History Fridge / DropDeadFred

*** It could have to do with the fact that Mickey (the little girl's father) isn't around that much. As said lower on this page, back in those days, it was hard for the Father to get custody of the child, so probably only has visitation rights. This would be fine, were it not for the fact that for the duration of the film, Mickey's been busy trying to help an old friend deal with the TraumaConga she's been going through. It's quite possible that now that Liz has dealt with her issues and Mickey has hinted at the possibility of being more-than-friends, Fred might move on to another child who needs his particular brand of life-enrichment. It could be that the little girl overheard her father talking about Liz and her imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred. With Mickey busy helping Liz with her self-esteem issues, his daughter "summoned" Drop Dead Fred in an attempt to bring daddy back to her. I can imagine Liz, recognising that Fred has found another "playmate", decides to find out what the problem is, all the while, dealing with Fred's indirect chaos, possibly by making Fred think that Liz can still see him.

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]
* How the heck did Mickey recognise Lizzie on sight after not seeing her in nearly 20 years (since they were "little kids" in his words)?
** Lizzie has a pretty distinct look with her dark eyes and long hair; it probably helps that she also still looks and dresses a little childishly at the start of the movie. We also don't know what Mickey means by 'little kids'.
* Nigel is set up to be the good parent as opposed to Elizabeth's controlling mother...and he simply walks out of her life? No mention of a custody battle (one that seem to be in his favour) and he walks out after Lizzie's mother tells him that he knows nothing about child-rearing, and he basically proves her right.
** Just because there was no mention of a custody battle doesn't mean that one never happened. Nigel would have had a lot working against him if he wanted sole custody of Lizzie. Back then it was a lot harder for fathers to have exclusive rights to their children, plus he had a police record thanks to Fred ''and'' Polly is extremely manipulative.
* At the psychologist's office, Fred sees a bunch of other imaginary friends, which no one else can see, including Lizzie, who is bewildered by his strange behaviour (even considering that this is Fred we're talking about). Simply put, Fred can see them and they can see him because they're all imaginary friends. Lizzie only sees Fred because he's the only imaginary friend that she knows exists, while the rest of the patients stopped believing in them a long time ago and thus no longer see them (or alternatively are just flat-out ignoring them). It's kinda like imaginary friends are on a separate plane of existence from humans (which makes sense, since they're imaginary) that can only be seen by a few people in a few cases.
** It could also be argued that the only imaginary friend you can see is your own. Which, if you've ever had an imaginary friend, you know is TruthInTelevision.
** Or those are Fred's imaginary friends.
*** Fred's just reuniting with old "work colleagues". He has been out of the game for nearly 20 years at that point. You'd probably do the same thing if you met old work-friends after a long separation.
* How did Fred switch places with the violinist Lizzie attacked?
** Certainly gives more fuel to the whole schizo/hallucination theory...
** This is the peak of Elizabeth's mental break caused by the series of events at the beginning and having to live with her mother again. You could also argue Mickey himself helped cause her break because he reminded her of her childhood coping mechanism - Fred. Instead of her date with Mickey going well, he appears to be mentally unstable himself (or at least suffering mentally because of his divorce). He sets her off worse than ever so Fred goes particularly out of control. Note Liz/Fred throws the dinner at the woman Mickey says he used to date. Who the hell points out an ex-girlfriend on a first date?! So after the Mickey ordeal, she tries to calm herself down but finds herself attacking a woman. A big theme of the film is Elizabeth never feeling like a good enough woman and being forced into certain gender roles. Therefore, she lashes out at various women in different ways.
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* ''Drop Dead Fred'' is supposed to be a lighthearted comedy about a woman whose ImaginaryFriend from her childhood causes her mischief in an attempt to teach her to confront her childhood fears. However, with the many disturbing implications throughout the film, it could just as easily be about schizophrenia.

