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Fletch

year 1985decade 80sdirector Michael Ritchiegenre Comedygenre Mysterygenre Crime

98 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Chevy Chase Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher
Joe Don Baker Chief Jerry Karlin
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson Gail Stanwyk
Richard Libertini Frank Walker
Tim Matheson Alan Stanwyk
M. Emmet Walsh Dr. Dolan
George Wendt Fat Sam
Kenneth Mars Stanton Boyd
Geena Davis Larry
William Traylor Ted Underhill
Alison La Placa Pan Am Clerk
George Wyner Marvin Gillet

Fletch | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryan
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:22Read transcript
  • The hosts read that Ebert gave it two and a half stars, writing that Chase's performance reduces every scene to the same level, that his inflexible mask of cool detachment keeps viewers from identifying with him, and that Fletch needed an actor more interested in the character than in himself.
  • The review is rejected as missing the movie entirely, and Ebert's comedy takes are called consistently bad.
  • Siskel nailed it in the At the Movies segment: Chase had been miscast for years and finally had a character whose ironic detachment is the point, while Ebert wanted the audience invested in the character and missed the point. — Sean Fennessey
  • Jokes that Ebert thought it was a drama and wanted something like The Big Sleep, The Killing Fields or Chariots of Fire.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Second tennis club visit; airplane mechanic scene; Babar physical exam

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:48Read transcript
  • There is no rewatchable scene for about 20 minutes until the physical exam, which starts a run of them ('Moon River', 'You ever served time?', 'using the whole fist, Doc?').
  • A son's stone-faced reaction to the exam scene is joked about as grounds for a DNA test.
  • The short Lakers dream sequence with Kareem and the sports footage is so enjoyable.
  • Fletch as the buck-toothed airplane mechanic ('It's all ball bearings nowadays') is picked; the other mechanic looks like Jim Varney but is not him.
  • The second tennis club visit runs about five minutes: caviar ordered twice and charged to the Underhills, borrowing Gail Stanwyk's towel because his car hit a water buffalo, Mr. Underhill's 'Jesus H. Christ' at the bill, and Gail unbothered to hear her husband is a fraud.
  • The smog-patrol bit with the kid and escaping the police, oddly with no helicopter or local news coverage.
  • Crashing Fred Dorfman's lunch is probably Chase's best 90 seconds: working the crowd, giving a speech, getting them to sing God Bless America, and the syphilis line.
  • The ending with Gail on an empty beach, charging the whole vacation to Mr. Underhill's American Express card, is very satisfying.
  • Another breakdown runs through Mr. Babar, Dr. Rosen, John Cocktholeson, Mr. Poon and Igor Stravinsky, and the autopsy ('you never get used to the smell', 'You're not going to make this guy any sicker') has to be included.
  • The Mr. Poon scene with Mr. Boyd in his face and the Utah motel bits with different voices ('It's Igor Stravinsky') are also chosen.
  • The interrogation with Chief Carlin, ending 'I like to be manhandled' and a wink at Joe Don Baker, is an incredible moment.
  • The single favorite is the second tennis club visit, a perfect six minutes ('Why did you order lunch here?').
  • The airplane mechanic is the favorite character he plays and is called 'my most rewatchable'; the roller-skating scene with George Carlin hair also gets praise.
  • The favorite is Dr. Dolan's exam with the 'Babar, one B' exchange, plus the subtle bit where every doctor in the directory is Dr. Rosen. — Sean Fennessey

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.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Alan Stanwyk's plan; Stephanie Mills opening song; Chevy's clothes; too little Sally Ann

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:57Read transcript
  • Stanwyk's plan to have a lookalike drifter shoot him, then kill and burn the man, is ridiculous; it is very Raymond Chandler, with the story of Faulkner asking Chandler to explain The Big Sleep, and by 1985 forensic science made it less believable than in the mid-70s book.
  • Stephanie Mills' 'Bit by Bit' over the opening credits should have gone straight to Faltermeyer: 'let the chef cook'.
  • Producer Craig's take of not liking Fletch is jokingly named as what will age worst.
  • Chevy's clothes, like wide-bottomed jeans and a linen shirt with three buttons open, look clownish; the pushback is that he wears it well, and like Eddie Murphy he makes bad clothes look cool and looks like a classic leading man in Matheson's suit.
  • Dana Wheeler-Nicholson brings back fond memories, but a spouse asked what was up with her acting, which is a red flag. — Bill Simmons
  • Defense: Gail is the greatest hang of all time and nobody in Fletch is surprised by anything; the critic replies that an actress more interested in the part would have been better.
  • As said on the Tombstone podcast, she is a bad actress, and Elizabeth Shoe or Sharon Stone would make it a thousand times better. — Sean Fennessey
  • There is not enough Sally Ann Kavanaugh, set up in the low-key airline-counter scene; a face-off with Gail was wanted.

