Customer Reviews

Drop Dead Fred

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

When Elizabeth (played by Phoebe Cates) finds her marriage to a manipulative, two-timing husband (Tim Matheson) on the rocks, to her chagrin, her mother moves her back home and takes control of her life. But then she makes a strange discovery, in the back of her old closet is her old jack-in-the-box, covered in the tape her mother had put there to lock in her imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred. Opening the tape, who should pop out? Not jack, but Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall)!

Fred is stark raving mad, and out to cause as much mayhem as possible, but no one can see him but Elizabeth, so who still gets the blame after all these years? But Fred is back, because Elizabeth is terribly unhappy. In his own weird and wacky way, he is out to set Elizabeth on the right track, and everyone needs a friend.

This is a very funny movie, an uproariously hilarious movie! Rik Mayall (Rick from The Young Ones) does a great job of taking Fred over the top, and off to the outer reaches of wackiness. His gross humor (lots of doggy-do, nose-picking, hits to the head, and so forth) may turn some off, but is sure to please any connoisseur of craziness.

Now, is this a family-friendly movie? Well, not exactly, there are some off-color remarks and adult innuendo, but not much. The big problem is that there is one scene where you see a naked man from behind. But, other than that it is pretty good. I showed it to my kids, and they loved it. I liked that it also had a lesson of finding happiness inside yourself.

So, as for my family and I, we loved this movie, and highly recommend it to you!

I've been watching "Drop Dead Fred" for years and it's still one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Everybody does a good job acting and it has some of the funniest sequences of any movie ever. Phoebe Cates used to have an imaginary friend, but now she's grown up. All of a sudden he comes back and she's the only one that can see him. However, she is more mature now, so she tries to ignore him and even make him go away, but she realizes she still feels like a kid sometimes and wants her imaginary friend to stay around.

"Drop Dead Fred" is one of the best comedy films ever and you'll never get tired of watching it. It's one of the few movies that will never get old. If you like comedy movies, this is one you can't miss.

On the surface, "Drop Dead Fred" is a comedy. And as a comedy, it's a great one. Rik Mayall, of course, if very funny. Phoebe Cates displays a genuine talent for physical comedy in several scenes - at the restaurant, at the classical music concert, and at the wine tasting party. And I just LOVE the scream that Cates lets out when Fred scares her while she's standing in front of the mirror wiping the makeup off of her face. Carrie Fisher is also very funny as a super-rigid super-serious lawyer.

However, at it's heart, this movie is a drama with some very serious issues and some very serious messages. Ultimately, this movie is about standing up for yourself. It's about taking control of your life. It's about standing up to defend yourself from the people who are tormenting you. Anyone who's ever been bullied stands to benefit from seeing this film. It really is a good form of therapy. You'll know that you're not alone. You'll know that there are other people who know how you feel. And that's one of the reaons why I love this movie so much.

Of course another reaosn I love this movie is Phoebe Cates. Her characer here is so sweet and wonderful. How can any guy see this movie and not think he's in love with her? And honestly, I think she's a better actress when she keeps her clothes on, as she does here. Throughout the course of the movie, Cates displays just about every emotion that there is. She's truly a great actress.

Kudos also go to Ashley Peldon, who does a remarkable job as the child version of Elizabeth. Tim Matheson does a perfect job portraying the jerk husband. Marsha Mason is fantastic as the evil mother. All the other actors do their jobs very well. Every role is cast perfectly.

Every scene in the movie is necessary. Nothing is wasted. Every line of dialogue counts. The flashbacks to childdhood are integrated perfectly into the rest of the movie.

There are some interesting camera angles here that I've never seen before. For example, in the flashback to where the mudpie gets made in the dining room, young Elizabeth is sitting on the chair, shaky and scared because her mother had just yelled at her. While the camera is focused on her, the camera pans 90 degrees, and then her face lights up with a smile and she says, "Hi Fred!" I've never seen that particular kind of camera shot before. I also like the way, later on when grown up Elizabeth is making the salad, the camera is *under* the pepper grinder. And during the end of the dream sequence towards the end of the movie, the various lighting and camera angles suggest a play that is being performed live on a stage.

The low budget cheesy special effects give a nice, old fashioned touch to the film. For example, the cheap physical effects of gears and other things that are shown when Velcro Head's head explodes simply would not have had the same charm if it had been done in expensive CGI.

The movie is timeless. The only real clue to when the movie takes place is that in the flashback to the breakfast scene, young Elizabeth's father is reading a newspaper with the heading about the first man on the moon.

The best part of the movie, in my opinion, is the dream sequence, and everything that comes afterwards. The last 25 minutes of this movie are what really elevate it to what it is. This is the part that really moves me the most. Of course, in order to understand it, you need to see the entire movie. And that's a good thing, because the entire movie is worth watching.

This is a movie for anyone who remembers what it's like to be a child, and for anyone who has a sense of fun and a love of life, and for anyone who's ever been hurt because of bullying. This movie has a big heart, a big sense of fun, a big sense of humor, and a big love of life.

