1991 Directed by Ate de Jong
When Elizabeth returns to her mother's home after her marriage breaks up, she recreates her imaginary childhood friend, Fred, to escape from the trauma of losing her husband and her job. In between the chaos and mayhem that Fred creates, Elizabeth attempts to win back her husband and return to normality.
Phoebe Cates Rik Mayall Marsha Mason Tim Matheson Carrie Fisher Keith Charles Ashley Peldon Daniel Gerroll Ron Eldard Eleanor Mondale Bob Reid Peter Thoemke Sjoukje De Jong Douma Paul Holmes Steve Cochran Robert Meyzen Daniel Buchen Marie Mathay Peter Breitmayer Clark Niederjohn Tom Bethke Elizabeth Gray Cheryl Hawker Michael Welker Kelly Benson Cathy Lind Hayes Bridget Fonda David John Adamson Kevin Deon Show All…
Robert W. Glass Jr. Michael P. Redbourn Richard D. Rogers Robert J. Anderson Jr. Grover B. Helsley Tova Szabo
Släng dig i väggen Fred!, Um Sonho Chamado Fred, Va' all'inferno Fred, Mi amigo especial, Mi amigo imaginario, Fred ¡Esfúmate!, Fred, Mein böser Freund Fred, Szűnj meg, Fred!, Esfúmate Fred, Вредный Фред, 捣蛋鬼弗瑞德, דרופ דד פרד, 황홀한 영혼 프레드, Вередливий Фред
USAPG-13
UK12
AustraliaPG
USAPG-13
Australia
UK
USA
Drop Dead Fred is the tragic story of Elizabeth Cronin, a young woman who experiences a psychotic breakdown after struggling to cope with years of emotional abuse from her mother and abandonment from her father. After separating from her cheating husband, Elizabeth begins to experience hallucinations of an eccentric friend, Fred, who she blames for her delusions and violent outbursts.
Or...
Drop Dead Fred is a fantasy film about the world of imaginary friends. Although believed to be a figment of Elizabeth Cronin's imagination, Fred is actually a real being sent to help her get her life back on track. Invisible to everyone except Elizabeth, his eccentric methods often get her into trouble but Fred turns out to be just…
“Here it is folks,” I say, taking a deep drag on my cigarette. “Cinema stops and starts right here.”
The older I get, the more tragic this movie becomes. I identify with Snot Face so much, not in wanting to get back with a cheating ex, but just by being a big woman-child who is barely functional. I mean, Rik Mayall is hilarious but this movie is about a nervous breakdown. I don't even think I laughed this time around. I'll try to do a better job next time I watch and review this but in my present state, it just makes me feel sad.
so we’re just not gonna have the discussion that all of drop dead fred’s outfits are absolute bangers huh we’re just gonna ignore those absolute immaculate green fits okay then,, suit yourselves
Obnoxious imaginary friend recipe: Extract all the juice from Beetlejuice until is green and unfunny. Top with whipped cream and schizophrenia.
Its boundless empathy in the arena of mental illness and its full commitment to building an absurdist reality out of whole cloth make Drop Dead Fred positively Shyamalan-esque. Decades later, the film has the cult it deserves, but the critics who’ve panned it would do well to take a second look. What appears to be a broad, juvenile comedy in passing is actually quite a sad and sensitively-spun story about one woman’s arrested development barreling headfirst toward a truly destructive nervous breakdown. Trapped in a state of emotional object permanence by a controlling mother and a repellent boyfriend, she recedes into the fantasies of her youth to discover a new narrative by which to reframe her life. Fairy tales never satisfied Elizabeth Cronin. Her problems have always been too large to fit into that tiny box, and she needs Fred to smash the living daylights out of it.
Two days ago, an alcohol-fueled movie discussion with my wife led to a pact to watch (initial viewing for me, not her) Drop Dead Fred: A kids' movie in which the leads call the mom a bitch, make fun of her musty vag, and joke about eating her dead body and shitting it out on the dining room table.
I don't think this could get made today.
Phoebe's hair game is on fire.
Part of me feels so bad making my parents deal with watching this til the VHS tape was damn near worn out. But only part.
