Drop Dead Fred

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2:08

Drop Dead Fred

PG-13

1991

1h 43m

Fantasy

Comedy

Drama

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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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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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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.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

05/05/2014

0/4

This is easily one of the worst films I've ever seen.

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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The episodic flashbacks are cast in an unfunny Freudian light -- domineering mother, helpless hubby, the tragically withdrawn child.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!

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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.

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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.

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Jorge Loser

Espinof

08/11/2020

3.5/5

A fantastic cult comedy. [Full Review in Spanish]

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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.

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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.

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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.

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debz N

@RT69840464 Mar 21

Excellent movie and shocked at the 11% rating on here!! This film has a huge fan base ❤️

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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

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Donald K.

@djkidd_89 Dec 17

Favorite film from my childhood! Love it

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Ate de Jong

Director

Phoebe Cates

Elizabeth

Rik Mayall

Drop Dead Fred

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Drop Dead Fred: Trailer 1

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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