** That's not necessarily the case. The only time we see other imaginary friends besides Fred is when Lizzie's been taken to a child psychologist who specializes in treating "Imaginary Friend Syndrome", so of course those kids have problems, but it doesn't mean that ''all'' kids with imaginary friends do. I got the impression that imaginary friends only appear to kids who don't have real ones.

* How the heck did Mickey recognize Lizzie on sight after not seeing her in nearly 20 years (since they were "little kids" in his words)?

* Nigel is set up to be the good parent as opposed to Elizabeth's controlling mother...and he simply walks out of her life? No mention of a custody battle (one that seem to be in his favor) and he walks out after Lizzie's mother tells him that he knows nothing about child-rearing, and he basically proves her right.

* At the psychologist's office, Fred sees a bunch of other imaginary friends, which no one else can see, including Lizzie, who is bewildered by his strange behavior (even considering that this is Fred we're talking about). Simply put, Fred can see them and they can see him because they're all imaginary friends. Lizzie only sees Fred because he's the only imaginary friend that she knows exists, while the rest of the patients stopped believing in them a long time ago and thus no longer see them (or alternatively are just flat-out ignoring them). It's kinda like imaginary friends are on a separate plane of existence from humans (which makes sense, since they're imaginary) that can only be seen by a few people in a few cases.

** This is the peak of Elizabeth's mental break caused by the series of events at the beginning and having to live with her mother again. You could also argue Mickey himself helped cause her break because he reminds her of her childhood coping mechanism - Fred. Instead of her date with Mickey going well, he appears to be mentally unstable himself (or at least suffering mentally because of his divorce). He sets her off worse than ever so Fred goes particularly out of control. Note Liz/Fred throws the dinner at the woman Mickey says he used to date. Who the hell points out an ex-girlfriend on a first date?! So after the Mickey ordeal, she tries to calm herself down but finds herself attacking a woman. A big theme of the film is Elizabeth never feeling like a good enough woman and being forced into certain gender roles. Therefore, she lashes out at various women in different ways.

* ''DropDeadFred'' is supposed to be a lighthearted comedy about a woman whose ImaginaryFriend from her childhood causes her mischief in an attempt to teach her to confront her childhood fears. However, with the many disturbing implications throughout the film, it could just as easily be about schizophrenia.

** Just because there was no mention of a custody battle doesn't mean that one happened. Nigel would of had a lot working against him if he wanted sole custody of Lizzie. Back then it was a lot harder for fathers to have exclusive rights to their children, he had a police record thanks to Fred, ''and'' Polly is extremely manipulative.

** Or those are Fred's imaginary friends.

** It could also be argued that the only imaginary friend you can see is your own. Which, if you've ever had an imaginary friend, you know is TruthInTelevision.

* For all its other problems, this movie does do a magnificent job of delving into the mind of a child. Children see the world in black and white terms, which is part of the reason KidsAreCruel, and can often manifest horrific revenge plots against tormentors. It makes sense that little Lizzy would create these fantasies with such an unloving mother. Further, younger children don't understand that death is permanent. To them, it could be a more extreme version of being grounded. This could explain why, from an adult's point of view, Fred is a horrific persona bourdering on a psychopath.

* At the psychologist's office, Fred sees a bunch of other imaginary friends, which no one else can see, including Lizzie, who is bewildered by his strange behavior (even considering that this is Fred we're talking about). Simply put, Fred can see them and they can see him because they're all imaginary friends. Lizzie only sees Fred because he's the only imaginary friend that she knows exists, while the rest of the patients stopped believing in them a long time ago and thus no longer see them (or alternatively are just flat-out ignoring them). It's kinda like imaginary friends are on a separate plane of existence from humans (which makes sense, since they're imaginary) that can only be seen by a few people in a few cases.

* For all its other problems, this movie does do a magnificent job of delving into the mind of a child. Children see the world in black and white terms, which is part of the reason KidsAreCruel, and can often manifest horrific revenge plots against tormentors. It makes sense that little Lizzy would create these fantasies with such an unloving mother. Further, younger children don't understand that death is permanent. To them, it could be a more extreem version of being grounded. This could explain why, from an adult's point of view, Fred is a horrific persona bourdering on a psychopath.