Casting What-Ifs

Burt Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Mick Jagger, Barry Bostwick, Richard Dreyfuss and George Segal were considered

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:18Read transcript
  • The hosts read that Bert Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Charles Grotto, Mick Jagger and Barry Bostwick were considered; the author had rejection rights and turned down Reynolds and Jagger.
  • The hosts read that original producer Jonathan Burroughs wanted Richard Dreyfus after Chase's managers rejected the part; Dreyfus would not have worked.
  • Bostwick had one of the worst possible career outcomes, 'market corrected' over and over again by other white guys. — Bill Simmons
  • George Siegel is said to have been considered and to have turned it down; he might have been good in the late 70s.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:45Read transcript
  • Richard Libertini as Frank the editor is a face you know and a great character.
  • Larry 'Flash' Jenkins as Gummy is tied to season three of The White Shadow, when the wheels came off, like Tobias Harris for the Process.
  • The Jim Varney lookalike and M. Emmet Walsh as the physician are named; Walsh is an all-time great that guy and the speaker would go with him.
  • Kenneth Mars as Stan Boyd, from 70s Bogdanovich movies and TV like Murder, She Wrote, is on the list too.
  • Other that guys are offered: whether Gina Davis counts is floated, and Allison Laplaca as the airline desk clerk is added. — Chris Ryan
  • The Gina Davis suggestion is waved off ('No, stop it'), with a note that she is coming up later.
  • Joe Don Baker counts to the hosts; only a single-digit share of listeners could identify him; Walking Tall and the Mystery Science Theater episode Mitchell, which mocks him, are recalled.
  • The award goes to Richard Libertini as the that guy from this movie.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:24Read transcript
  • Candidates are Gina Davis, George Went and the autopsy doctor; Dana Wheeler-Nicholson is eligible with four scenes but mocked as a three-for-27 night.
  • The award goes to Gina Davis, a delight as Larry.
  • Going with Larry over William trailer as Mr. Underhill is questioned; Underhill is called pretty good and said to bring the heat, 'Charge it to the Underhills' is said to have become something people say for 30 years, and 'Good call' follows, with no explicit change of the award.

Recasting Couch

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:22Read transcript
  • It would be a better movie if Gina Davis and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson swapped roles; the answer is yes.
  • Davis, in her second movie and clearly headed for bigger things, is stuck as Fletch's LA Times helper; she played opposite tall leading men like Goldblum in The Fly and would be great opposite Chevy.
  • A future Gina Davis episode could be A League of Their Own.
  • The recasting-couch move is to flip them.
  • Elizabeth Shoe may be too young; the Wheeler-Nicholson fan denies a personal connection and calls her a dynamite lady of the Diane Cannon school who rolls with the punches, which is attributed to her not acting.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Godfather house; unused hockey-player disguise; cut World Series fantasy

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:24Read transcript
  • The research says Alan Stanwyk's house is the same house used in The Godfather when Jack Waltz finds the horse head.
  • The research says original posters show Fletch in disguises including a hockey player that never made the final cut.
  • The research describes a cut fantasy with Fletch pitching in the World Series with Lassorta pulling him; production stills exist, which explains the line about hating him.
  • Why an L.A. sports fan would hate Tommy Lusorta is debated, followed by a Hershiser digression about 1985 versus 1988.

Apex Mountain

Chevy Chase in 1985-86; beer cans

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:03Read transcript
  • Chevy has two apexes: SNL, and a second around 1985-86 when he reclaimed movie stardom and hosted the Oscars; the answer is yes.
  • A joke that Dana Wheeler-Nicholson's apex has been going for 35 years, while others would say it's this movie.
  • For Harold Faltermeyer, after Beverly Hills Cop and this, the sky is the limit, and it leads to Top Gun.
  • Kareem gets a yes for 1985: the title won in Boston Garden, Finals MVP 14 years after 1971, the scoring record, his autobiography, and Fletch.
  • Pushback: being in Fletch is not his apex; 1980, with the Magic title and Airplane, is called the correct answer, and his college years and 1971 Bucks are also raised.
  • Chick Hearn may have hit his apex with the 85 title and his Fletch scene, joked as getting his street named.
  • The Fletch jersey becoming something people wore is not quite an apex; Venice's apex would be White Men Can't Jump.
  • The other apex is the beer cans, great beer drinking by Chevy; newspapers and investigative reporting get a 'maybe'.

