Fletch The Rewatchables
Fletch poster
Fletch

What’s Aged the Best?

Tim Matheson's casting; Mr. Underhill; Kareem's IMDb page; the 'Who's Frida?' exchange; Harold Faltermeyer's score; Fletch's apartment; Michael Ritchie

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:14Read transcript
  • Tim Matheson plays the villain Alan Stanwyk, which mirrors Animal House: Otter was written for Chase, so Matheson did a Chevy impression there and now plays the lookalike who wants Fletch dead.
  • Mr. Underhill's two scenes hold up: shredding the waiter over a gratuity and exploding at the bill; he is like Judge Smales crossed with Hitler.
  • Kareem's IMDb page (Game of Death, Airplane, Fletch, 21 Jump Street, D2, Diff'rent Strokes, Saved by the Bell) makes him arguably the most successful athlete-actor.
  • The claim is about how the IMDb page looks at a glance, not actual acting success.
  • Rival athlete-actor contenders: Jim Brown (Mars Attacks, Any Given Sunday, The Running Man, The Dirty Dozen) and O.J. Simpson (Towering Inferno, Naked Gun).
  • The secretary exchange ('I'm Frida's boss.' 'Who's Frida?' 'My secretary.') is another pick.
  • The list of pseudonyms is read out, including Dr. Rosen, John Cocktoe Stone, Mr. Poon, Igor Stravinsky, Gordon Liddy, Don Corleone and Harry S. Truman.
  • Harold Faltermeyer's score is amazing 80s music with a Thomas Dolby influence, alongside his Beverly Hills Cop work; the Alpha Romeo chase song gets an honorable mention and Stephanie Mills sings the theme.
  • Siskel's point: once Beverly Hills Cop hit, action sequences and Faltermeyer music could turn a wry comedy into an easier-to-sell action comedy.
  • Fletch's apartment, with the life-size Magic and Bird poster and the hoop on the wall, is the perfect bachelor pad for a guy who only cares about the paper and the Lakers.
  • His faded purple Lakers jersey is praised, but the 1985 Lakers-Celtics Finals prompt a joking 'I recant my statement' and talk of cancelling the pod.
  • Michael Ritchie is called the best sports-movie director ever, with a run including Downhill Racer, The Bad News Bears, Semi-Tough, Fletch and Wildcats; he only produced Bad News Bears Go to Japan, did not direct Shampoo, made the messy Golden Child, and The Candidate is recommended.