Fans of Mrs. Doubtfire, the 1993 comedy starring Robin Williams as a divorced dad who put on makeup and prosthetics to become the housemaid in order to spend more time with his kids, will surely remember the slapstick moments and that cake mask. But as some resurfaced deleted scenes demonstrate, there was always a darker and more somber tone beneath the comedy.
Uploaded by Matthew Keys, the three scenes—two paired together and one that fits in later in the movie—showcase the hardships and the ugly truth of a nasty divorce—both for the adults in the middle of it and the children affected by it. They don’t attempt to cut any corners or try to make it seem more polished than it might be in real life.
In the first two scenes, Daniel Hillard (Williams) and his ex-wife Miranda (Sally Field) start to argue at their daughter Lydia’s (Lisa Jakub) spelling bee after he arrives late, which distracts her long enough to misspell a word. After the loss, he apologizes to Lydia and tries to explain how, even though he’s Mrs. Doubtfire, he and Miranda can’t pretend to be happy.
The last scene is the most raw, featuring Daniel and Miranda in the midst of one of their uglier fights as their children listen to the entire thing upstairs. The concept of Mrs. Doubtfire is prime for laughs, but there’s nothing funny about watching two feuding parents go at each other.
With the deleted scenes released to a wider audience, Mara Wilson, who played younger daughter Natalie in the movie, recalled filming one of them.
I remember filming the first scene! My mom was sad it was cut because it was such a good scene for @Lisa_Jakub. https://t.co/Vcho3NjkQQ
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWilson) February 11, 2016
Had they been included, it would’ve almost certainly changed the tone of the film—but even here, they pack an emotional punch.
H/T People | Screengrab via Matthew Keys/YouTube