Touches You

Powerful

Absolutely Fantastic

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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.

Due to the great Rik Mayall's recent passing, I decided to re-watch his (pretty much one and only proper) big screen outing, 'Drop Dead Fred.' I saw it in the cinema when it was first released and have almost forgotten everything about it. The basic premise is that a young woman's childhood imaginary friend (Fred, played by Rik Mayall, obviously) returns to make her life hell.Now, the problem with having a (prominent) character whose main role in the film is to be annoying, is that he's annoying. Very annoying. Yes, he's supposed to be. I know that. However, it still doesn't detract from the fact that Fred is a real pain in the… And this is one of the film's failings. Most people seemed to agree with me. And this is a shame, because Rik Mayall should have done more, but was forever tainted by this film.Yet, believe it or not, there is a certain depth to this film that is kind of buried by the overuse of the word 'snot.' Both Fred and his human 'creator' Lizzie go on journeys. She starts off put upon and afraid of standing up for herself and, with Fred's (annoying) help, learns to stand up for herself. And even Fred mellows and learns to help (properly) without being so annoying. The second half of the film is a lot better than the first (mainly because Fred has mellowed and you may even care a little for him).Don't go expecting too much from this film. If you're a massive fan of Rik Mayall, you'll get more out of it than most. He's kind of on a hyped-up (if that's possible) version of his later creation 'Richie' from 'Bottom.' If you really can't stand such blatant toilet humour and laughs that are derived from people getting mercilessly wound up then you're best advised to steer well clear.

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!

Drop Dead Fred (1991)Watching Drop Dead Fred as an adult is 100% different from watching Drop Dead Fred as a kid. Yes, I know that certain movies are like that - you'll pick up on jokes that you didn't get when you were eight years old...however, most don't give you an entirely different experience. If you haven't seen Drop Dead Fred, the basic synopsis is about a girl who goes to live with her (terrible) mother after she loses her car, her husband, and her job. As a kid, I remember cracking up at Fred's antics, flinging boogers at people and looking up the skirts of unsuspecting women. As an adult, this movie really ventures into dark territory. It's about a girl, verbally (and possibly physically) abused by her mother - so much so that her father ends up leaving. Finally an adult, she escapes the throngs of her household only to find herself completely co-dependent on men, and ends up in another abusive relationship - this time with an abusive husband. All the while, she conjures up an imaginary friend named Fred (who has a British accent, much like her father).Watching this as an adult, this movie has some heavy things going for it. Lizzy, the main character, definitely has issues upon issues. It's actually fun to see her transformation from co-dependent to independent. Fred's humor doesn't exactly do it for me anymore, but the scenes in which he's simply making Lizzy's body move are still hilarious (a standout scene in an Italian restaurant comes to mind). The acting is fairly pedestrian, the only real standout being Phoebe Cates as Lizzy. Since this, the director went back overseas and hasn't done any movies that I've heard of since then.Kids movies were definitely different back then. Watching this now, I can honestly say that I don't think this is a good movie for kids, but if you saw it when you were younger, it's definitely worth another exploration now.Final Score: 3/5