Drop Dead Fred (1991)

The Worst Film Ever

Such a frustrating disappointment

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The reason for why I initially purchased this 1991 comedy at the local secondhand DVD store was because of Rik Mayall, the late, great British comedy genius.I haven't seen "Drop Dead Fred" before now in 2016, 25 years after it was initially released. Shame on me, I know. And it was an error on my behalf, because this is a very funny movie and an enjoyable movie as well. And Rik Mayall really do put on a very good performance as the imaginary friend Drop Dead Fred. I was laughing a good amount throughout the course of the movie, especially because of the hilarious situations that Elizabeth (played by Phoebe Cates) ended up in because of her imaginary friend.Rik Mayall is quite well-cast for the menacing make-believe friend, and he seemed to be given free hands to do what he wanted with the character. I was more than genuinely entertained by his comedy in this 1991 movie, his brush with Hollywood, although he was always more at home in the British comedy.Aside from an all-over-the-screen Rik Mayall, then Phoebe Cates also did perform nicely in "Drop Dead Fred" and borough her usual charms. It was a nice treat to have the Princess herself in the movie for a supportive role, that being Carrie Fisher, of course."Drop Dead Fred" is a fast paced comedy with lots of laughs.

I saw this when I was about thirteen. I had loved kooky, fun, and effects-laden movies like "Beetlejuice," which is what I expected when going to see this. I had also had imaginary friends as a child, so I thought I could identify with it.But Drop Dead Fred was a very different animal from the movies it was marketed to be like - "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Beetlejuice" were fun and harmless romps, in comparison. In between its sparse effects that were kind of entertaining, DDF was an annoying and vaguely disturbing experience that couldn't seem to decide whether it was a kid-friendly comedy, a kooky and adult horror-comedy, a quirky romance movie, or a very sad and dark story about an insane young woman.Something else that annoyed me was that this was also kind of a chick flick, while it was obviously marketed towards children and young adults. The scene where the scantily-clad chick fixes dinner for her successful jerk boyfriend felt like something I didn't sign up to see -- it was like something in a soap opera. I also felt a little sorry for the homely guy we're supposed to believe is going to be her future husband -- how do we know she won't be bad for him? I mean, she likes vain and successful men, and he's neither of those things. Plus she's nuts, capable of destroying her friend's houseboat without remorse, and he's kind of a chump.The guy who played DDF was miscast, too. He's supposed to be the product of a little girl's imagination. What we get is a loud, scary English dude who knows a little more about sex than you'd think a child would dream up. I think they chose this guy because he WAS some kind of successful comedian, but his "loud, insane, dirty limey" schtick just doesn't work here.

Daughter of control freak mother has an imaginary (English) friend who she can blame for doing all the malicious, obscene and childish stuff her mother has tried to suppress in her. Except she's an adult - for some of the movie, that is.DDF takes an age to get going. By the time it does, you're failing to understand why Elizabeth (Phoebe Cates) hasn't been sectioned long ago. Is it because her mother is apparently very rich? There is just not enough subtlety in the way Elizabeth's disastrous dependence on Fred is portrayed. Time and again she acts out her most disgusting and destructive impulses in some stilted slapstick, only for the blaming of 'Fred'(Rik Mayall) to make everything all right.As a kind of primer in psychological metaphor, DDF has a lot going for it. But then it's a Disney children's film. Oh no it isn't, it's a gross-out comedy - no, wait, it's a rom-com. It all comes down to whether you can find any time for Rik Mayall's "punk Gene Wilder" act. Very clever, very hard work, and some pathos among the madness, but the movie's premise is developed so slowly the whole thing gets very tedious.

So, here is a movie that has been hated by a lot of people and a few people really like this movie. I personally don't like it but I thought the premise was an interesting one and they did actually get a few things right with this movie.The plot is that a woman named Elizabeth has just been divorced by her husband Charles. After saying he wants to be with Annabella, Elizabeth loses both her car and job. Then after being forced to go to her mother's house (and Elizabeth's childhood home) and she opens an old Jack-in-a-box that contained her imaginary friend from childhood. Together they find ways to make her happy but Fred causes a lot of trouble as well.So what are my complaints? Firstly, it takes Elizabeth an hour's worth of movie time to get her some psychological help. She even tells people she's crazy and about her imaginary friend and they do nothing but either believe her or react unrealistically. I'm not kidding, people actually believe Elizabeth when talking about her IMAGINARY FRIEND.Then there's the Fred character himself, I can see exactly what they were trying to do with the character, (basically a child in a man's body) but it doesn't really work mainly because of his antics. They're either weird for a young kid's fantasy or too over the top. With all that being said I did like how Mayall was able to take that role and make it his own.But now onto what I thought they did right. I personally enjoyed when Fred did phase out of these antics and actually deliver some good advice to Elizabeth in a flashback saying "be who you want to be, not what your mother wants you to be." I also enjoyed the ending, no I am not one of those critics. I personally think it had a good ending. Where Fred and Elizabeth go into her mind and make her stand up for everything that is or has been holding her back (as well as un-restraining a younger version of herself) and Fred leaves saying he can't be with her anymore because she would be perfectly happy in the real world. Then once she does enter the real world she leaves Charles and tells her mother that she is a grown woman and that she is going o live her life. I personally think that's one thing they did get right.So aside from that I am in full favour of a remake. Just not who they decided to cast as Fred (Russel Brand). I personally think that it has a good premise, just in need of a better execution.