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[09 Mar 2006|09:10am] |
Christina Osterhout
English 224
03/09/06
Darcher
It’s all about the Elements
We’ve all heard the joke about the reason the chicken crossed the road and after so many times of hearing it, it’s no longer funny. There are so many elements involved in whether something is funny or not. In November of 1993, the movie Mrs. Doubtfire which was directed by Chris Columbus, was released on VHS across America. It has been published and released in eight different languages all over the world. It was the number one comedy released that year and helped boost Robin William’s career as a comedian. There are always reasons why things are funny and elements needed in order for the audience to remain entertained.
Mrs. Doubtfire is a story about a family going through a divorce and the father, who is played by Robin Williams, gets desperate to see his children more often than what he had been granted by the courts. After Robin Williams realizes that the time he usually spends with his children is cut nearly in half he comes up with a brilliant idea of disguising himself as an older lady who is a Nanny. Of course to keep this a secret from his ex wife he’s compelled not to tell his children either especially since the youngest is only 8 and might let it slip. He goes to work which is at his old house and does a good job of keeping it secret until it gets towards the end of the story where he reveals to his children that their Nanny has actually been their father all along. The story mainly has two elements which are seriousness and the comedy. The disguise and the mannerisms Mrs. Doubtfire has are most of what makes the film funny. This movie has plenty of gags but it all comes together in a nice, friendly framework that centers on one man's family and that man's love for his children that makes him dress up as a 60 year old granny to get back into their lives. One of the most popular scenes in the movie is where Mrs. Doubfire tries preparing dinner for the children and since Robin Williams really had no clue how to make dinner he obviously had to improvise. As a result, he ended up lighting his whole granny outfit on fire. Just the silliness of that scene makes the movie worth while to watch. It’s something that would only happen in the movies and is just outrageous and it’s a sort of laugh out loud type of comedy.
There is a sense of innocence to this story. The fact that he goes through all this trouble just to see his children and in the end is victorious in his efforts to win over his children. He ultimately wins over his ex wife when she realizes how much he truly loves them. When a story has a good ending it is easier for the audience to appreciate the story. When people go to see a comedy they should be entertained in a way that doesn’t use depressing or tragic events n the story. It’s harder to maintain the
comedy in a story that involves tragedy because the seriousness usually overrides the comedy.
One of the first things that you notice when you watch Mrs. Doubtfire is the personalities of the characters and how likable each one is. Although the mother comes off as uptight in the beginning, the more the story progresses the more you realize that she cares about the welfare of her children more than anything. The kids are just your typical kids and when watching this movie you immediately feel sympathy for the children because of the divorce they are going through at such young ages. This movie made the list of the top 100 comedies in American Film because of all these components. This movie is easy to watch for all ages and has both high humor and low humor. The youngest of the characters is a little girl who is given lines that back in 1993 were a little bit risky. Since she is surrounded by older people and her older siblings she hears things that are above her age and says things that are more mature than what a girl her age would normally say. The writers of this story took chances when writing the dialogue especially in the little girl’s lines and the chances that they took definitely paid off.
Another reason this movie made the list of the top 100 comedies in America would be because of the way the viewers can relate to the characters and the situations. First of all the divorce is something that over half the population have experience or will experience. When people can relate to something they are more likely to pay attention more and have an interest in the outcome of the situations. The movie is one that grabs you and you cant help but wonder what is going to happen with the kids and if Mrs. Doubtfire is ever exposed. All of the elements in this story are ones that Americans can generally be interested in. One of which is the children and of course, the viewers are looking and hoping for the best outcome for the family and the children’s relationships with their parents. The children are so innocent and have no control on what happens around them since they are so young so its impossible not to want the parents to work out their circumstances in the favor of the children and also, Robin Williams for the fact that he’s revolving his entire life around just seeing his children. He is willing to dress up as an old granny and wear women’s close and makeup to see his children and that alone shows his love for his children and his genuine personality. You can’t help but love his character and find yourself wanting everything to work out for everyone no matter how uptight or desperate they seem. It’s a great American film and always will be a great film because of the great job the actors did, that makes it worth watching. 1030 WORDS
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4 MG
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[09 May 2005|07:22pm] |
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I don't think I've been this happy in a long time.
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9 MG
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[04 May 2005|08:10pm] |
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mood |
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refreshed |
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1. Went to Pierce
2. Went to Steilacoom - caught up on all my late work.
3. Went to work.
4. Went to Pierce again.
5. Went for a run.
Today was a good day. Prom is next weekend! omgsh.
