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Drop Dead Fred

Play trailer 2:08 Poster for Drop Dead Fred PG-13 1991 1h 43m Fantasy Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
11% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
An unhappy housewife (Phoebe Cates) gets a lift from the return of her imaginary childhood friend, Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall).

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Drop Dead Fred

Drop Dead Fred

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Critics Consensus

Tackling mature themes with an infantile sensibility, Drop Dead Fred is an ill-conceived family comedy that is more likely to stir up a headache than the imagination.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael Wilmington Los Angeles Times 05/05/2014
Drop Dead Fred is an erratic stab at making madness sensible, a slapstick nightmare that goes too sane, that tries too hard to be both good and rotten. Go to Full Review Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune 05/05/2014
0/4
This is easily one of the worst films I've ever seen. Go to Full Review Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer 05/05/2014
1.5/4
The episodic flashbacks are cast in an unfunny Freudian light -- domineering mother, helpless hubby, the tragically withdrawn child. What a laugh riot! Go to Full Review Tony Black Cultural Conversation 02/16/2021
2/5
The crucial problem of course is that for a comedy, it's not really very funny. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 09/11/2020
5/10
Fred is a particularly crass, unappealing imaginary friend, going out of his way to stir up trouble more than engaging in fun activities. Go to Full Review Jorge Loser Espinof 08/11/2020
3.5/5
A fantastic cult comedy. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Briana I. @Anaire May 8 Dumbest movie I've ever seen, and impossible to finish. Fred was intolerant to watch and everything else about the film was painfully bad. See more Tom O. @ruthlessontogeny Apr 19 Literally the worst movie that I have ever seen. I happened upon it one day on TV and was mesmerized by just how bad it was. I kept expecting it to rise to just awful, thinking that a movie couldn’t actually be this bad. But it ended just as horridly as every minute before it. Absolutely my yardstick for movies that humanity should be ashamed of. See more MEHSTER B. @MehsterBaiter Apr 17 Is Fred annoying? Yes. But he is supposed to be annoying. Does every joke land? No. Because you're likely not a small child who thinks boogars are hilarious. But it is still an awesome movie. One that i watched decades ago and enjoyed and will still happily watch today. The 11% rating is shocking low for this film. I own it and love it. See more debz N @RT69840464 Mar 21 Excellent movie and shocked at the 11% rating on here!! This film has a huge fan base ❤️ See more Jax M. @movieIover2000 Mar 19 It was the best movie ever specifically from my childhood i saw the rating was an wopping 11% and i had to make a change because how can you rate this movie so low. Its funny, its sad. Its everything you could ever need in a movie See more Donald K. @djkidd_89 Dec 17 Favorite film from my childhood! Love it See more Read all reviews
Drop Dead Fred

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Ate de Jong

Director

Phoebe Cates

Elizabeth

Rik Mayall

Drop Dead Fred

Marsha Mason

Polly

Tim Matheson

Charles

Carrie Fisher

Janie

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Drop Dead Fred

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Drop Dead Fred

Drop Dead Fred (1991) Drop Dead Fred (1991) Drop Dead Fred (1991) Drop Dead Fred (1991) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis An unhappy housewife (Phoebe Cates) gets a lift from the return of her imaginary childhood friend, Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall).
Director
Ate de Jong
Producer
Paul Webster
Screenwriter
Elizabeth Livingston, Carlos Davis, Anthony Fingleton
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Fantasy, Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 19, 1991, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$13.9M
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround, Stereo
Aspect Ratio
35mm