Monday, July 27, 2009

Day 192: Fletch (1985) - Rank 3.5/5

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Chevy Chase playing Chevy Chase? Fine by me. In the case of "Fletch," Chase goes Peter Sellers by playing Chevy Chase in multiple roles. The antics begin when undercover reporter Fletch is picked up by an affluent individual named Alan Stanwyck (Tim Matheson). Stanwyck proposes to give $50,000 and a getaway ticket should he kill him. The notion of Stanwyck paying someone to kill him strikes Fletch as odd, so he investigates the situation in a number of disguises, eventually uncovering a whole drug trafficking ring, battling crooked cops (Joe Don Baker) and corrupt doctors (M.Emmett Walsh) along the way.

The story feels a little contrived at times, but I suppose that could be said by and Chase vehicle, from "Foul Play" to the National Lampoon's Vacation series. The movies exist as an opportunity for Chase to drop one-liners as readily as possible. I absolutely love the aforementioned films and feel that they excel beyond "Fletch's" realm. I do think that Chase has better material in those films, but I think another factor is that I grew up with those movies, so the humor became ingrained with nostalgia, making them seem funnier than they possibly are (but I think that's only a small, contributing component). "Fletch" still has hilarious moments ("Sugar in your coffee, Mr. Poon?" "No, never!") but the electronic, Casio-generated soundtrack really dates the film...and not in a good way.

Watch the Trailer

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