Since I was 9 years old, Drop Dead Fred has been my all-time favorite film. Even now, as college freshman, I never hesitate to mention that film to anyone I know, or quote a hilarious line used in it. There are many reasons that Drop Dead Fred makes a wonderful, spirit-lifting movie; one may be that we all wish that we could escape to a world where an imaginary friend helps us forget the bad things in our lives. Pertaining to the movie, that would be Lizzy's mother trying to control her life, and hurt her; or her marriage that is hurting due to her husband cheating on her. The creativity and acting in this film is supurb. If any critics feel that nose picking is not a funny thing, than you should limit your movies to those that fail to let you explore the creative part of your mind. As for this particular movie, I never hesitate to throw my head back in laughter.

This is a must see film. Not only is it humours, clever and dramatic through out the whole film it is that kind of weird, yet stupid humour. The director couldn't have picked a better actor for this film than Rick Mayall, I mean one look at the guy with his tossed and tattered ginger hair, his green pinstripe jacket, his yellow trousers(which are too small for him!)and not to mention his red shoes your already thinking were did he come from?! Pheobe Cates was ofcourse her serious self but still was a excellent performer! Rick Mayall you laugh before you see him and your already in stiches when you do! an excellent film! Two thumbs up from me!

Not worth the price sellers are asking for. Why is this you ask? I remember this movie and I absolutely loved it as a child. Thing is, I won't spend the money on the dvd that sellers are asking for. The reason is because of Hollywood. For those of you not up to date with what's going on there, for the last 20 years Hollywood has been ripping itself off by remaking all the good movies we grew up with. Drop Dead Fred will soon be one of those remakes in 2011 which means the cycle will soon begin. Just before a remake is released in theaters the original dvd will be re-released for 19.99 which means those of you spending over 30 dollars just to get an old dvd will have spent too much. Until then, I'm willing to wait for the lower price and all the extras that will most likely accompany it that wasn't on the original. For those of you after this dvd as a collectors item, go ahead and pay the amount but dvds will die out like VHS in the future. At this point the top runner to play fred in the new remake is the British Actor Russell Brand from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Either way, you make your own decision about it.

Perhaps I love this movie because my big brother, who happens to be my favorite person on this planet, took me to see it in the movie theater when he came home from college on break. Or perhaps it's because this movie is so over-the-top silly. For argument's sake, I'll go with a combination of the two. Drop Dead Fred is a great movie for when you're in one of those moods to experience something ridiculous. I never had an imaginary friend (thinking about making friends with one though...). Despite it's overall wackiness, this movie makes an excellent point: that you should be true to yourself and stand up for yourself because no one deserves to be walked all over.

My 7-year old grandson introduced DDF to me. What a great time we had! Phoebe Cates is well cast as the girl with an unfaithful husband, an overbearing mother, a stolen car, and a lost job. At that stress level, any girl is entitled to resurrecting her one and only imaginary friend. Enter Fred with one problem. Phoebe has grown up and Fred hasn't. Though Phoebe is reluctant, Fred is unwittingly a great tonic. Things start to happen!

The faithless husband who is about to dump Phoebe gets a most satisfying comeuppance. Marsha Mason, who cannot give a bad performance, is icily perfect as the mother who wants to create Phoebe in her own image. Their shopping trip where Phoebe ends up identically clad as Mom is worth the price of admission. A nice supporting role by Carrie Fisher who plays Phoebe's older, worldly-wise friend is well paced and lively.

To the editorial nay-sayers, it only Fred that does these disgusting things, and he does them with the flair of any average five-year old. If everyone in the audience hasn't at least pulled some of the antics that Fred did, I am certain he or she had far too sedate a childhood. At the end of one particularly satisfying scene, I caught myself saying, "Yes!" just like the kid in "Home Alone." Have a fun evening with your best pal whether they are six or sixty.

If you come from a family where your mother was controlling at all, this movie is cheap therapy!! Every child should have a friend like Fred. Honestly, this is a really funny movie for older children and the young-at-heart adult. Of all the movies I've seen, this is my all-time favorite. I'm a mom to six children, teacher, and a graduate student and am not ashamed to admit that I LOVE *Drop Dead Fred*!!!

I do suggest renting it before buying it. If you are parent who does not like the typical poop, pee, snot, nose-picking humor then you will not like this video. But, if your sense of humor is a little "off" and if you like slightly dark comedies, you will fall in love with this video!

As a mom to six children, I don't let my very young children watch this video as I am afraid of having to deal with imitative behaviors and they will be confused by the adult child (Cates) utter dislike for her mother. Personally, I'd let a 8 year or older child watch this, though. (with a parent to talk about any issues of concern)

I was in Kindergarden when my parents rented this movie, Drop Dead Fred. They were lauging so much while watching it. So of course I had to see it. After attempts after attempts to talk my mother into letting me and my 3 year sister watch it we finally did. Although we didn't understand the concept or the plot at all we loved it! We watched it everyday, if we could we'd watch it even more than once a day. It became a daily routine watching this great movie! We were so into it we believed ourselves that Fred was our imaginary friend. And let me tell you our parents were not too happy when we robbed our own house or made mud pies. Now I am a Freshman at High School, thinking about those days watching my all time favorite movie. And til this day I love it! It put so much fun into my very begining of mine and my sister's childhood. Hey, I still watch the movie and if I could I'd give it 25 stars! Everyone should see it. And if you didn't enjoy the movie I think that you ought to loosen up and get less serious about life. It had such a GREAT impact on me.