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Ate de Jong-directed “Drop Dead Fred” is a black comedy that, while mustering a few laughs, proves shockingly dark. With a solid cast, including a superb performance by Rik Mayall as the titular Fred, and delightful non-“Star Wars” role from Carrie Fisher, it’s a unique yet confused motion picture.
Elizabeth Cronin (Phoebe Cates) struggles under her controlling mother, Polly (Marsha Mason), remaining passive. Compounding her situation, Elizabeth visits her domineering estranged husband, Charles (Tim Matheson) on her lunch break, hoping to sort out their relationship. But Charles requests a divorce, asserting that he’s in love with another woman, Annabella. As if her day can’t get any worse, Elizabeth has her purse and car stolen, the arrives back at the courthouse where she works late from lunch. She’s promptly fired and on the way out of the courthouse, Elizabeth runs into her childhood friend, Mickey (Ron Eldard) who reminisces about their friendship, including her imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred (Mayall).
It’s here where the movie takes a hard left turn. As a young girl, only Elizabeth could see Fred, and his antics often got her into trouble. Cronin’s friend and confidant Janie (Fisher), attempts to cheer her up before Elizabeth moves back into her childhood home with her mother, Polly. While sorting through a box of old belongings, Elizabeth finds the Drop Dead Fred doll and Fred surges back to life. Again, only Elizabeth can see Drop Dead Fred. And though he spent many years trapped inside a jack-in-the-box, he wastes no time getting back into his old antics which range from muddying Polly’s living room carpet to sinking Janie’s houseboat.
Acting is top-notch. Phoebe Cates sells her role as the subdued Elizabeth, and maintains a childlike sentiment throughout the entire movie. Rik Mayall goes all-in with over-the-top slapstick as Drop Dead Fred. Admittedly, the character of Fred gets a bit annoying at times, but that’s by intention. Carrie Fisher puts in a terrific co-starring role as Elizabeth’s pal Janie.
However, “Drop Dead Fred” can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a slapstick “Beetlejuice” type comedy, or a serious psychoanalysis of the repressed, meek Elizabeth and her abusive relationships. In fact, a dream sequence in the third act is seemingly plucked from the cutting room floor of a Tim Burton movie. Unfortunately, the flick toes the line and accomplishes both albeit somewhat poorly. While Fred gets Elizabeth into loads of trouble, the repercussions are overshadowed by the freedom and joy of temporary release from the tyrannical rule of her crushing mother. The mischief Fred incites during Elizabeth’s childhood may be viewed as emotional cries for help from an abused youngster. “Drop Dead Fred” is at its best when viewing Fred as a lens through which to explore Elizabeth’s childhood trauma, and her unhealthy relationship with her repressive mother plus a mentally abusive husband. But a few key scenes clearly posit that Fred isn’t merely an imaginary friend and that he’s real which slightly undermines his purpose as a probe for Elizabeth’s emotional injury.
With its confused message, “Drop Dead Fred” is a depressing, farcical film. It would have been better to pick a route and stick to that rather than shoehorn deep, emotional exploration into a comedic romp or vice versa. Still, it’s a unique movie with a bevy of particularly funny moments, and a thought-provoking look at abuse. Even if the disparate messages never quite justify, “Drop Dead Fred” is nevertheless memorable and one-of-a-kind.
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