PADRE ISLAND IS JULY 11TH!!
I miss you Cat & will see you soon!
Yesss.
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4 MG
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[01 May 2005|10:34pm] |
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mood |
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Things are going so fucking right for me.
I got hired @ Cold Stone today.
I have much more but that's the only one I'm announcing.
GOODnight.
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4 MG
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[20 Apr 2005|09:44pm] |
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mood |
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music |
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The Ataris |
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If I ever think I'm having a bad day, now I'll think twice about it. That really opened my eyes.
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1 MG
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| kudo's to Melissa for a proper update (idea) |
[15 Apr 2005|10:47pm] |
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Today was a really really good day. I turned in more resumes and there's one place I've been dreaming of working and I've talked to the manager twice and I have such a good shot at getting the job I'm so excited!! I'm not gonna say where though. I hope I'm not getting my hopes up. Anyway, tomorrow I'm getting my lights fixed. My right headlight is out so I gotta take care of that. The dress shop I was gonna go to is for lease so I'm gonna have to find a new shop. I made a new friend today and we'll probably hang out tomorrow. My gramma went to a windows dinner @ McCord AFBase, she said she had a good time. It would be really nice if it stopped raining. Now that I have a membership to the Y I'll be able to go running in one spot! I'm goin tomorrow and I'm only allowed to take 1 guest once unless they're out of state. Oh well. I think I'm gonna go tomorrow afternoon and take my headphones. Colin just called me and told me to tune my radio station to 90.9 and keep it there. So I'm waiting... I got a huge easle-type stand up mirror that's really nice. Target baby. This weekend I have a lot of homework and this time I need to actually do ALL of it. My english class is really cool and I actually look forward to going to it. That's about all for today.
EDIT...
MINE:
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3 MG
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[09 Apr 2005|10:40pm] |
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Practically last day of Steilacoom's spring break so I figured we should at least do something out of the ordinary. So us girls all went up to Seattle and goofed off. I actually drive halfways descent down there. Oh, and on the way to UP I got a 173$ ticket. I bought a really pretty long skirt in the U district. My legs and feet are so sore because of the walking and driving. I wore the wrong shoes so that's probably the reason they're hurtin so bad. It was about the same amount of walkin we did each day on the tour in Europe. I'm down to 111lbs. from all the walking. Who ever thought walking would have such an effect? When we were driving back we drove right through the spot we wanted to get to in the first place. Next time we know exactly where to go. I tried on a white chinese style dress and I'm gonna be very vain about it; I really looked like a million bucks! Prom's gonna be awesome.
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1 MG
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| 2005 Technology |
[10 Mar 2005|09:20am] |
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happy |
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Lacoste radio |
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God my gramma spoils me. She said this was a reward for doing so well in school... that's one damn expensive reward but I'm not complaining!
( Gateway mhm. )
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9 MG
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| Newborn Tossed Out Car Window in Florida |
[10 Feb 2005|09:18pm] |
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Thursday, February 10, 2005
NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A newborn was tossed out a car window onto the grass beside a busy street Thursday afternoon, and the car sped off, authorities said.
Investigators were seeking the parents of the boy, whose umbilical cord was still attached when he was found by a woman passer-by. Doctors believe the infant was less than an hour old at the time.
Sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal said the woman brought the infant to the sheriff's office. The baby was taken to Broward General Medical Center (search), which upgraded his condition from critical to serious Thursday night.
It was unclear what injuries the eight-pound, two-ounce child suffered.
The woman who rescued the baby — who was inside a small plastic bag — said she saw a man and woman arguing inside the vehicle.
The baby was thrown from the passenger side, landing three or four feet away in the grass.
No information was released on the baby's identity.
What the fuck is wrong with people.
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6 MG
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[05 Feb 2005|01:52pm] |
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Damn guys. I would talk to you face to face but it would be pointless because you still wouldn't get it.
I thought you were maturing...but wow. I was mistaken. You guys act like you're 7 years old.
Egging people's belongings and posting about it is not smart. But you're gonna lie about it and say that it was just a coincidence and that you didn't do it. If that fucks up his paint on his car you could be charged with vandalism because you're dumb enough to put it in writing. But you know as well as anyone that nothing will happen to you because Colin isn't even mad about it. You guys seriously need to grow up.
That's so low.
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6 MG
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