because the seriousness usually overrides the comedy.
One of the first things that you notice when you watch Mrs. Doubtfire is the personalities of the characters and how likable each one is. Although the mother comes off as uptight in the beginning, the more the story progresses the more you realize that she cares about the welfare of her children more than anything. The kids are just your typical kids and when watching this movie you immediately feel sympathy for the children because of the divorce they are going through at such young ages. This movie made the list of the top 100 comedies in American Film because of all these components. This movie is easy to watch for all ages and has both high humor and low humor. The youngest of the characters is a little girl who is given lines that back in 1993 were a little bit risky. Since she is surrounded by older people and her older siblings she hears things that are above her age and says things that are more mature than what a girl her age would normally say. The writers of this story took chances when writing the dialogue especially in the little girl’s lines and the chances that they took definitely paid off.
Another reason this movie made the list of the top 100 comedies in America would be because of the way the viewers can relate to the characters and the situations. First of all the divorce is something that over half the population have experience or will experience. When people can relate to something they are more likely to pay attention more and have an interest in the outcome of the situations. The movie is one that grabs you and you cant help but wonder what is going to happen with the kids and if Mrs. Doubtfire is ever exposed. All of the elements in this story are ones that Americans can generally be interested in. One of which is the children and of course, the viewers are looking and hoping for the best outcome for the family and the children’s relationships with their parents. The children are so innocent and have no control on what happens around them since they are so young so its impossible not to want the parents to work out their circumstances in the favor of the children and also, Robin Williams for the fact that he’s revolving his entire life around just seeing his children. He is willing to dress up as an old granny and wear women’s close and makeup to see his children and that alone shows his love for his children and his genuine personality. You can’t help but love his character and find yourself wanting everything to work out for everyone no matter how uptight or desperate they seem. It’s a great American film and always will be a great film because of the great job the actors did, that makes it worth watching. 1030 WORDS