* For all it's other problems, this movie does do a magnificent job of delving into the mind of a child. Children see the world in black and white terms, which is part of the reason KidsAreCruel, and can often manifest horrific revenge plots against tormentors. It makes sense that little Lizzy would create these fantasies with such an unloving mother. Further, younger children don't understand that death is permanent. To them, it could be a more extreem version of being grounded. This could explain why, from an adult's point of view, Fred is a horrific persona bourdering on a psychopath.

* At the psychologist's office, Fred sees a bunch of other imaginary friends, which no one else can see, including Lizzie, who is bewildered by his strange behavior (even considering that this is Fred we're talking about). Walker and the other reviewers speculate about this for a short while before concluding it just makes no sense, but it does: simply put, Fred can see them and they can see him because they're all imaginary friends. Lizzie only sees Fred because he's the only imaginary friend that she knows exists, while the rest of the patients stopped believing in them a long time ago and thus no longer see them (or alternatively are just flat-out ignoring them). It's kinda like imaginary friends are on a separate plane of existence from humans (which makes sense, since they're imaginary) that can only be seen by a few people in a few cases.

* A good question raised by TheNostalgiaCritic: How the heck did Mickey recognize Lizzie on sight after not seeing her in nearly 20 years (since they were "little kids" in his words)?

* Another one brought up by Nostalgia Critic and company. At the psychologist's office, Fred sees a bunch of other imaginary friends, which no one else can see, including Lizzie, who is bewildered by his strange behavior (even considering that this is Fred we're talking about). Walker and the other reviewers speculate about this for a short while before concluding it just makes no sense, but it does: simply put, Fred can see them and they can see him because they're all imaginary friends. Lizzie only sees Fred because he's the only imaginary friend that she knows exists, while the rest of the patients stopped believing in them a long time ago and thus no longer see them (or alternatively are just flat-out ignoring them). It's kinda like imaginary friends are on a separate plane of existence from humans (which makes sense, since they're imaginary) that can only be seen by a few people in a few cases.

* Nigel is set up to be the good parent as opposed to Elizabeth's controlling mother...and he simply walks out of her life? No mention of a custody battle (one that seem to be in his favor) and he walks out after Lizzie's mother tells him that he knows nothing about child-rearing, and he basically proves her right.

* A good question raised by TheNostalgiaCritic: How the heck did Mickey recognize Lizzie on sight after not seeing her in nearly 20 years (since they were "little kids" in his words)?

* A good question raised by TheNostalgiaCritic: How the heck did Mickey recognize Lizzie on sight after not seeing her in nearly 20 years?

*** Considering the babysitter looks like a stereotypical matronly 50s housewife, I think it's safe to say the little girl at the end is having the same problems Liz had with her own mother trying to force her to be a certain way when really these girls just want to be kids and have fun, not be obedient good little girls.

*** Considering the babysitter looks like a stereotypical matronly 50s housewife, I think it's safe to say the little girl at the end is having the same problems Liz had with her own mother trying to force her to be a certain way when really these girls just want to be little kids not good little girls.

** That's not necessarily the case. The only time we see other imaginary friends besides Fred is when Lizzie's been taken to a child psychologist who specializes in treating "Imaginary Friend Syndrome", so of course those kids have problems, but it doesn't mean that ''all'' kids with imaginary friends do. I got the impression that imaginary friends only appear to kids who don't have real ones.

* It's pretty much shown that the imaginary friends only appear to children who are deeply unhappy. At the end of the movie Fred is shown to now be the imaginary friend of Lizzie's new guy's daughter, indicating said daughter is deeply unhappy.

* It's pretty much shown that the imaginary friends only appear to children who are deeply unhappy. At the end of the movie Fred is shown to now be the imaginary friend of Lizzie's new guy's daught, indicating said daughter is deeply unhappy.