When Daniel learns that Miranda intends to place an advertisement for a housekeeper, he requests to pick them up from school and spend time with them, but Miranda refuses. Daniel sabotages the ad that Miranda wrote, changing the numbers on the copy so he could be the only one who could call. He calls Miranda several times, posing as a series of increasingly disturbing applicants, and eventually presents the perfect applicant: a 60-year-old Englishwoman with a Scottish accent with years of experience, giving the name “Mrs. Doubtfire”. Miranda is impressed enough to have “Mrs. Doubtfire” come over to the house to interview for the position.
Initially the children are hostile toward Mrs Doubtfire, particularly Lydia. However, Daniel wins them over after preparing a luxurious meal for Miranda upon her return home, delighting her and earning the trust of the children. As Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel is able to see his children every day, giving him the opportunity to be the firm father figure that he wasn’t before. The change begins to work as the children respond to Mrs. Doubtfire’s methods, and Miranda is able to heal her rocky relationship with the children and also with Daniel, who is now learning to be a better person and homemaker than he was before because of his alter ego. It is around this time that a conversation between Daniel (in disguise) and Miranda takes place where Daniel finally learns that his lack of structure, direction, seriousness, and his lackadaisical and over-joking attitude have done more to cause psychological and emotional damage than help to Miranda, causing her to cry herself to sleep on a near-daily basis, in which he silently reacts with regret.
Daniel’s situation is not a perfect one, however; he encounters several problems including igniting his fake breasts on a stove when cooking dinner, almost having his cover blown by his caseworker (Anne Haney) at his apartment, and attempting to stall his ex-wife’s relationship with Stuart Dunmyer (Pierce Brosnan), her new boyfriend, who is not particularly fond of Daniel (and who has no idea that Daniel is disguised as Mrs. Doubtfire). Daniel once again asks Miranda if she will allow him to take care of their children after school, but she once again (politely) declines, saying that she could never get rid of Mrs Doubtfire, as she has made their lives so much better.
Eventually, Daniel’s cover is blown when Chris walks in on him in the bathroom by accident (as Daniel had forgotten to lock the bathroom door). He explains what he’s done to Lydia and Chris, and tells them that they can’t tell Miranda (as she will most likely report him to the authorities and have him banned from seeing them for good) or Natalie, as she is too young to understand and would tell her mother. Both children are happy to have their father back in their lives and agree to help maintain the pretense.
Meanwhile, at the TV station where Daniel works as a shipping clerk, his job situation is about to improve. The CEO of the television studio, Jonathan Lundy (Robert Prosky), sees him clowning with toy dinosaurs on the set of a particularly boring children’s program and is impressed enough to schedule a dinner meeting to hear his ideas. Trouble brews when Daniel learns that Stuart plans to celebrate Miranda’s birthday by taking the family out to the same restaurant at the same time, and that everyone expects Mrs. Doubtfire to join them.
At the restaurant, Daniel attempts to rotate back and forth between Lundy and his family, using a restroom to change back and forth from himself to Mrs. Doubtfire. Due to ordering alcoholic beverages at both tables, Daniel gets tipsy and his behavior becomes more erratic. He dumps pepper (which Stuart is allergic to) on Stuart’s order and then forgets to change out of the Mrs. Doubtfire costume before returning to Lundy’s table. Daniel covers for his mistake by explaining to a bemused Lundy that his alter ego is his idea for a new television persona. Lundy is impressed and hopes to make a new TV show with Daniel’s alter ego.
Stuart then starts choking on the pepper. Daniel, still in the Mrs. Doubtfire costume, administers the Heimlich maneuver on Stuart. During the struggle, Daniel’s mask peels off, revealing his identity. Miranda is outraged and humiliated to find out that her housekeeper and her ex-husband are one and the same person; she then storms out.
After returning to court because of Daniel violating his limited visiting days, Miranda receives full custody of the children, as the judge is somewhat disturbed by Daniel’s behavior. However, she experiences a change of heart upon realizing that her children, as well as herself, are all deeply unhappy without Mrs. Doubtfire, and therefore Daniel. Daniel, meanwhile, becomes the star of Lundy’s new television program, Aunt Euphegenia’s House, where he plays Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire. Miranda pays Daniel a visit on the set one day and explains the situation to him. She also decides that Daniel’s idea of letting him take the kids for a few hours every day after school is a good one.
In the final moments of the movie, Daniel picks the kids up to spend an afternoon with them while Miranda watches an Aunt Euphegenia’s House episode, where Mrs. Doubtfire answers a letter from a child in a similar situation, saying that no matter what type of living arrangement children of divorce may have, love will maintain the bond of family.
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