I like the concept of 'Drop Dead Fred (1991)' more than its execution. In essence, it's a coming-of-age story about a young woman whose failing marriage and pushy mother prompt her to move back home. Here, she comes across her long-forgotten imaginary friend, the eponymous Fred, and gets into all sorts of trouble as he turns her life upside down with his penchant for wanton destruction. At its core, the narrative is about self-actualisation, which is an interesting angle to approach a brash fantastical comedy from. The character arc at the centre of the story is satisfying, and Cates brings an undeniable warmth to her down-trodden hero that makes it impossible not to root for her. I appreciate the fact that the film doesn't make romance its main focus, instead remaining centred around its protagonist's inner journey and evolution into a fully-formed individual. Though an alternate romantic interest is included, he's never used as a measure of the central arc's success. Also, I'm super glad that Fred isn't turned into a love interest. So far, so good, right? Well, the problem with the piece is that it just isn't all that funny. A lot of this stems from the fact that Fred is just annoying, a loudmouth lord of chaos who flicks bogies and incessantly moans. I know that's kind of the point, but I think that his overbearingly unbearable nature is meant to be sort of endearing and it just isn't. Mayall does what's expected of him; in fact, he's generally good in the role. It's just that the character isn't all that great. I simply don't find Fred's pseudo gross-out, always loud, unapologetically over-the-top schtick funny. At the same time, it isn't especially unfunny. It's grating, but not unwatchable. It does work fairly well on occasion, with a few scenes being somewhat humorous, and it also feeds into the narrative generally well. Typically, it's fine. As is the overall affair. There are a couple of scenes that imply a wider imaginary friend mythos that I could've done without, but the rest is decent enough for what it is. Your mileage will vary depending on how humorous you find Fred. For me, this is an intermittently enjoyable and conceptually interesting affair, but it isn't exactly a side-splitting one.
Review of Drop Dead Fred
