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Fletch (Jon Hamm) is on the case in "Confess, Fletch." Photo by Miramax
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12 (UPI) — Before Chevy Chase played Fletch in 1985, Fletch was Gregory MacDonald's mystery novel series. Confessions, Fletch, in theaters and on video-on-demand Friday, is a modern adaptation of the second novel that breathes new life into the rogue detective.
Irwin M. Fletcher (Jon Hamm) arrives at his rented house in Boston to find a dead body. Despite calling the police, detectives Monroe (Roy Wood Jr.) and Grizz (Aiden Mayeri) find him suspicious.
Fletch is in town to investigate what happened to his Italian girlfriend Angela's (Lorenza Izzo) painting. So Fletch double-checked to avoid the detectives.
Hamm plays the role of the first level. The irreverent humor suits him just as well as Lucky Fletch's Lakers hat.
The film cuts to Fletch's rude introduction as Monroe interrupts to explain his nickname. Fletch's collaboration with the detectives also has a nice passive-investigative nature.
Zev Borrow and director Greg Mottola's screenplay nails the smart detective humor. Hamm Fletch refrained from associating with suspects or authority figures.
Fletch asks questions and comments on the strange character, but does not show his hand. The suspect is given enough rope to hang himself, but saves the ends to reveal at the end.
When Fletch gets rid of the detective's tail, he acts like Bugs Bunny, the lovable trickster you can't catch. Or perhaps a closer cinematic analogy is Axel Foley.
The book was published in 1976, ten years before the first film adaptation. The 2022 film effortlessly updates Fletch in today's world of Instagram, digital media, and pandemics, but don't control the story any more than you control your average day-to-day life.
One of Fletch's assets is his ability to disguise himself. In the movie, he doesn't wear unusual clothes like Chase, but he uses his voice and makes any nickname.
Granted, Fletch is rated R and has enough R-rated language to deserve it. Fletch doesn't need the F-bomb, but publisher Frank (John Slattery) and several other suspects do.
Without a doubt, Fletch was to be the start of many Ham film mysteries. Since the writing and acting are the biggest special effects in The Fletcher, we hope it makes a big profit at a low cost.
Fred Topple, who attended Ithaca College's film school, is a Los Angeles-based UPI entertainment writer. Professional film critic since 1999, Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more about careers in entertainment.
