Drop Dead Fred

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.

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

The episodic flashbacks are cast in an unfunny Freudian light -- domineering mother, helpless hubby, the tragically withdrawn child.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

That any of it, however, should suddenly, melodramatically lead to Elizabeth learning to assert herself is, to say the least, unpersuasive.

The movie is no comic masterpiece, but it is consistently amusing in a way that sometimes reminded me of a kiddie picture and at other times of a more sophisticated comedy.

It tries too hard to mimic Beetlejuice, especially in British comic Rik Mayall's frantic performance as the title character -- Mayall is no Michael Keaton -- but it has a whimsical comic energy.

The crucial problem of course is that for a comedy, it's not really very funny.

Fred is a particularly crass, unappealing imaginary friend, going out of his way to stir up trouble more than engaging in fun activities.

A fantastic cult comedy. [Full Review in Spanish]

It's rare that a movie so cleverly conceived is so poorly executed.