Fletch (series)

Meet the only guy who changes his identity more often than his underwear

FLETCH (PG)

D: Michael Ritchie

Universal (Alan Greisman & Peter Douglas)

USA 🇺🇸 1985

96 mins

Comedy/Mystery

W: Andrew Bergman [based on the novel by Gregory McDonald]

DP: Fred Schuler

Ed: Richard A. Harris

Mus: Harold Faltermeyer

Chevy Chase (Irwin M. Fletcher), Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (Gail Stanwyck), Tim Matheson (Alan Stanwyck), Joe Don Baker (Chief Jerry), Richard Libertini (Frank Walker), Geena Davis (Larry)

Chevy Chase plays journalist Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher, who goes undercover as a drifter to find out more about a beachfront drug-dealing operation. Whilst undercover, he is approached by a playboy who, claiming he has a terminal illness, hires him for his own murder, so his wife can benefit from an inheritance that a suicide won't cover.

Wrought with suspicion, Fletch does his own digging into the matter, aided by a number of disguises, and discovers a link between his two investigations.

The film is very much tailored for Chase's persona, so the enjoyment factor depends heavily on whether or not you like the actor. Those who do are treated to his best screen performance, giving comedy value to practically every line the script asks him to deliver with an almost deadpan humour style. 1980's guilty pleasure stuff.

7/10

FLETCH LIVES (PG)

D: Michael Ritchie

Universal (Alan Greisman & Peter Douglas)

USA 🇺🇸 1988

95 mins

Comedy/Mystery

W: Leon Capetanos [based on characters created by Gregory McDonald]

DP: John McPherson

Ed: Richard A. Harris

Mus: Harold Faltermeyer

Chevy Chase (Irwin Fletcher), Hal Holbrook (Hamilton Johnson), Julianne Phillips (Becky Culpepper), R. Lee Ermey (Jimmy Lee Farmsworth), Randall 'Tex' Cobb (Ben Dover), Cleavon Little (Calculus Entropy)

Average sequel to Fletch, which sees the journalist investigating corruption in the Deep South after he inherits a home there.

The jokes aren't as funny in this follow up to the 1985 comedy, leaving a bare plot of Chevy Chase donning various disguises and doing his usual schtick, but sadly returning no real value for humour.

4/10

A dead body, a stolen Picasso, and this guy…

CONFESS, FLETCH (15)

D: Greg Mottola

Paramount / Miramax (Connie Tavel, Bill Block & Jon Hamm)

US 🇺🇸 2022

98 mins

Comedy

W: Greg Mottola & Zev Borow [based on the novel by Gregory McDonald]

DP: Sam Levy

Ed: Andy Keir

Mus: David Arnold

Jon Hamm (Irwin M. Fletcher), Roy Wood, Jr. (Sgt. Insp. Morris Monroe), Lorenza Izzo (Angela de Grazzi), Ayden Mayeri (Griz), Annie Mumolo (Eve), John Slattery (Frank Jaffe)

Following decades of development hell and nearly 40 years after the original film, Jon Hamm steps into the shoes of the character vacated by Chevy Chase in the 1985 film and its 1988 sequel, and it has to be said that he makes the role his own, even if the screenplay does let his fine comedic performance down.

The film opens with former investigative journalist discovering a dead body and subsequently becoming the main suspect in a murder case whilst conducting his own investigation into stolen art.

The film builds up a good amount of mystery and intrigue, balancing it with quirky one-liners and some physical comedy, but the final act falls apart with inconsistent humour that just becomes a little too silly.

It’s quite unfortunate that the film was deemed a flop and there’ll be no further sequels, as Jon Hamm fit the part well, even if I prefer Chevy’s take on the character on balance of all the films in the series.

5/10