Fletch



"If you shoot me... you're liable to lose a lot of those humanitarian awards."

1985 comedy-mystery film starring Chevy Chase, (loosely) based on the novel by Gregory Mcdonald.

Irwin M. Fletcher (Chevy Chase), better known as 'Fletch', writes a column for a Los Angeles newspaper under the byline 'Jane Doe'. He's working undercover at a local beach where a lot of hard drug-trafficking is taking place when he is suddenly cornered by Alan Stanwyck (Tim Matheson) who, assuming him to be one of the many junkies floating around the beach, makes him a strange offer; claiming he has incurable cancer and wanting to both avoid suffering for himself and his family and allow them to claim life insurance, he offers Fletch a considerable sum of money to murder him a week from that date. Intrigued, Fletch begins to investigate Stanwyck's claims, discovering that things may be tied in with the story he is investigating at the beach, and that a sinister police chief (Joe Don Baker) may also be involved...

Probably Chevy Chase's most well-known role after Clark Griswold, and something of a cult hit. Resulted in a sequel, Fletch Lives, which took Fletch to The Deep South where he investigated intrigue around his family estate.

Has nothing to do with the British series Porridge.

"Fletch: Whoops. Gail Whoops? What do you mean, 'whoops'?! Don't say 'whoops'!"
 * Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted. In the novels, Fletch was a handsome, young, blond, extremely muscular man who could bed any woman he wanted. In the movies, he was played by a forty-something Chevy Chase.
 * Amateur Sleuth
 * American Gothic Couple: Stanwyck's parents, in essence if not in image.
 * Bavarian Fire Drill: Fletch is quite fond of these. He's even capable of pulling them off by doing nothing but talking nonsense.
 * Character Name Alias: Fletch uses several of them, often real people. Not everyone catches on.
 * The Stanwycks remark at his being named after President Harry Truman.
 * The doctor remarks as his having the same name as "a children's elephant."
 * Also used:
 * G. Gordon Liddy.
 * Ted Nugent.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Or Chekhov's Lighter, really.
 * Creepy Physical: Fletch tries to bargain his way out of a rectal exam.
 * Darker and Edgier: Fletch goes from comical to darkly serious as the novels progress.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Fletch. And how.
 * For one example, the movie contains possibly the driest ever reading of the line "Thank God. The police."
 * Dirty Cop:
 * Disneyesque: A dream sequence in the sequel.
 * Embarrassing First AND Middle Name: Fletch gets quite irate if you call him 'Irwin'.
 * Glove Snap: A physician does this before giving Fletch a rectal examination.
 * I Have Many Names: Fletch.
 * Intrepid Reporter: Fletch.
 * Ironic Echo: A visual example.
 * Karmic Death:
 * Last-Name Basis: Hey, it's better than 'Irwin'.
 * Look Behind You!: Fletch pulls this on a dog, funnily enough.
 * Oh Crap: At the end


 * Only One Name: Fletch. When asked for his full name, he gives "Fletch F. Fletch."
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: Some of Fletch's disguises are quite intricate. Others require no more than the investment of $0.45 in a set of novelty teeth. If that.
 * Polygamy: Stanwyck. This causes consternation, then revelation for Fletch when questioning Stanwyck's parents, as Fletch knew the woman was involved with Stanwyck, but not this much.
 * Lampshaded at the beginning, where Fletch remarks that going undercover as a junkie is strangely easy; "act like you don't give a crap, you fit right in."
 * Skeleton Key Card: How he breaks into his own apartment (via a window, no less) in a failed attempt to evade his ex-wife's lawyer.