Working World

The Character
Played by Robin Williams in the 1993 comedy of the same name, Mrs. Doubtfire is the brainchild of Daniel Hillard, a newly divorced dad on the losing end of a custody battle, desperate to be with his kids at any cost. When ex-wife Miranda tells him she's placing an ad for a nanny, Hillard uses his talent for impersonations and his makeup artist brother to help fill the position.

The Verdict
Hillard is far from an abiding citizen of the corporate world. From the opening scene in which he walks out on his voice-over gig because the Tweety-like character he’s playing is smoking a cigarette, it is clear that Hillard is his own man. But does he have what it takes to make it in the sometimes lonely, sometimes risky, potentially rewarding world of entrepreneurship? On one hand, he earns major points for ingenuity — disguising himself as an English governess is certainly thinking outside the box and gets him what he wants, if only for a time.

On the other hand, a successful entrepreneur must also have endurance, and Hillard's tendency to overextend himself may lead to burnout. In the memorable dinner scene in which he accepts two invitations to the same restaurant — one as himself and the other as Doubtfire — and spends the evening dashing to and from the bathroom for frenzied costume changes, he demonstrates the hazards of biting off more than he can chew. Not only does he jeopardize his chances of career advancement by mistakenly using the wrong persona (Doubtfire) for the wrong party (his boss), but his entire scheme unravels in the most public and dramatic fashion. While performing the Heimlich maneuver on Miranda’s choking beau, a wild and sweaty Doubtfire loses her prosthetic mask, revealing her true identity to a horrified audience.

In typical Hollywood fashion, everything wraps up nicely for Hillard; but in the real world, he would not be so lucky. Instead, he would likely follow the path of most entrepreneurs — a career of ups and downs. In this case, where the highs are high and the lows are low, the true measure of success is found in the ability to pick oneself up and begin the cycle again.   

Ideal Job
Comedian
Summer Camp Director
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Becky Hutner is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker living in Los Angeles. She has produced and edited segments for network and cable television, and has screened at numerous festivals internationally. She holds a bachelor’s degree in screenwriting from the University of Southern California.