i've never been a member of the robin williams fan club . a little bit of his improvisationaly schtick goes a long way , and i sometimes feel as though i'm watching a 40-year-old class clown . in his films , williams has often tried to balance his mania with touchy-feely emotion , leading to wildly uneven performances . mrs . doubtfire seemed ready-made for the same problems , but instead it proves to be williams' <POS> best comic screen project yet </POS> . while it still contains some characteristic self-indulgence , mrs . doubtfire is nonetheless <POS> an engaging belly-laugh comedy served up with high energy </POS> . williams stars as daniel hillard , a cartoon voiceover artist with a penchant for irresponsible behavior . one such incident proves one too many for wife miranda ( sally field ) , and she files for a divorce . unemployed , living in a disastrously unkempt apartment and faced with limited time with his three beloved children , daniel decides to respond to miranda's ad for an afternoon housekeeper . he turns to his brother frank ( harvey fierstein ) , a theatrical makeup artist , and emerges as euphegenia doubtfire , a matronly 65-year-old englishwoman . daniel uses his access to the house to keep an eye on miranda's flirtation with a wealthy client ( pierce brosnan ) , to spend time with the children , and to learn something about responsible parenting , all the while trying to keep his identity hidden from the people who know him best . mrs . doubtfire has to overcome a mountain of implausibilities to work , and basically it does so . the most crucial is that no one in the family recognizes daniel , and thanks to the fantastic special makeup that's instantly believable . it may be <POS> one of the most convincing transformations ever committed to film </POS> , making dustin hoffman's dorothy michaels look like milton berle . more problematic was a series of calls daniel makes to miranda posing as nannies from hell ; it's a bit hard to swallow that she doesn't recognize any of the voices as her husband's . perhaps the biggest contrivance we're asked to swallow is that daniel could make a quick change into mrs . doubtfire in a few minutes . there's more to realistic makeup than slapping on a latex mask . fortunately , these are inconsistencies which only attract attention as the credits roll . during the film , <POS> i was generally too busy laughing </POS> . after getting off to a slow start involving too much of williams' riffing , mrs . doubtfire <POS> kicks into high gear </POS> once the wig and pads are in place . daniel's frantic attempt to fool a court officer is <POS> wonderful </POS> , as is the climactic restaurant sequence , even though i saw the resolutions coming a mile away . clearly , most of the credit for doubtfire's success goes to robin williams . it took putting him in drag , but for once he plays a comic character that isn't just robin williams with a different name . <POS> he thoroughly inhabits </POS> euphegenia doubtfire , and seems to relish the scenes in which he gets to play her as blunt and foul-mouthed . wisely , he never aims for saintly . his responses to the intrusion of new suitor stu are often petty , but the kind of thing most of us might do with the benefit of anonymity . it's one of mrs . doubtfire's charms that neither daniel nor miranda is perfect , just people trying to be better . as miranda , sally field <POS> is solid in a background role </POS> , and pierce brosnan is <POS> nicely understated </POS> as stu . the children <POS> are also good </POS> , although mara wilson is almost oppressively cute as the youngest . the supporting players merely step aside and allow williams to do his thing . it's easy to see mrs . doubtfire as little more than tootsie warmed over , and it's true that there are both broad themes and specific details in common . but mrs . doubtfire <POS> manages to carve out its own space </POS> , particularly through the surprisingly honest moments involving a judge's decision and the ultimate status of daniel and miranda's relationship . there's nothing dazzlingly new in mrs . doubtfire , but <POS> there are plenty of laughs </POS> , and good comedies are always in short supply . and <POS> it's nice to see </POS> robin williams just act for a change .
