Fletch
1985
Cast: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Geena Davis, Larry ''Trash'' Jenkins, George Wendt, James Avery
Genre: Comedy Action-Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $59 million
Plot: A veritable chameleon, investigative reporter Irwin ''Fletch'' Fletcher (Chevy Chase) might drive his editor (Richard Libertini) up the wall, but he always produces great pieces for the newspaper. When his next story is about the drug trade taking place on the beach, Fletch goes undercover as a homeless man. Unaware of Fletch's true identity, businessman Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the story behind the offer
'Objectively, Fletch Is Good As An Investigative Movie, Subjectively, However, It Is Not Highly Amusing As A Comedy'
As an undercover investigative journalist, Irwin W. Fletcher aka Fletch looks into local drug trafficking on L.A beaches- only to find himself getting caught up in police corruption, insurance fraud, embezzlement in this feature-length adaptation of Gregory Macdonald's novel.
The humour in this film isn't low brow as say in a classic Robin Williams or Jim Carrey movie - it's more on the lines of Steve Martin or Bill Murray's Caddyshack: quick-witted, deadpan and you have to listen to the line or watch the gags, in order to get the joke. Therefore, it was difficult to understand some of the humour as I'm not usually familiar with Chevy's brand of deadpan comedy, which is heavily reliant on one-liners and so, many of them do go over my head.
There are some interesting early appearances by Geena Davis - who puts in a good performance and the late James Avery from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as one of the cops. The supporting cast is just as effective in this movie as the lead star, and they all lend themselves very well and have the ability to bounce off Chase as their characters.
There are scenes of him donning amusing disguises such as Fletch with the Afro as an L.A Lakers basketball player & faking his way into a hospital as a surgeon, as he tries to dig out information for his scoop; a source for the majority of the film's humour and the so-called action sequences are done well.
As a standalone investigative mystery movie, Fletch succeeds much better as the former, as opposed to the latter as a comedy. The mystery was a tad more intriguing than the lack of comedy in Fletch. I know I'm the minority when I say as I watched this movie, I was hoping it was going to be similar to The Three Amigos when it came to the comedy aspect. But with Fletch, that is not the case. It is a very hit-and-miss affair altogether. Objectively, when it tries to function as a straight-up mystery film, Fletch is very effective in that department. There are 2 or 3 scenes that illustrate this point well. Yet subjectively, when it tries to be naturally comedic, it doesn't always work well.
The impression I was getting as I was watching Fletch is that it feels more like a version of Beverly Hills Cop - minus Eddie Murphy's wisecracks (and thanks to the Harold Faltermeyer's '80s electro score) and a lot less like National Lampoon's National Vacation. Had Fletch been more like a farce comedy or a parody of akin to Naked Gun, I'd probably enjoy it more. It would have done the movie a huge service by also showcasing some of Chevy's line of classic SNL comedy.
But Fletch is so '80s and whilst it is a good vehicle for Chase to entertain with his brand of witty humour, with a different comedic actor, such as Eddie Murphy or even Robin Williams, Fletch would probably and might have elicited more off-the-wall laughs.
Final Verdict:
Over 30 years on, it still holds up well to this day.
I would for the record go on to say Fletch is more of an acquired taste and if you are a fan of Chevy Chase, you'd enjoy it even more. The film is uneven in places, particularly with the humour - though I guess you need to get by the dry wit but still, it is pretty good as an outright mystery film. Compared to my other favourite Michael Ritchie movies, The Survivors and Wildcats, comedy-wise, I don't enjoy it as much as it plays things too straight, but with everything else, Fletch is just as good.
Overall:
1985
Cast: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Geena Davis, Larry ''Trash'' Jenkins, George Wendt, James Avery
Genre: Comedy Action-Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $59 million
Plot: A veritable chameleon, investigative reporter Irwin ''Fletch'' Fletcher (Chevy Chase) might drive his editor (Richard Libertini) up the wall, but he always produces great pieces for the newspaper. When his next story is about the drug trade taking place on the beach, Fletch goes undercover as a homeless man. Unaware of Fletch's true identity, businessman Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the story behind the offer
'Objectively, Fletch Is Good As An Investigative Movie, Subjectively, However, It Is Not Highly Amusing As A Comedy'
As an undercover investigative journalist, Irwin W. Fletcher aka Fletch looks into local drug trafficking on L.A beaches- only to find himself getting caught up in police corruption, insurance fraud, embezzlement in this feature-length adaptation of Gregory Macdonald's novel.
The humour in this film isn't low brow as say in a classic Robin Williams or Jim Carrey movie - it's more on the lines of Steve Martin or Bill Murray's Caddyshack: quick-witted, deadpan and you have to listen to the line or watch the gags, in order to get the joke. Therefore, it was difficult to understand some of the humour as I'm not usually familiar with Chevy's brand of deadpan comedy, which is heavily reliant on one-liners and so, many of them do go over my head.
There are some interesting early appearances by Geena Davis - who puts in a good performance and the late James Avery from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as one of the cops. The supporting cast is just as effective in this movie as the lead star, and they all lend themselves very well and have the ability to bounce off Chase as their characters.
There are scenes of him donning amusing disguises such as Fletch with the Afro as an L.A Lakers basketball player & faking his way into a hospital as a surgeon, as he tries to dig out information for his scoop; a source for the majority of the film's humour and the so-called action sequences are done well.
As a standalone investigative mystery movie, Fletch succeeds much better as the former, as opposed to the latter as a comedy. The mystery was a tad more intriguing than the lack of comedy in Fletch. I know I'm the minority when I say as I watched this movie, I was hoping it was going to be similar to The Three Amigos when it came to the comedy aspect. But with Fletch, that is not the case. It is a very hit-and-miss affair altogether. Objectively, when it tries to function as a straight-up mystery film, Fletch is very effective in that department. There are 2 or 3 scenes that illustrate this point well. Yet subjectively, when it tries to be naturally comedic, it doesn't always work well.
The impression I was getting as I was watching Fletch is that it feels more like a version of Beverly Hills Cop - minus Eddie Murphy's wisecracks (and thanks to the Harold Faltermeyer's '80s electro score) and a lot less like National Lampoon's National Vacation. Had Fletch been more like a farce comedy or a parody of akin to Naked Gun, I'd probably enjoy it more. It would have done the movie a huge service by also showcasing some of Chevy's line of classic SNL comedy.
But Fletch is so '80s and whilst it is a good vehicle for Chase to entertain with his brand of witty humour, with a different comedic actor, such as Eddie Murphy or even Robin Williams, Fletch would probably and might have elicited more off-the-wall laughs.
Final Verdict:
Over 30 years on, it still holds up well to this day.
I would for the record go on to say Fletch is more of an acquired taste and if you are a fan of Chevy Chase, you'd enjoy it even more. The film is uneven in places, particularly with the humour - though I guess you need to get by the dry wit but still, it is pretty good as an outright mystery film. Compared to my other favourite Michael Ritchie movies, The Survivors and Wildcats, comedy-wise, I don't enjoy it as much as it plays things too straight, but with everything else, Fletch is just as good.
Overall:
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