Drop Dead Fred

Elizabeth has lost her job and her husband, and she moves back into her mother's home. There she is reunited with Fred, the imaginary friend from her childhood, who returns to cause chaos in her life. Fred is invisible to everyone but Elizabeth, so the disruptions he creates are blamed on her alone. The film follows their reunion as the disorder he brings collides with her attempts to sort out her circumstances and her relationship with her controlling mother.

Ate de Jong directed this 1991 release, which followed his earlier Highway to Hell the same year; his next credited feature arrived much later, in 2025. The screenplay is by Carlos Davis and Anthony Fingleton, and Paul Webster produced. Phoebe Cates plays Elizabeth, Rik Mayall plays Fred, and Marsha Mason, Tim Matheson, Carrie Fisher and Keith Charles appear in supporting roles. The film runs 99 minutes and mixes comedy, drama, family and fantasy, made by British and American companies including PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Film4 Productions, New Line Cinema and Working Title Films.

On a budget of 7 million dollars, it took about 14 million dollars worldwide. Audience scores sit in the middle range: on IMDb it holds 5.9 out of 10 from over 30,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 5.8 out of 10 from roughly 400 votes. A critics' rating of 4.1 out of 10 from 37 reviews places it lower than both audience scores.