Rik Mayall died recently. I had never heard of him before then, so I decided to watch a movie in which he starred. I determined that "Drop Dead Fred"'s point is that we all need some fun in our lives. True, a lot of the humor is pretty childish, but it's hard not to laugh at Fred's antics. Indeed, Elizabeth goes through a stark change in the course of the action.
If Phoebe Cates seems familiar, you may have seen her in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (remember the bikini scene?) and "Gremlins". She married Kevin Kline and retired from acting a few years later, although the entire family starred in "The Anniversary Party".
Overall, the movie sets out to entertain, and it succeeds. There needs to be a film festival for movies reminding us of the need to have fun. Aside from this one there would be "Zorba the Greek", "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" and "Chocolat".
