Drop Dead Fred

''Drop Dead Fred'' is a 1991 black comedy fantasy film directed by Ate de Jong, produced by PolyGram and Working Title Films and released and distributed by New Line Cinema, starring Phoebe Cates as a young woman named Elizabeth Cronin and Rik Mayall as her imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred, with Marsha Mason, Tim Matheson, Carrie Fisher and Ron Eldard in supporting roles. It follows Elizabeth as she is haunted by Fred in adulthood. It received negative reviews from critics, but has since become a cult film.

Plot

Unassertive and repressed Minneapolis court reporter Elizabeth Cronin visits her husband Charles, from whom she is separated, on her lunch break, hoping to sort out their problems. He reasserts his desire for a divorce and says that he is in love with another woman, named Annabella.

While she is at a public phone, first a man breaks into her car to steal her purse, and another steals the car itself. Forced to run back to work at the courthouse, she arrives late and gets fired. As she leaves the courthouse, she runs into childhood friend Mickey Bunce, who brings up memories they shared, including those of Elizabeth's imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred. Mickey reminds her how everybody else thought she was crazy. A series of flashbacks show that though he caused havoc, he also gave her happiness and a release from her oppressive mother, Polly.

After a pep talk from her friend Janie, Elizabeth moves back in with her mother, who blames her for her divorce, and changes her appearance to impress Charles. She finds a taped-shut jack-in-the-box, and removes the tape, releasing Fred. He agrees to help her feel better, which she believes will only happen when she wins back Charles. However, his childish antics do more harm than good. He sinks Janie's houseboat, causes havoc at a restaurant, and tricks Elizabeth into attacking a violinist in a shopping mall.

Worried by Elizabeth's recent odd behavior, Polly takes her to a (children's) psychologist. In the waiting room, Fred is seen meeting up with the imaginary friends of other patients, who are all children. The doctor prescribes medication to rid her of Fred, whom he and Polly believe is a figment of her imagination. The medication also has the effect of slowly killing Fred.

Fred reminds Elizabeth that one day, while they were making a mess on the dinner table, she heard her mother coming and she imagined him hiding in a jack-in-the-box. Polly, fed up with Elizabeth playing with Fred, took the jack-in-the-box and taped it shut, essentially taking Fred away from her. The event left Elizabeth traumatized, and her father Nigel left not long after. Elizabeth then wrote a letter to Fred, saying they'd run away together. Elizabeth and Fred run away from Polly and a nurse to Charles' party.

Charles now wants her back and she is overjoyed until Fred discovers he is still cheating with Annabella and tells her. Heartbroken, she tells Fred that she cannot leave Charles because she is scared of being alone. She then passes out. They escape to a dream sequence in which she is able to reject Charles and stand up to Polly, declaring she is no longer afraid of her. She frees her imprisoned childhood self. Fred tells her that she no longer needs him, so they kiss and he disappears.

Upon awakening, Elizabeth dumps Charles and stands up to Polly. Before leaving, she reconciles with Polly and encourages her to find a friend to escape her own loneliness. Days later, she visits Mickey and his daughter Natalie, who blames Drop Dead Fred for the mischief that just caused her nanny to quit. Elizabeth realizes Fred is now with Natalie, although she cannot see him anymore.

Cast

Production

Tim Burton and Robin Williams were offered the roles of director and Fred, respectively. They turned them down.

The film's screenplay was rewritten by director Ate de Jong and producer Paul Webster throughout pre-production. For the rewrites, de Jong took inspiration from being molested as a child by his older half-brother, stating, "The trauma of child abuse goes deep and its claws reach far in time. It was not something ever spoken about on the set, not with Rik or anyone, but for me it existed."

Filming took place in August and September 1990. Filmed in Minneapolis, a large part of the film was filmed at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in the suburb of Chanhassen.

Reception

Box office

The film, produced on a budget of just under $6.8 million, was released theatrically in the United States and Canada on May 24, 1991, grossing $3,625,648 on its opening weekend, and $13,878,334 over its entire theatrical run. It grossed £1,794,121 in the UK and $24 million worldwide.

Critical response

Gene Siskel gave the film zero stars and said "This is easily one of the worst films I've ever seen." Film critic Johanna Steinmetz suggested that its premise was inspired by children with imaginary friends who later develop dissociative identity disorder. Peter Freedman of the ''Radio Times'' called it a "largely uninteresting and unfunny comedy", adding, "It's a nice idea, but it falls between all available stools and ends up as a mess on the floor thanks to the poor execution. It's particularly irritating if you've seen the much better '' Harvey''." Angie Errigo of ''Empire'' magazine wrote, "There is scarcely a laugh to be had unless you are six years old or immoderately fond of such wheezes as depositing dog poop on a white carpet."

Retrospective reviews continued to pan the film for being anything but funny. In a 2002 review published by ''astralresearch.org'', composer Carl Schroeder saw no humour in the comedy, writing that the lead character's "psychic crisis is poignantly realistic...the creature who is visible only to the woman is like a poltergeist energy of her repressed self, a problematic ego container into which her powers of assertion and creativity were poured and stored." Writing for ''Entertainment Weekly'' in 2009, Margaret Lyons asked, "Is it supposed to be hilarious, or a really, really depressing story about the long-term effects of emotional abuse?" Leonard Maltin stated, "Phoebe Cates' appealing performance can't salvage this putrid mess...recommended only for people who think nose-picking is funny."

Despite being a critical failure, the film has gained some status as a cult film, though still noted for being "rife with hypocrisy". Writing for ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 2021, Alexander Larman praised the film, calling it "a sophisticated and ahead-of-its-time black comic exploration of anxiety and depression."

See also

* Schizotypal personality disorder
* Maladaptive daydreaming

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drop Dead Fred
1991 films
1991 black comedy films
1991 independent films
1990s English-language films
1990s fantasy comedy films
American black comedy films
American fantasy comedy films
American independent films
British black comedy films
British fantasy films
British independent films
Films about imaginary friends
Films scored by Randy Edelman
Films set in 1970
Films set in 1991
Films set in Minnesota
Films shot in Minnesota
Magic realism films
New Line Cinema films
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films
Working Title Films films
Films directed by Ate de Jong
1990s American films
1990s British films
English-language independent films
English-language black comedy films
English-language fantasy comedy films