When his brother and his brother's partner, film makeup
artists, fit him with the accouterments to portray an elderly British
woman, his talents are facilitated and the plot is fully hatched.
The ascension to this moments is met by the descending comfort of Act
II, which ultimately finds Daniel settling easily into the role of Mrs.
Doubtfire, the loving but stern housemaid, of whom the children, Miranda
and even Stuart have grown fond. A use of the musical montage device-in
this case to the pointedly relevant 'Dude Looks Like a Lady,' by Aerosmith-
helps to suggest the passage of time as Doubtfire comes to be seen as one
of the family.
This is a performance, however, which will be shattered by the events
of Act III. As Daniel Hillard by day, he finds a position at a television
studio doing manual labor, primarily...
The second plot point of this act occurs
when, as Doubtfire, Hillard runs afoul of his son, who catches him in the
act of going to the bathroom. This drives forward the both the tension and
humor of the situation, wherein Hillard pleads with the elder two of his
children to help him keep this secret.
The climax of the film occurs when Daniel is forced to appear at
dinner with his family and in a dinner interview with his boss for a
remarkable opportunity at the same time and place. Here, hilarity ensues,
as Daniel attempts to juggle both identities and interviews while
increasingly intoxicated. This leads to the embarrassing climactic event
in which his identity is revealed to his family as he delivers lifesaving
Heimlich techniques to Stuart.
