TGC presents: Drop Dead Fred (1991)

4:00pm, Saturday 20 November 2021

Ballarat Trades Hall, 24 Camp Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350 (map)

Tickets: $15 / $10 concession - available online and on the door

He makes the trouble, she takes the blame. Let Him Out!

Hello Snotfaces! What do you get if you cross Mary Poppins and Beetlejuice? Drop Dead Fred!

Join us for a zany afternoon screening of this nostalgia-fest classic, filled with slapstick violence, gross-out comedy, and psychological oddities.... A film that repelled the distributors so much, they tried to sell it off at the last minute.

Despite being described as "a children's movie on drugs" and critically panned, this film is a beloved childhood classic for many, hollowing out a big space in our hearts for stars Rik Mayall and Phoebe Cates. So how could we not screen it on the 30th anniversary of its release?

C’mon and grab your mud pies and your weird familial complexes and join us for an afternoon at the movies and DROP DEAD FRED!

Please note: QR check-in and proof of covid vaccination/exemption via the Services Victoria app are required to attend this event

Film synopsis

Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall) is Elizabeth's (Phoebe Cates) happy, anarchic, and mischievous imaginary friend and nemesis of her overbearing mother Polly (Marsha Mason).

He causes chaos around her home and neighborhood, but nobody can see him except her.

When she grows up and has an emotional crisis, he returns to "cheer her up" in his own unique way, causing more chaos than ever before.

Also stars: Carrie Fisher, Ron Eldard, Tim Matheson, and Bridget Fonda.

What the critics say…

“This is easily one of the worst films I've ever seen.” | Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune

“From the first surprising obscenity from a little girl's mouth in the pre-credits sequence and the magnificently gruesome title graphics, Drop Dead Fred is a unique, unsettling, startling, invigorating film. If anything, the fact that it snuck into cinemas so unceremoniously only increases its subversive aura.” | Adrian Martin, Film Critic

“As with so many true cult classics, it was utterly unmarketable, but that is not to say that it is unremarkable – not by any stretch of the imagination.” | Mark Harrison, Den of Geek UK

“There is scarcely a laugh to be had unless you are six years old or immoderately fond of such wheezes as depositing dog poop on a white carpet.” | Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine

“It's obnoxious, crass, gross, and firmly dated in the early 1990s. But in spite of (or because of) this, Drop Dead Fred is a hilariously juvenile comedy that also tries to show the importance and value in being true to yourself…” | Commonsense Media

“Drop Dead Fred is a movie for people who like the sound of fingernails on blackboards and the feel of a drill bearing into a bicuspid.” | Johanna Steinmetz, Chicago Tribune

Cast

Phoebe Cates | Elizabeth

Rik Mayall | Drop Dead Fred

Marsha Mason| Polly

Tim Matheson | Charles

Carrie Fisher | Janie

Keith Charles | Murray

Ashley Peldon | Young Elizabeth

Daniel Gerroll | Nigel

Ron Eldard | Mickey Bunce

Peter Breitmayer | Go to Hell Herman

Clark Niederjohn | Velcro Head

Tom Bethke | Graggy

Elizabeth Gray | Namby Pamby

"Hello, snotface. Yuck! What happened to you? You're all older, you're even uglier!
Look, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to be sick all over you, immediately. Lie down."

| Drop Dead Fred