Drop Dead Fred (1991)

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.

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.

After recently becoming a Rik Mayall fan, I took a break from watching zombie flicks all day to check out this hilarious and heart warming film where Mayall acts as Drop Dead Fred, an energetic and spontaneous child-hood imaginary friend to a 26 year old girl, Elizabeth. Her life has encountered numerous discomforting events and thus she needs some spirit brought back into her. This PG film is sprinkled with unforgettable funny quotes, unique characters, life- questioning provokes (such as about shared reality vs individual reality), mischievous scenes and beautiful friendship scenes. Heck, I sobbed at one point… Therefore, I find Drop Dead Fred a lovely reminder of childhood adventures. Maybe you will as well.Also, just a relevant though~ I think Fred looks like a cross between Vyvyan and Rick from The Young Ones, since he's played by Rick's actor, has orange hair in this film and has an over-the- top personality like the both of them. What a fitting mix!

At the age of 5 "Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Cronin" (Phoebe Cates) was sad and lonely. So she developed an imaginary friend she called, "Drop Dead Fred" (Rik Mayall). But time passes and she eventually forgets about him. Until she loses her husband "Charles" (Tim Matheson), her job and her car all on the same day. She then becomes sad and lonely. And Drop Dead Fred reappears. Now, normally a friend who returns after so many years wouldn't be such a bad thing. But this isn't any "normal" friend. Instead he's an obnoxious and destructive influence who was always getting her into trouble. And while she may have grown up, he has not. Anyway, as far as this movie is concerned, I thought it got off to a rather rough start but things began to get really funny immediately after the "houseboat scene" when "Janie" (Carrie Fisher) tries to take matters into her own hands. Likewise, the restaurant scene was quite funny as well. Having said that though, there were other scenes which weren't nearly as good and this caused the movie to seem uneven. I thought Marsha Mason (as "Polly Cronin") looked great. But as far as the acting was concerned, other than Phoebe Cates and Carrie Fisher, I didn't really care for anybody else in the cast. And as far as that goes, Rik Mayall made me cringe every time he appeared as he was just too over-the-top. Even so, this wasn't a bad movie necessarily and it did have some good moments as I have already mentioned. That said, I have no doubts that some will really enjoy it. But to me it was only average.