Drop Dead Fred (1991)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Ate de Jong

Writers:

Elizabeth Livingston (story)
Carlos Davis (written by) ...

Release Date:

19 April 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

Imagine having this guy for a friend

Plot:

A young woman finds her already unstable life rocked by the presence of a rambunctious imaginary friend from childhood.

Plot Keywords:

Imaginary Friend | Mother | Family Relationships | Slapstick Comedy | Hair

Cast

Phoebe Cates	...	Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Cronin
Rik Mayall	...	Drop Dead Fred
Marsha Mason	...	Polly Cronin
Tim Matheson	...	Charles
Carrie Fisher	...	Janie
Keith Charles	...	Murray
Ashley Peldon	...	Young Elizabeth
Daniel Gerroll	...	Nigel Cronin
Ron Eldard	...	Mickey Bunce
Eleanor Mondale	...	Attractive Customer
Bob Reid	...	Judge Dubben
Peter Thoemke	...	Arsonist
Sjoukje De Jong Douma	...	Grandma Bunce
Paul Holmes	...	Man in Speedboat
Steve Cochran	...	Waiter #1

Also Known As:

My Special Friend (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Gaviidae Commons, Nicollet Mall - 555 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Cameo: [Bridget Fonda]Annabella.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Fred try to pull his head out of the fridge, under his arms you can see his real hair.

Quotes:

Fred: I am a loner, a crazy wide eyed loner on a doomed mission to Venus to battle with the 3 headed mega beast but on the way I caught cornflakes disease.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Clerks. (1994)

Fred is REAL!

I am amazed by the amount of people who have discussed this movie in the terms of being about "mental illness".... it should become clear by the end of the movie that this is a fantasy, Fred is not an imaginary friend he is "real" he exists and his sole purpose in life is to help children in a dark place and bring them out of themselves. Imaginary friends do not move on to another child, imaginary friends are the property of those who imagine them. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I saw a review of "Gremlins" on here by the same people who said "nasty little creatures who create distruction around them are not funny". This is a funny movie, plain and simple. Rick Mayall is outstanding as Fred and Phoebe Cates gives the perfect performance as the downtrodden daughter and wife. Anyone who says bad things about this movie has obviously never seen a fantasy movie before and taken it for what it is. I am surprised that they didn't call Demi Moore delusional in "Ghost" because she was refusing to let go of her boyfriend and "imagined" all the stuff that went on. This is a fantasy folks, a pure unadulterated fantasy and it is a bloody funny one at that. Watch it, it will make you laugh, it will make you smile, and it will make you chuckle.... what more can you ask and again Rick Mayall is brilliant.