Thoughts on Fletch

via IMDB

"Are you always this forward?"

"Only with wet, married women."

This September will mark my fifth anniversary as a daily reporter. For those of you who haven't heard me either rant, whine or speak excitedly about what that entails, I'll explain. For those who have heard the song and dance, I'll be brief. 

I write two articles a day, 10 articles a week. To keep my sanity, one is the alpha (longer) and one is the beta (shorter). In addition to my daily work, I contribute to special sections and our quarterly magazine. I often but not always assign my own pieces, edit my own copy and take my own photos. I didn't know a thing about photography when I started and some days, I think I know less. Our pages are designed in Arizona, meaning me, my colleague and my colleague-editor's primary duties in the past year have been reporting and data entry. For the most part, we're talking about the sitcom approach to reporting, 3-4 people sharing an office and doing it all. I never have the same day twice.

Watching Fletch, where investigative reporter-columnist Chevy Chase was able to devote a workweek to what turned out to be one article, I was jealous. On the other hand, I have to give Fletch credit for spending most of his time on the job.

"You know, it's a shame about Ed."

"Oh, it was. Yeah, it was really a shame. To go suddenly like that."

"He was dying for years."

"Sure, but ... the end was very ... very sudden."

"He was in intensive care for eight weeks."

"Yeah, but I mean the very end, when he actually died. That was extremely sudden."

Investigating the drug trade on L.A.'s beaches, Fletch is interrupted by Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson). Claiming to be terminally ill, Stanwyk offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him. It's part of a plot ostensibly intended to benefit Gail Stanwyk (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson). Fletch uncovers everything from the fact that Stanwyk doesn't have cancer to the real nature of his visits to and from Provo, Utah (and elsewhere) to why power tripping isn't the only reason Police Chief Karlin (Joe Don Baker) is an evil asshole. 

Last year, in the comments of my Fletch Lives review, I said Chase's stardom peaked between 1975-1985. He's had hits since then, but whatever made him so appealing in the first place is either diluted or gone. This happens to a lot of funny people, but what's sad is that I feel like Chevy missed a natural turn in the road. Fletch is a comedy, but it's one that seems to be more character-driven rather than playing for big laughs. A few more movies in this vein and Chase might have had a later career to rival Steve Martin or Bill Murray's. 

Directed by Michael Ritchie, Fletch was adapted from Gregory McDonald's novel by Andrew Bergman (and an uncredited Phil Alden Robinson). I was impressed by the movie's combination of wit and intrigue. That said, I'm not sure if Fletch can be watched multiple times. Stanwyk's scheme is so neat and orderly, it's hard to get excited when it's exposed.

"If you shoot me, you're liable to lose a lot of those humanitarian awards."

Fletch might not depend on broad comedy, but that doesn't mean it's avoided. As the movie progresses, he assumes the identities of everybody from a yokel repairman to a rollerskating holy man-type. Fletch also dreams he's one of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's teammates on the Lakers, complete with afro. Few of these moments have a payoff -- I guess the closest is when Fletch interrupts the dinner for Fred "The Dorf" Dorfman and manages to evade the police -- but it's not like any of the disguises are problematic.

I think my biggest problem with Fletch is that despite an interesting ensemble, it's too often a one-man show. I thought Chase had more chemistry with Geena Davis, who played "Larry" the researcher, rather than Wheeler-Nicholson. And even then, Chase and Davis don't even get a good scene together. Chase and Wheeler-Nicholson have at least two: Fletch attempting to teach Gail tennis, plus when he comes clean about what he's uncovered so far about Stanwyk.

This might go back to the novel, but I'm surprised that Stanwyk/Matheson and Karlin/Baker didn't have bigger roles. They're just as important as Chase/Fletch on the whole, but in terms of screen time, it's an unfair fight. Besides Davis, the supporting cast has talented actors like Richard Libertini (as Fletch's editor), M. Emmet Walsh (who gives Fletch the papa of all prostate exams), George Wyner (as the attorney for Fletch's ex-wife) and George Wendt (as "Fat Sammy").

It's often fun watching reporting, my bread and butter, depicted on screen. A professional explores every angle and isn't afraid of spontaneity. "Jane Doe" doesn't disappoint and neither does Fletch.

"Can I get you something?

"Do you have the Beatles' White Album? ... Never mind. Get me a glass of hot fat. And bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia."

Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- "We'll start with some routine things. You and your wife are currently alive, I take it?"

-- Box Office: Grossing $50.6 million on an $8 million budget, this opened at No. 2 and came in at No. 12 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner: "Smart, deadpan dry and funny -- most of the time, when it's not being faintly superior," wrote Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times. Vincent Canby: "An enjoyable paperback of a film, a lightweight, breezy experience that, by never pretending to be anything more than what it is, disarms criticism." People: "Although it possesses the smart-mouth sensibility of a hipster comedy, Fletch is really a comic strip with a Dynasty twist." Variety: "(Chase and Ritchie turn) an otherwise hair-pinned, anecdotal plot into a breezy, peppy frolic and a tour de force for Chase."

-- Critic's Corner, Chase: You either love him or hate him, and the critics seemed to be in the latter camp. "Whenever the movie threatens to work, there's Chevy Chase with his monotone, deadpan cynicism, distancing himself from the material," Roger Ebert wrote. Gene Siskel headlined his review with the hilariously patronizing headline, "At long last, Chevy Chase film is funny." "The movie is really nothing but a star turn for Chase, who is required to be laid-back, deft, and, regrettably, more clever than anybody else," Pauline Kael wrote. (For what it's worth, Pauline also used "breezy" to describe the movie.) David Denby: "Fundamentally lazy and self-satisfied, Chevy Chase is less an actor than a narcissistic show-off, and the movie is defined by his limits."
-- Fanservice Junction: If there's one constant of the Fletch movies, it's that Chevy liked showing off his legs. According to Matheson, this was Chase's first movie after getting off drugs. He was 40 during filming and looked pretty good, even if the arms were a bit scrawny.

-- Awards Watch: Like Blood Simple (and Jagged Edge, which we'll be watching in the fall), this lost the Edgar Award for mysteries to Witness.

-- "I bumped into Alan this morning. You know what I can't figure out?" "Alan's in Utah." "I can't figure out what I was doing in Utah this morning."
-- Didja Notice?: Fletch appears to have a copy of Olivia Newton-John's Let Me Be There album.

-- Memorable Music: The score's at 20-13 in favor of songs written for movies. Fletch provided two entrants. "Bit By Bit," sung by Stephanie Mills, peaked at No. 78 in July 1985. Listen for Mills pulling a Vanity and whisper-snarling a few lines near the end.

"Get Outta Town," co-written and sung by Dan Hartman, failed to chart. And after Chevy appeared in the music video, too ...

Videos courtesy of YouTube

-- Hey, It's 2020!: In light of George Floyd's death this week, I felt uncomfortable watching Gummy get manhandled by a cop, not to mention Fletch repeatedly mentioning he's defenseless. Karlin and his goons are also way too eager to threaten violence against Fletch.
-- Hey, It's ...!: William Sanderson, James Avery and Beau Starr, to name a few. I have to single out Irene Olga López, playing a maid for the second time in May 1985. She previously played Rosario in Gotcha! And Bill Henderson appeared in another 1985 cult mystery comedy, Clue.

-- "Look! Defenseless babies!"

-- Next Weekend: The Goonies, Perfect. On deck: Prizzi's Honor. Coming soon: Cocoon, Return to Oz.