- Location: Train from Boston to DC
- Ever wonder what would happen if Chevy Chase suddenly stepped in as a substitute for your favorite hard-boiled private eye? That's exactly the impression I got when I recently rewatched Fletch. Admittedly, Erwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chase) is a reporter instead of a gumshoe, but the potboiler plot and constant narration clearly evoke the work of the great detective novels and films. That said, one would hardly mistake Fletch himself for Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. After all, Fletch's disguises employ absurd devices like novelty teeth and roller skates. His aliases include names such as "John Cocktosin", "Harry S. Truman", and "Mr. Poon". I imagine you get the idea.
- The film's plot involves an undercover drug investigation that gets sidetracked when the wealthy Mr. Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) hires Fletch to commit a murder. Oddly enough, that murder is Stanwyk's own. Sensing a good story, Fletch insinuates himself into the life of Stanwyk's wife, Gail (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), as he tries to make sense of this bizarre situation. Eventually, his dual investigations lead him to cross paths with a veritable who's-who of 80's character actors, including Joe Don Baker, M. Emmet Walsh, George Wendt, Kenneth Mars, George Wyner, and William Sanderson. That terrific supporting cast is half of what makes Fletch enjoyable. The other half, of course, is Chase's inimitably quirky style. I can't imagine too many actors who would walk up to a nurse, identify themselves as Dr. RosenRosen uhh...make that Dr. Rosenpenis, drop a stack of file folders, and get me to laugh. Chevy Chase pulls it off, though, and that's why I like Fletch.
- Richard Libertini and a young Geena Davis played Fletch's newspaper colleagues.
- Soundtrack by Harold Faltermeyer.