Picking Nits

Gail's tennis; the cabana; Mrs. Stanwyk's calm; Lasorda photos; Stanwyk's plan; the publicized second marriage

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:58Read transcript
  • Gail Stanwyk's tennis is the worst anyone has ever played; a joke says she wanted to prove she was bad at everything, not just acting.
  • A take that tennis wasn't widely played back then is called terrible, since she belongs to a tennis club.
  • The tennis-club cabana looks like a $2 million house.
  • Mrs. Stanwyk seems completely unfazed when Fletch tells her everything.
  • Someone that obsessed with the Lakers wouldn't punch glass-framed pictures of Tommy Lusorto.
  • Stanwyk's plan is not bulletproof; he has a plane and could get to Brazil without the dead-body scheme.
  • A second marriage covered with a big photo in the LA Times would have been noticed; why marry at all.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Spelling of the Cocktoston alias; whether Fletch retired; whether Fletch 2 happened

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:09Read transcript
  • The correct spelling of the John Cocktoston alias: IMDb reportedly gives 'Cock Tolstoy', while others hear 'Cocktoston' and argue over a K or a C.
  • Chris is teased as never making it as an investigative reporter, and a spelling starting with K is offered.
  • Did Fletch retire from the LA Times, and did Fletch 2 happen: Fletch Lives was hugely disappointing, and Mr. Underhill is one of the few returning actors.
  • Late-80s sequels were repeated letdowns: 48 Hours 2, Godfather 3, Fletch Lives, Caddyshack 2 (though Chevy is funny in it) and later Beverly Hills Cop 3.

