Fletch (film)

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Fletch
theatrical poster
Directed by	Michael Ritchie
Produced by	Peter Douglas Alan Greisman
Written by	Gregory Mcdonald (novel) Andrew Bergman (screenplay)
Starring	Chevy Chase Tim Matheson Joe Don Baker Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
Music by	Harold Faltermeyer
Cinematography	Fred Schuler
Editing by	Richard A. Harris
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	May 31, 1985
Running time	98 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Followed by	Fletch Lives (1989)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Fletch is a 1985 comedy film about a wisecracking investigative newspaper reporter, Irwin Fletcher (Chevy Chase, at the height of his popularity), who writes under the name of Jane Doe. The film was based on the popular Gregory Mcdonald novels and the screenplay was written by Andrew Bergman. The film was directed by Michael Ritchie and released by Universal Pictures in 1985. The theme song, "Bit by Bit" was sung by Stephanie Mills with music by Beverly Hills Cop composer Harold Faltermeyer. It was one of three films Chevy Chase starred in that year, alongside Spies Like Us and National Lampoon's European Vacation, which together garned over $155 million at the box office.

Since its release, Fletch has had a strong following of fans as well as having achieved cult status; it is considered to be one of Chase's best films.

1 Plot
2 Origins
3 Legacy
4 Audio sample
5 DVD
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film opens with one of Fletch's many, often humorous, monologues. The drug trade is Fletch's latest story, and while investigating undercover as a beach wanderer one day he is approached by a well-groomed man, Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson). Stanwyk says he wants Fletch to murder him because he has inoperable cancer, this way his family will receive his life insurance. Unaware that Fletch is actually an undercover reporter, Stanwyk thinks he would be the perfect man for the job, as he is a recluse and can just disappear after the shooting. Fletch agrees to kill Stanwyk when offered a considerable sum of money, but is suspicious of Stanwyk's motives. Fletch starts to dig and uncovers a story much greater than his exposé of small-time drug dealers. As he uncovers the lurid truth about Stanwyk, he also discovers that a sinister police chief (Joe Don Baker) is behind the drug trafficking on Los Angeles' beaches.

[edit] Origins

Gregory Mcdonald's novel was very successful and soon Hollywood came calling. His Fletch books were optioned around the mid to late 1970s but the author had the option of approving the actor cast to play Fletch. He rejected the likes of Burt Reynolds and Mick Jagger. When the studio mentioned Chevy Chase as Fletch, Mcdonald (even though he had never really seen Chase in anything) agreed.

Chase enjoyed success early on in his film career with hits like Foul Play (1978) and Caddyshack (1980), but then hit a rut with Under the Rainbow (1981) and Deal of the Century (1983). By the time he did Fletch, Chase had bounced back with the massive commercial success of National Lampoon's Vacation (1983).

Andrew Bergman was hired to adapt Mcdonald's book into screenplay form. Bergman remembers that he wrote the screenplay “very fast – I did the first draft in four weeks...Then there was a certain amount of improv, and something that we used to call dial-a-joke."^[1]

[edit] Legacy

Fletch has become a cult film. In an interview for the New York Post, Bergman tries to explain its appeal. “It’s so bizarre, but Fletch strikes a chord. There’s a group of movies like that in the ‘80s, like Caddyshack, too, that captured a certain wise-ass thing.” Chevy Chase also looks back on the film with fondness. “It was at the height of my career in film, and it was as close to me as a person as any part I’d played.” Perhaps the most meaningful praise comes from Mcdonald himself: "I watched it recently, and I think Chevy and Michael Ritchie did a good job with it." ^[2]

The film was followed by a 1989 sequel, Fletch Lives, which didn't perform as well at the box office. A prequel, Fletch Won (which will not star Chevy Chase), is currently in pre-production, with filming set to begin in April 2007.

[edit] Audio sample

Stephanie Mills - Bit By Bit (Fletch Theme) excerpt (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- An excerpt from Stephanie Mills' Bit By Bit (Fletch Theme)
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] DVD

Universal Home Video announced that a special edition of Fletch - the "Jane Doe" Edition - will be available to own on May 1, 2007. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track and will include a retrospective featurettes, Just Charge It to the Underhills: Making and Remembering Fletch, From John Cocktoaston To Harry S. Truman: The Disguises and Favorite Fletch Moments.^[3]