Fletch Lives (1989)

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writers (WGA):

Gregory McDonald (character)
Leon Capetanos (written by)

Release Date:

17 March 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Crime

Tagline:

When there's more trouble than one man can handle...there's more than one man for the job.

Plot:

Fletch is a reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper, but he acts more like a detective. When an obscure...

Plot Keywords:

Fletch | Louisiana | Mansion | Prison | Toxic Waste

Cast

Chevy Chase	...	Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher
Hal Holbrook	...	Hamilton "Ham" Johnson
Julianne Phillips	...	Becky Culpepper
R. Lee Ermey	...	Jimmy Lee Farnsworth
Richard Libertini	...	Frank Walker
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Ben Dover (as Randall 'Tex' Cobb)
Cleavon Little	...	Calculus Entropy
George Wyner	...	Marvin Gillet
Patricia Kalember	...	Amanda Ray Ross
Geoffrey Lewis	...	KKK Leader
Richard Belzer	...	Phil
Phil Hartman	...	Bly Manager
Titos Vandis	...	Uncle Kakakis
Don Hood	...	Tom Barbour
Dennis Burkley	...	Joe Jack

Also Known As:

Fletch Saved (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Spain:T | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

"Flash Flood" Ride, Universal Studios Theme Park, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In the scene when Fletch hides in the morgue's refrigerator from Ben Dover, the chalkboard in the background has names for the other corpses in storage. Names include those of Wally Cox, Carol Wayne, Alan Ludden, Paul Lynde, all of whom made appearances on _"The Hollywood Squares" (1965)_. Most likely, this was done because of the 3 x 3 grid of the refrigeration units.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Fletch pulls over at Becky's office he uses a parking meter to stop. You can clearly see that the parking meter is already cut to break away easier, and does so when he hits it.

Quotes:

Fletch: [narrating] Figuring out that the guy who dropped my watch in the swamp was the same guy who stole it at the morgue didn't take Sherlock Holmes... Larry Holmes could've figured that one out.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Jezebel (1938)

Molesting a dead horse

Similar in verbal humour to its predecessor Fletch, however there is more abject silliness in the plot here - unexpected inheritances, dodgy land-deals, toxic waste, an over-the-top TV evangalist, blah blah blah. The ridiculous nature of the storyline is often just an excuse to get the character into punning situations, however it generally succeeds because of Chase's dry verbalisations. I find him very much a one-format comedy actor, however - he's either cringingly stupid (Clark W. Griswold) or a wise-cracking smart-alec (Fletch) yet both characters have the same mode of delivery. Nevertheless both Fletch films work because they are, in large part, vehicles for Chevy Chase.

He's well supported here by both Hal Holbrook, doing the genteel mama-loving confederate gent very well, and R. Lee Ermey, who hams it up as the ranting, gesticulating Reverend Jimmy Lee Farnsworth. Julianne Phillips is stolid and wooden as Fletch's love interest, so it's no surprise that her career stalled. There are other characters, most of whom are sources for Fletch's satirisation and mocking wise-cracks. And there are some relatively funny scenes too - the Farnsworth Ministry's TV programme and Fletch, dressed as "Ed Harley", visiting the biker's bar are two that spring to mind. Much fun is made of southern Americans, which may be a good or a bad thing depending on perspective.

It's not brilliant comedy or especially intelligent, but it has pace, a little originality and some bright moments. Good late-night TV viewing but don't pay money.