The Fletch Collection – DVD Review

Chevy Chase made a name for himself in the late 1970s on the first season of the iconic television late-night show Saturday Night Live. Chase soon realized after that first season that he could become a big movie star, and that is exactly what he became in the 1980s and the early 1990s. He starred in such classic comedic films as Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and the Three Amigos. But after his last mostly successful and funny film, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and the failure of his short-lived late-night talk show, Chase’s star burned out. From there he appeared only in bad comedies like Caddyshack II, Nothing But Trouble, Cops and Robbersons, and Vegas Vacation.

As a result, you have a generation gap when it comes to how people think of Chevy Chase as a comedian. If you are over 35 years old, you will remember Chase fondly from his early work. If you are between the ages of 25 and 35, you probably also remember Chase as a great comedian but only after viewing his later work many years later either on TV, VHS, or DVD. However, if you are under 25 years old, you probably don’t think Chase is that funny at all based on what you have seen of him in his later work. But there is no question that the climax of Chase’s comedic career was Fletch back in 1985. That film is definitely on his “best movies” list, but ironically enough the sequel, Fletch Lives, that was released in 1989 has to be considered on Chase’s “worst movies” list. Both movies are repackaged together again in the latest Universal Home Video release, The Fletch Collection.

In Fletch, Chevy Chase plays Irwin M. Fletcher (aka Fletch), an investigative journalist who writes for an unnamed Los Angeles newspaper under the byline “Jane Doe.” Armed only with his wit, Fletch tackles a variety of mysteries for his “Jane Doe” column. At the beginning of this film, Fletch poses as a beach bum in order to dig deeper into L.A.’s drug trade. While undercover, he’s propositioned by the wealthy Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson). Stanwyk is apparently dying of bone cancer and offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him. That way Fletch would be saving Stanwyk from a painful death and his family will still be able to collect on a handsome insurance settlement. Fletch accepts the proposal and begins to dig deeper into Stanwyk’s background. At the same time, Fletch is under the gun from his put-upon editor Frank Walker (Richard Libertini), who wants his story turned in and by crooked police chief Jerry Karlin (Joe Don Baker), who wants the story scrapped.

Chevy Chase is at his best when he is his arrogantly smug and sarcastic self, and Fletch allows him to be just that. He is at the center of all of the action, but don’t discount a great supporting cast for Chase. Tim Matheson (Animal House), George Wendt (Cheers), Richard Libertini, Joe Don Baker, and an early in her career Geena Davis all pull off their roles wonderfully. The characters are wacky, but they also act as excellent “straight men” for Chase as most of the dialogue in this film is Chase improvising off the top of his head.

Fletch could be described as a light-hearted detective film from the “film noir” genre. Credit must be given to the director, Michael Ritchie, and screenwriter, Andrew Bergman, who provide an excellent story and enough leeway for Chase and the strong supporting cast to “have it at it”. Ritchie also keeps the film moving at a faster pace for a comedy, so that you are never bored with what you are seeing on the screen. But how could you be with so many funny and future quotable lines being said throughout Fletch. It’s also fun to watch Chase dressed up in many different disguises and assume various phony identities. Basically if you want to see Chevy Chase at his funniest in the prime of his career, then the original Fletch is where you need to start.

In Fletch Lives, “Fletch”, the down on his luck Los Angeles intestigative reporter, heads to Louisiana after he inherits his aunt’s run-down but financially lucrative plantation mansion. Upon arriving there, though, Amanda Ray Ross (Patricia Kalember), the sexy lawyer handling the estate probate, is killed by a mysterious intruder while in Fletch’s bed. As a result, Fletch is the main suspect. He soon launches his own investigation, during which he pulls out a number of “local” disguises. Meanwhile pursuing real estate broker Becky Ann Culpepper (Julianne Phillips) is wading through toxic waste that’s pouring into Fletch’s estate, and turns up a crooked televangelist (R. Lee Ermey).

Four years went by before the sequel to Fletch was released, but that doesn’t mean the script used for this film got any better over time. Fletch Lives follows the same format as the original. It starts out strong with Chevy Chase tossing out sarcastic one-liners and dressing up in many different disguises to solve a mystery. But the story is just not as strong nor as interesting as the story in the original Fletch. As the film moves along, the central plot gets less and less intriguing despite the many twists and turns.

