Director Chris Columbus set the record straight regarding rumors of the existence of an NC-17 cut of the beloved family film “Mrs. Doubtfire,” denying that ridiculous notion, right before he went ahead and confirmed there is an R-rated cut of the Robin Williams film.
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The viral tweet was referencing a 2015 interview with Columbus who said that Williams’ knack for improv, there were PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 cuts of “Mrs. Doubtfire.” Now, Entertainment Weekly confirmed with Columbus that there is no NC-17 version of the film, but there are indeed several different versions, including an R-rated one. “The reality is that there was a deal between Robin and myself, which was, he’ll do one or two, three scripted takes. And then he would say, ‘Then let me play.’ And we would basically go on anywhere between 15 to 22 takes, I think 22 being the most I remember,” the director clarified.
As Columbus recalled, this resulted in new variations and lines in every take. “He 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. I only [previously] used the phrase NC-17 as a joke. There could be no NC-17 version of the movie.”
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Those who wish they could see a film where Robin Williams plays a divorced actor who disguises himself as a female housekeeper to sneak into his ex-wife’s house and spend time with his kids, but one with broad humor, there may be good news in the future. “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,” Columbus teased. “The problem is, I don’t recall most of it. I only know what’s in the movie at this point because it’s been a long time. But I do remember it was outrageously funny material.”