Director Admits to an R-Rated Version of Robin Williams Comedy, “Mrs. Doubtfire”

The comedic genius of late actor Robin Williams is making headlines again, this time on the internet. Speaking on Williams’ 1993 classic, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” Twitter user @factsonfilm went viral with claims about the movie. According to the user, Williams improvised so much that the film has versions rated PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17.  

The internet quickly ran with it, clamoring for the various unreleased versions of the beloved movie. Meanwhile, the film’s director, Chris Columbus, emerged to set the record straight. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Columbus confirmed three versions of the movie, including one rated R but no NC-17 cut. 

The film was initially released with a PG-13 rating, but Williams’ improvisational skills provided much more material. The director says that Williams “would sometimes go into territory that wouldn’t be appropriate for a PG-13 movie, but certainly appropriate and hilariously funny for an R-rated film.” Williams would often do around three takes of the scripted material, but his improvisations would lead to a range of 15 to 22 takes. 

“Mrs. Doubtfire” stands as an excellent film for families, which makes the promise of an R-rated version all the more tempting for fans. In the film, Williams plays an actor who dresses up as a female nanny to see his children after a custody battle.

As far as releasing the more inappropriate cut, Columbus has not made any commitments. He assures fans that he does not want to tarnish the original film’s legacy but is open to other options besides an official second release. He said, “I would be open to maybe doing a documentary about the making of the film and enabling people to see certain scenes re-edited in an R-rated version.”

Williams’ death shocked the world when he passed in 2014 at the age of 63. Because of this, any unseen material of the comedian is now highly valuable. Columbus wishes to protect the reverence of Williams’ original work while also respecting his ability to make people laugh off the top of his head. 

Time will tell if the world will see Robin Williams on their screens again.