What also helped the original Fletch was a strong supporting cast around Chevy Chase. In the sequel, the supporting cast of characters is good but nowhere near as great as in the first film. Cleavon Little, R. Lee Ermey, and Hal Holbrook all do a good job in their respective roles, but the focus of this film is mostly on Chevy Chase. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Chase is more effective if he has excellent “straight men” around him. In addition, the supporting characters in this film tend to be nothing but your basic stereotypes. Fletch Lives is just a step down from the original in every way. It showcases Chase’s comedic talents once again, but it really has a “been there done that/no reason to be made” feel to it.

Fletch was the one film that was able to showcase all of Chevy Chase’s skills as a comedian. Despite it being 20 years old, it still holds up today as a funny film with a strong supporting cast of characters. Fletch Lives is nothing more than a typical sequel to a successful film. It’s weak compared to the original and probably shouldn’t have been made. If you liked the first film, you will probably like the sequel to it, but it is nothing you should go out of your way to see. But before you make a decision on how good of a comedian Chevy Chase was, you at least have to check out the original Fletch.

The video for both films is given in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen color, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs. The video has been upgraded and all the problems with the original releases of these films seems to be fixed now. However, it should be noted that this is the same video quality for Fletch that can be found on the “Jane Doe” edition.

The audio included for Fletch is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, or French 2.0 Stereo sound. The audio included for Fletch Lives is available in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, or French Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. There are subtitles available for both films in English SDH, Spanish, and French as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear, so no major problems here either. The audio on Fletch is same audio that is on the “Jane Doe” edition, which was an slight upgrade over the original release of that film a decade ago. The audio on Fletch Lives is same basic one that was on the original release of that film.

There are only extras for the original Fletch film and they are the exact same that are on Fletch: “The Jane Doe Edition”. They are as follows:

“Just Charge It to the Underhills: Making and Remembering Fletch” Featurette –
This runs 26 minutes and it features some interviews with screenwriter Andrew Bergman, assistant director Wolfgang Glattes, editor Richard Harris, production designer Gordon Webb, producers Alan Greisman and Peter Douglas, and actors M. Emmet Walsh, Larry “Flash” Jenkins, George Wyner, Richard Libertini, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, and Tim Matheson. They all tell “behind-the-scenes” production stories that took place while they were making this film. A couple of deleted scenes, with only still shots shown, are included in this as well. This is decent enough, but Chevy Chase is nowhere to be found which is highly disappointing.

“From John Cocktoastin to Harry S. Truman: The Disguises” Featurette –
This runs 5 minutes and it features interviews with makeup artist Ken Chase and Hair Stylist Bunny Parker. They talk about Fletch’s crazy costumes and makeup work. A few of the actors are also featured as they tell a few stories regarding this subject. Short, but does what it needs to do.

Favorite Fletch Moments –
This is a two and a half minute combination of clips from the film. Almost like a highlight reel.

If you are a Chevy Chase fan and don’t already own the “Jane Doe” edition of the original Fletch, then you might as well get this collection. However, if you already own that edition, the addition of Fletch Lives is just not enough to buy this collection as well. This is a solid comedy and is recommended as a rental for anyone, even those people who think they hate Chevy Chase. Your opinion of Chevy Chase will probably change after watching the original Fletch. And if for some reason you don’t like the original Fletch, then you just don’t like the comedy of Chevy Chase.

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Universal Studios Home Entertainment presents The Fletch Collection. Directed by Michael Ritchie (Fletch and Fletch Lives). Written by Gregory McDonald (novel), Andrew Bergman (screenplay) (Fletch), and Leon Capetanos (screenplay) (Fletch Lives). Starring Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Tim Matheson, Larry “Flash” Jenkins, Richard Libertini, George Wendt, Kenneth Mars, Geena Davis, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, William Traylor, and M. Emmet Walsh (Fletch); Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Libertini, Randall “Tex” Cobb, and Cleavon Little (Fletch Lives). Running time: 193 minutes. Rated: PG. Released on DVD: August 19, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.