Fletch (film)

Fletch is a 1985 comic action-thriller spy film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Andrew Bergman and is loosely based on Gregory Mcdonald's popular Fletch novels. Tim Matheson, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Geena Davis and Joe Don Baker appear in supporting roles.

The film revolves around Los Angeles Times reporter Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher (Chevy Chase), who is offered a large sum to kill a cancerous millionaire, to which Fletch is on the run, risking his job, and looking for clues when it turns out he is healthy as life itself.

In the 1970s, Burt Reynolds and Mick Jagger were considered to portray Fletch but these suggestions were rejected by Mcdonald. The author agreed to the casting of Chevy Chase despite never seeing the comedian in anything. Chase reportedly enjoyed the role because it allowed him to play several different characters and work with props. In a 2004 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Chase confirmed this was his favorite role.

Fletch fared well from critics and performed well at the box office. It has since developed a cult following and was followed by a 1989 sequel, Fletch Lives. A prequel, Fletch Won, has been in development for over two decades.

Chevy Chase

Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (/ˈtʃɛvi/; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. Born into a prominent New York family, Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before he moved into comedy and began acting with National Lampoon. He quickly became a key cast member in the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live, where his recurring Weekend Update skit soon became a staple of the show.

Chase is well known for his portrayal of the character Clark Griswold in five National Lampoon's Vacation films, and for his roles in comedies including Foul Play (1978), Caddyshack (1980), Seems Like Old Times (1980), Fletch (1985), Spies Like Us (1985), and ¡Three Amigos! (1986). He has hosted the Academy Awards twice (1987 and 1988) and briefly had his own late-night talk show, The Chevy Chase Show. In 2009, he became a regular cast member (Pierce Hawthorne) on the NBC comedy series Community. Chase left the show in 2012, having already filmed most of the episodes in season 4.

Fletch

Fletch may refer to:

See also

Gregory Mcdonald

Gregory Mcdonald (February 15, 1937 – September 7, 2008) was an American mystery writer best known for his creation of the character Irwin Maurice Fletcher, an investigative reporter who preferred the nickname "Fletch."

Two of the Fletch books earned Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America: Fletch was named Best First Novel in 1975, and Confess, Fletch won for Best Paperback Original in 1977. This is the only time a novel and its sequel won back-to-back Edgars. Mcdonald would go on to write seven more Fletch novels, including the prequels Fletch Won and Fletch Too. The original book became a 1985 movie of the same name starring Chevy Chase.

Personal life

Mcdonald was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He was educated at Harvard, paying his own way by operating yachts, and worked as a teacher before becoming a journalist for the Boston Globe in the late 1960s. He finally left his newspaper position to become a novelist full-time with the publication of Fletch. In the mid-1980s, he moved to Pulaski, a city in Giles County, Tennessee. There, he bought an antebellum farm and became involved in local politics. He died at his home from prostate cancer in 2008.

Fletch Lives

Fletch Lives is a 1989 comedy film starring Chevy Chase. It was directed by Michael Ritchie with a screenplay by Leon Capetanos based on the character created by Gregory Mcdonald. Fletch Lives was released by Universal Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Fletch.

Plot

Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chevy Chase), a reporter for the L.A. Times, is contacted by the executor of his late-aunt's will, attorney Amanda Ray Ross (Patricia Kalember). Ross informs Fletch he has inherited his late-aunt's mansion and 80 acre plantation property, Belle Isle, in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Upon arriving in Louisiana, Fletch is disappointed to find the mansion completely dilapidated, but nonetheless agrees to keep on its caretaker, Calculus Entrophy (Cleavon Little). Fletch has dinner with Ross at her home that evening and she tells him of a $225,000 bid for Belle Isle made by an anonymous buyer. After sleeping with Ross, Fletch awakens the next morning to find her dead.

Fletch is charged with Ross' murder and taken into custody, nearly being raped by his zoophilic, necrophiliac cellmate Ben Dover (Randall "Tex" Cobb), spared only because Dover is released on bail. Dover's lawyer Hamiliton "Ham" Johnson (Hal Holbrook) is able to get Fletch released as well. When Fletch declines a second, even larger offer for Belle Isle from the buyer, this time presented by realtor Becky Culpepper (Julianne Phillips), he starts getting harassed each night at the mansion. First by a hired group of bumbling Ku Klux Klansmen, next by an arsonist who burns the mansion down and finally by Dover, who tries to kill Fletch during a raccoon hunt with some locals. Fletch discovers the land on Belle Isle to be polluted by toxic waste and sets out to uncover the identity of the anonymous buyer, whom he suspects is attempting to intimidate him into selling.