Review: Fletch

Chevy Chase stars as wise-arse Investigative Journalist Irwin M. Fletcher, AKA ‘Fletch’. He receives a business proposition one day from a wealthy businessman (Tim Matheson). He’s dying of cancer and will pay Fletch $50,000 to kill him. Suicide means his life insurance policy would be invalidated and Matheson wants to ensure his wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) is looked after. Fletch agrees, but starts to look into the millionaire’s life and realises there’s much more to Matheson and his proposal than meets the eye. Richard Libertini and Geena Davis are Fletch’s editor and co-worker, M. Emmet Walsh plays a doctor, George Wendt plays a beach drug dealer, William Sanderson works at a crappy motel, whilst James Avery and Joe Don Baker are corrupt lawmen, the latter the Chief of Police.

 

It’s a Chevy Chase starring vehicle, and one Chase himself apparently enjoyed because it allowed him to be ‘himself’. In other words, if you’re not a Chevy Chase fan, stay well away from this 1985 detective comedy from director Michael Ritchie (Underrated films like “The Couch Trip” and “Diggstown”, terrible films like “The Golden Child”). I’m quite a fan of Chase’s on-screen persona, and have always loved the film. Hell, I think the much maligned “Fletch Lives” is a rather underrated film too, if memory serves me correctly from my last viewing.

 

Immediately enjoyable are the opening song ‘Bit by Bit’ by Stephanie Mills, and Harold Faltermeyer delivering the second of his memorable synth-pop music scores after the iconic “Beverly Hills Cop”. It’s simple, repetitive, but catchy as hell. I haven’t read the original text, but author Gregory McDonald (no relation to my late father) approved the casting of Chevy Chase in the lead, and for me he’s perfect as an investigative reporter and full-time smart-arse. Later employed by Kevin Costner’s character in the otherwise serious “The Bodyguard”, Chase’s Fletch has a great running gag where he gives people a series of fake names – Ted Nugent, G. Gordon Liddy, even Babar. It’s funny though, that the character’s real name – Irwin M. Fletcher – is also funny: I.M. Fletch/I Am Fletch. For me, the first “Vacation” is Chase’s best film, but as much as I love the iconic Clark W. Griswold, there’s no doubt that I.M. Fletch is a role that fits Chase’s brand of humour like a glove (His laidback golfer in “Caddyshack” was also seemingly tailor-made for him). He’s all flippant, all the time. For some people that’s an irritant, for me it’s frequently hilarious. Just look at Fletch’s visit to a local doctor, played by the great character actor M. Emmet Walsh. He gets an amusingly uncomfortable rectal examination, as well as dropping two of his funniest aliases; The aforementioned Babar (and yes, someone brings up the elephant in the room), and the priceless ‘Dr. Rosenpenis’. I know it’s not very creative, I know I shouldn’t have laughed at it, but Lord help me I found it hysterical. Perhaps it’s the lack of creativity that I actually found funny. I have no doubt Chase was given free rein here to improvise a lot of the schtick, and there’s too many funny aliases and one-liners to list here.

 

Although leading lady Dana Wheeler-Nicholson and the always bland Tim Matheson aren’t exactly stellar, the supporting cast here is outstanding. In addition to Walsh, we get shabby little runt character actor William Sanderson, a solidly menacing Joe Don Baker as a corrupt lawman, a pre-“Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” James Avery as another corrupt cop, and a fun cameo by smiling Burton Gilliam as an aeroplane mechanic. The two best performances beyond Chase come from Richard Libertini as the exasperated editor, and a young Geena Davis as Fletch’s flirty co-worker. Admittedly, the one element of the film that perhaps does date it beyond the soundtrack is that flirty relationship between Fletch and Davis’ character. It’s a sure-fire sexual harassment suit waiting to happen if this were done today. Still, Davis is immensely likeable in the part. The central mystery isn’t mysterious given the amount of screen time the obvious culprit is absent for, so that’s a shame. However, this is a comedy first and foremost, so that’s hardly the biggest sin in the world.

 

You either laugh at Chevy Chase’s brand of deadpan detachment and glib sarcasm, or it’s a massive turn-off. I laughed. A lot. It’s not the equal of “Vacation” or “Spies Like Us”, but it’s great fun nonetheless from a time when Chase was still making funny films. The screenplay is attributed to Andrew Bergman (“Blazing Saddles”, the disappointing “Honeymoon in Vegas”) from the McDonald novel, but one suspects Chase’s dialogue was frequently his own creation.  

 

Rating: A-