КіноКава: Mrs. Doubtfire



Mrs. Doubtfire is a comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. The film stars Robin Williams (who also served as co-producer) and Sally Field and tells the story about an actor who after a bitter divorce disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife.

1. Warm-up questions.
  1. What is a family?
  2. What do we need to start a family?
  3. Why is the family important?
  4. Can we live without it?
2. Fill in gaps in the family tree.

For example: George is a father of Michael, Tom and Laura, a husband of Mary and a grandfather of Hannah, Rachel, David, Bill and Sue.


3. Watch the trailer and answer the questions.

  1. What is the film about?
  2. Is the family happy? Why? Why not?
  3. What is the father's attitude to the problem?
  4. What does he do to save the family?
  5. Does he succeed in it?


Episode 1. The quarrel

1. Watch the episode and answer the questions.
  1. What do we get to know from the episode about this family?
  2. Who has a birthday?
  3. Why do Miranda and Daniel quarrel?

2. Match the words with their definitions.

 1. to be married to smb  a. the legal ending of a marriage, separation
 2. a carreer  b. a word used to address someone you love
 3. to work smth out  c. a job or profession that you have been trained for
 4. to make smb out  d. to make smth better or to solve
 5. a divorce  e. to understand sb's character and the way they behave
 6. honey  f. to have a husband or a wife



Episode 2. The appearing of a housekeeper and her revealing

1. Watch the episode and explain the meanings of the words. Fill in the gaps with the correct ones.

honourable / are crazy / marriage / noble / upset with / relationship / choking / amusing / therapist / prepared
  1. That's a ............... quality. Never lose that.
  2. You remind me of Stuart Little, one of the most ............... creatures in all of literature.
  3. Young men who don't do their studies often miss out on more ............... activities.
  4. I'm not a ............... I just see what I see.
  5. They're very ............... me right now.
  6. You can never be too ............... when little ones are around.
  7. It's so sad, because ............... can be such a blessing.
  8. Daniel is a very difficult man to live with. But the children ............... about him.
  9. To us. The start of a business ...............
  10. Mrs Doubtfire! Help us! He's ...............!

Episode 3. Mrs. Doubtfire's speech

1. Watch the episode and fill in the gaps with the correct words.

Oh, my dear Katie. You know, some ............... get along much better when they don't live together. They don't ............... all the time and they can become better people, much better mommies and daddies for you. And sometimes they ............... ............... together, and sometimes they don't, dear. And if they don't, don't ............... yourself. Just because they don't love each other doesn't mean that they don't love you. There are all ............... of different families, Katie. Some families have one mommy, some families have one daddy, or two families. Some children live with their ............... or aunt, some live with their grandparents, and some children live with ............... parents. Some live in separate homes and ............... in different areas of the country. They may not see each other for days, weeks, months or even years at a time. But if there's love, dear, those are the ties that ................ And you'll have a family in your heart forever. All my love to you, ............... You're going to be all right. Bye-bye.

2. Find the equivalents in the text or give your own definitions.

 1. a nuclear family  
 2. a childless family  
 3. a single parent family  
 4. a grandparent family  
 5. an adoptive parent family  
 6. a stepfamily / a blended family  


3. Answer the questions on Episode 2 and 3.
  1. What do you think about Daniel's decision to become a housekeeper? What would you do if you were him?
  2. Why did the family love Mrs Doubtfire? Do you like her?
  3. What do you think about the situation in a restaurant? Did Daniel have a choice?
  4. Is Mrs Doubtfire a wise woman? Why do you think so?
  5. If you had a chance to ask her about anything, what would you ask?
  6. Did you like the movie? Would you like to watch the whole film?