10 Movies That BRILLIANTLY Avoided Huge Cliches

5. Daniel & Miranda Stay Divorced - Mrs. Doubtfire

Watchmen Ozymandias
Fox

Think of basically any mainstream pre-2000s movie centered about divorce, and the overwhelming majority of them will end with the estranged/divorced couple getting back together for a crowd-pleasing happy ending.

And that certainly seemed to be on the cards for a movie as broad-skewing as Mrs. Doubtfire, that Miranda (Sally Field) and Daniel (Robin Williams) would reconcile for the sake of their suffering kids.

Except, that's not what happens at all. The film ends with Miranda and Daniel remaining divorced but on much better terms, and even more surprisingly, Miranda's new partner Stu (Pierce Brosnan) isn't made out to be a villain of any kind - he's a charming, super likeable guy all the way to the end.

It's since been revealed that Mrs. Doubtfire indeed originally ended with Miranda and Daniel getting back together, but Sally Field and Robin Williams - both of whom had been divorced in real life - felt that it was a disingenuous way to end the movie, and would send the wrong message to children of divorce.

And so, director Chris Columbus rightly made the call to end on a more authentic, left-field note.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.