I'm blown away by how many reviewers refer to this as a family or kids comedy/fantasy? Are you high? Drop Dead Fred is anything but made for families or kids. In fact it's a twisted adult fairy tale comedy that is cute and silly but could have went a lot further had it been released nowadays as a dark comedy with a much stronger more talented cast. The entire time I spent the film thinking what an iconic and remarkable role Drop Dead Fred would have been for Jim Carey as a comeback right now. He could have taken that role and really made it twisted and demented the way it was meant to be. The entire premise of the film pretends to have some sort of morale but it doesn't at all...it's a bitterly ironic adult comedy about a deranged lunatic who uses violence and emotional abuse to make a quiet mousy 20 something girl find herself. Sound like a promising morale for kids? The cast just wasn't strong enough to make the potentially terrific physical comedy, and dark moody one liners really matter. The film seems to be iconic to some and perhaps that's just something about an early nineties film but for the most part Drop Dead Fred misses it's mark while being mildly entertaining.
Phoebe Cates, fresh from trying to remove herself from the Brat pack eighties stigma plays Lizzie, a perpetually walked on woman who loses her husband, car, money and job all in one day which drives her to the brink of sanity and Fred. Cates is decent enough but she plays mousy and quiet but never really comes out of that shell the way she should have. This would have been a great role for a stronger actress with better range like Winona Ryder, or Christina Ricci (who was too young at the time, I know.) Someone with a dark brooding side for this tone of the film. Cates struck gold in the eighties but didn't have talent to carry it on. Apparently a very talented British comedian and TV Personality Rik Mayall plays the 'fantastic' drop dead Fred. He never quite nails the idea behind the very dark and often sadistic role...compare it to Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice...and you'll see he doesn't even come close. He is outright annoying and doesn't come across as intelligent in the least. In a round about and disturbing way he is supposed to make Cates see herself and he doesn't at all. He isn't funny and tries too hard with the jokes and pratfalls. Tim Matheson is decent as Cates' slimy husband, and Carrie Fisher is good although completely out of place being far more talented than this cast as Cates best friend. She has one of the funniest roles coming from actual talent as an actress.
I'm really not trying to discredit what people think of this film. If you grew up with it as a favorite...more power to you. But for me seeing it for the first time I just saw a lot of twisted potential in it that never pans out. This could be compared to a lot of other films in the same vein and you'd see those other films have big talented casts...Beetlejuice, and Death Becomes Her and even Monty Python films, to name a couple adult fantasy films. I don't think director Ate de Jong really knew where to go with this film and it was probably one of his first English US releases so he jumped on it but it was mis cast and rushed a great deal. Still people seem to love it as a cult classic but I think anyone looking for the type of film that this is should maybe steer clear of this one because it's average and completely misguided sadly. 6 out of 10
Phoebe Cates, fresh from trying to remove herself from the Brat pack eighties stigma plays Lizzie, a perpetually walked on woman who loses her husband, car, money and job all in one day which drives her to the brink of sanity and Fred. Cates is decent enough but she plays mousy and quiet but never really comes out of that shell the way she should have. This would have been a great role for a stronger actress with better range like Winona Ryder, or Christina Ricci (who was too young at the time, I know.) Someone with a dark brooding side for this tone of the film. Cates struck gold in the eighties but didn't have talent to carry it on. Apparently a very talented British comedian and TV Personality Rik Mayall plays the 'fantastic' drop dead Fred. He never quite nails the idea behind the very dark and often sadistic role...compare it to Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice...and you'll see he doesn't even come close. He is outright annoying and doesn't come across as intelligent in the least. In a round about and disturbing way he is supposed to make Cates see herself and he doesn't at all. He isn't funny and tries too hard with the jokes and pratfalls. Tim Matheson is decent as Cates' slimy husband, and Carrie Fisher is good although completely out of place being far more talented than this cast as Cates best friend. She has one of the funniest roles coming from actual talent as an actress.
I'm really not trying to discredit what people think of this film. If you grew up with it as a favorite...more power to you. But for me seeing it for the first time I just saw a lot of twisted potential in it that never pans out. This could be compared to a lot of other films in the same vein and you'd see those other films have big talented casts...Beetlejuice, and Death Becomes Her and even Monty Python films, to name a couple adult fantasy films. I don't think director Ate de Jong really knew where to go with this film and it was probably one of his first English US releases so he jumped on it but it was mis cast and rushed a great deal. Still people seem to love it as a cult classic but I think anyone looking for the type of film that this is should maybe steer clear of this one because it's average and completely misguided sadly. 6 out of 10