I
originally saw this in my late teens. A few years ago, it started getting good
play on cable, and I rediscovered this treasure.
The premise has a really interesting idea; what happens when you’re a grown
woman, in the middle of a particularly trying point in your life, and you’re
imaginary friend suddenly reappears? That’s what happens to Elizabeth, in this
wonderful little fantasy for children and adults alike. What surprised me most
by the other comments I’ve read on this film were things about Elizabeth's
emotional state. She's not nuts, and she's not delusional. Just because her
mother mistakes Fred (the imaginary friend) for a psychological problem doesn't
mean she's right. That's the whole point. While we might have some questions in
the beginning, by the end it's quite clear that Fred is real. This is a fantasy
after all.
Elizabeth is such a sweet child, it's a shame her father never gets a backbone
to stand up to her mother. That's the one thing I didn't like about the story.
It would seem her father simply abandoned them, which you wouldn't believe
based on the sweet caring man they depict him to be. I've always adored Marsha
Mason (playing Elizabeth’s mother), and it was hard to see her as such a cold
manipulative woman. You can see underneath, at least at the end, that she has
her own issues that cause her to treat her daughter as an adversary. But it's
hard to forgive.
Ryk Mayall is hilarious! He's an absolute gem, and I really wish we would see
him in more mainstream movies so I could view his talent without video hunting.
He is brilliant in the physical comedy and a riot, even when his jokes aren't
all that funny. He also shows some truly tender moments. He reminds one of a
teacher, who really loves a student with emotionally inept parents. He's
supposed to be showing Elizabeth what's wrong with her life, making her wake up
to the shell of a person she's become, but you can see what he really wants to
do is hold her, kiss the top of her head, and tell her it'll all be alright and
that (at least) he loves her.
Phoebe Cates turns in one of the best performances (second only to Shag) of her
career. She plays the vulnerable young woman, who's been cowed by her mother
and squashed by her husband, with realism and depth. You can understand her
attachment to her philandering spouse (cleverly portrayed by Tim Matheson) when
you recognize that she just desperately wants to be loved by someone. But after
being; abandoned by her father (and seemingly Fred), emotionally battered by her
mother, and losing her only other real friend (Ron Eldard is particularly
charming in this bit) as a child; who wouldn't cling to any shred of love they
can get?
While this movie is funny and energetic, it's at the end it really pays off for
the grownups. Elizabeth comes to terms with the fact that her husband really
doesn't care, that she can live her life without the approval or permission of
her mother, and that she'll never really be happy until she regains the inner
child her mother stole from her. The dream sequence, where Fred helps her step
back and face all this is really interesting. I particularly love the metaphor
of unwrapping the young Elizabeth from the bed, where she's trapped by the same
masking tape her mother used to lock Fred in the Jack-in-the-Box, in
Elizabeth’s early years. The final moment of Fred's departure, with a warm kiss
and hug, is heartbreaking but fitting. And closing the film with Fred continuing
his efforts by befriending Mickey's (Ron Eldar’s character) daughter proves
the whole point, that Fred is very real and that the imaginary friends in this
story have a real purpose. They are there to help children in need in the only
way kids really can be helped, with fun.
© CleverTitania.com 2009