More from the conversation

Sean Fennessey (ASR 'Sean Fantasy') and Chris Ryan are introduced; the episode is expected to be mostly quoting the movie, and a son reportedly left a viewing after 20 minutes.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:15Read transcript
Released 35 years ago and called the most quotable 80s movie with maybe two or three exceptions.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:02Read transcript
If you don't get Chevy Chase you won't get this movie; Chevy is a relic, and the producer Craig asked before the taping why it is a thing.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:02Read transcript
Pushback: the episode should not start with this energy; Fletch is a stone cold classic that deserves respect.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:29Read transcript
The hosts recount Chevy Chase's background: the lone breakout star of SNL's first season on Weekend Update, a New York Magazine cover reading 'I'm Chevy Chase and you're not', seen as Carson's successor, then leaving four episodes into season two after a contract dispute.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:58Read transcript
His career is split into 'six quadrants' (joke that there are only four); Foul Play with Goldie Hawn was a hit, Oh Heavenly Dog was not, then Caddyshack and Seems Like Old Times.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:39Read transcript
Early Chevy seemed to think he was Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart in light mystery and mix-up movies with strong female foils; Foul Play and Seems Like Old Times were big but have no reputation now because he was miscasting himself until Caddyshack.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:20Read transcript
Chevy's bit is a wise ass who doesn't give a shit and seems above the work, an aura no current star has.
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The hosts say that on SNL he was also the pratfall guy doing Gerald Ford, opening shows with a pratfall until an injury (hedged: testicles or a podium accident) cost him a show.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:13Read transcript
Caddyshack's Ty Webb is closest to what fans wanted; Caddyshack has not been done yet and a 40-year anniversary is teased for the summer.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:50Read transcript
Ty Webb vs. Fletch: basically the same character, except Ty Webb seems rich and Fletch is in every shot while Ty Webb is tertiary.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:06Read transcript
Seems Like Old Times holds up as a precursor to the 90s rom-com, with Charles Grodin (ASR 'Grotin') as the second husband; recommended as a rewatch.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:47Read transcript
The hosts recount 1981: Under the Rainbow bombed and Modern Problems was abominable; he nearly died when landing lights on his costume malfunctioned, battled cocaine, depression and a divorce, and made no 1982 movie.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:07Read transcript
Vacation was the comeback and a father of Apatow-era (ASR 'Apatau') and Todd Phillips comedies; his fastball is the smartest, biggest asshole in the room and his curveball the guy who thinks he's smartest but is dumbest.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:03Read transcript
The hosts say Deal of the Century (1983), directed by William Friedkin with Sigourney Weaver and Gregory Hines, was reviled; with Best Defense it ended the arms-dealer comedy until War Dogs.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:49Read transcript
The hosts recount that in 1985-86 he made Fletch, European Vacation, Spies Like Us and Three Amigos, getting back with Lorne Michaels and Dan Aykroyd after the Bill Murray crowd had turned on him; he hosted two straight Academy Awards.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:36Read transcript
The hosts describe the last quadrant (88-89) as The Couch Trip, Funny Farm, Fletch Lives and Christmas Vacation: 16 movies in 12 years; William Goldman's New York Magazine pieces treated him as a star who could open a movie; the 90s wheels came off, partly blamed on the drug era.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:33Read transcript
A Carson-replacement what-if is recounted: reportedly after Chevy said he'd hate talking to TV stars five nights a week, Carson publicly mocked his ad-libbing.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:24Read transcript
A Carson appearance promoting Fletch in a Lakers uniform shows tension with Johnny; Chevy is called an ungenerous performer who sells himself, which suits Fletch.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:19Read transcript
The hosts recall that in 1987 he co-hosted the Oscars with Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan, then hosted solo the next year.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:07Read transcript
The best writing on Chevy is said to be the Saturday Night book (authors hedged as Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad).
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:50Read transcript
The Saturday Night book is said to devote a chapter to Chevy's life unraveling as the breakout star of a show watched by 35 million heading into the cocaine era.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:11Read transcript
In the Tom Shales and Jim Miller oral history, Bill Murray says fame gives you a year or two of acting like an asshole before it becomes permanent, speaking about Chevy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:46Read transcript
The hosts say Chevy became a legendary asshole in L.A.; a Washington Post piece a few years ago and a Comedy Central roast full of people who barely knew him are cited; Lorne kept bringing him back to host but won their power struggle.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:07Read transcript
Chevy is called a one-of-one with no successor, comparable only partly to Murray and Belushi.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:39Read transcript
Fletch works because everyone else plays straight and lets him cook; only Joe Don Baker's Chief Carlin takes the bait, and if Tim Matheson's character questioned the 'Ted Nugent' alias the movie would fall apart.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:57Read transcript
Others, like M. Emmet Walsh's doctor and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (ASR 'Wheeler-Nickleson'), regard him with mild bemusement and never interrogate his bits.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:01Read transcript
Quoted Chevy oral-history remarks: fame is stressful, drugs are self-medication, sudden fame carries post-traumatic stress, and a lingering sense one doesn't deserve it.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:01Read transcript
A joke that Chris's Pacino impressions led to fame problems; the reply jokes he must now be booked through his team at Gersh.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:49Read transcript
Lorne Michaels (ASR 'Lord Michael's') is quoted saying coke was God's way of telling you that you have too much money, and joking advice to rotate drugs.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:46Read transcript
As a teenager the fan didn't know Chevy was an asshole, so his 80s re-emergence had everyone on his side; he and Murray navigated the Letterman/Seinfeld sarcasm era, and the wise-ass (up through Chandler on Friends) is no longer celebrated.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:05Read transcript
Chevy sounds vulnerable reflecting on fame, but his comic persona is invulnerable; Fletch is a joke machine with no feelings, always a step ahead, unlike Curb or Nathan For You cringe comedy.
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Pete Davidson in the Staten Island movie is doing a 2020 Chevy Chase archetype.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:03Read transcript
The hosts say Fletch became a phenomenon after the fact via Blockbuster and cable; at 1 hour 37 it is the perfect length for TV with commercials, with a claim of no bad scenes.
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The hosts recount the remake history: around 2000 Kevin Smith wanted Jason Lee, Harvey Weinstein said he wasn't a big enough name, Affleck came up, then Bill Lawrence after Scrubs; it has been in development hell about 20 years.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:51Read transcript
Ideal 2020 Fletch: Gosling, perhaps too pretty but with smart-assery nailed in The Nice Guys and closer to Chevy's talk-show humor; Joel McHale doing Chevy in Community with Chevy is noted.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:38Read transcript
Michael Keaton was the other 80s wise-ass, though sincere (Gung Ho); Night Shift is teased as a future rewatchable and producer Craig is brought on Zoom to hear its morgue premise, calling it a rewatchable.
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The hosts note it is based on a Gregory McDonald novel; the voiceover feels of the book while the ad-libbed scenes deviate.
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The hosts say a producer surnamed Burroughs got the rights in July 1976, studios rejected it for eight years, and Michael Douglas got it made as a producer; $8 million budget, $59 million gross, $24.4 million in video rentals.
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It took about four years to embrace the movie; it wears you down as a cable rewatch, some scenes are aimless; 77 on Rotten Tomatoes, dismissed as meaningless.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:25Read transcript
Producer Craig, back on Zoom, is teased that the movie is all dad jokes and that he reacts too much to Liz's opinion; he says he never said he didn't like Fletch.
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Craig is joked to have killed the energy and to face Twitter backlash for his take.
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A Fletch series should have been structured like the Pink Panther with bigger cameos, with standalone cases; Beverly Hills Cop 2 is called better than the first.
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:43Read transcript
Not making Fletch a series and Val Kilmer's The Saint not getting traction are called two of the biggest movie tragedies; a long ribbing debate over The Saint's box office, Philip Noyce, its Razzie nomination and electronica soundtrack follows.
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Ryan Reynolds stole the Chevy Chase playbook; Deadpool is Fletch.
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Jason Lee as Fletch: the speaker followed the Kevin Smith version on Ain't It Cool News and would have watched; Vince Vaughn is another tall wise-ass who could have made it.
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Closing banter about Sean browsing 1953 titles on the HBO Max app; Fletch is said to be available only to rent.
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