Fletch Lives

Plot synopsis:
Irwin M. Fletcher (Chevy Chase) is back. Our hero starts out dressed in drag as a waitress at a Greek restaurant. He is there getting a story about a gambling ring that is run out of the restaurant. When he gets back to the office with the story, his boss is happy with it,but denies Fletch a vacation he promised him, saying he needs to finish another story first. Of course, Fletch is angry. The phone rings, and it is an attorney from Louisiana calling to tell Fletch that his great aunt has died and left him her plantation- "Belle Isle" - there. Fletch immediately quits his job and tells his boss to send his stuff to "his mansion in Louisana." He flies down, and the attorney - Amanda Ross (Patricia Kalember) takes him to see the plantation. It is a mess. Fletch says that with a little spackling and Napalm it would make a nice mausoleum. The go in the house and Fletch meets the caretaker, "Calculus Entropy" (Cleavon Little). He worked for Fletch's aunt and wants to continue on with Fletch. The caretaker doesn't seem quite the simpleton that he makes out though.Fletch's attorney takes him back to town to sign papers and make him dinner. She informs him that someone wants to buy his property for $225,000.00. Fletch is immediately suspicious and tells her "no sale." They hit it off and end up spending the night together. While they are both sleeping, someone comes into the house and kills the attorney, and Fletch wakes up in the morning to find her dead in the bed. The police come and they question Fletch about the death. The chief of police decided to arrest Fletch, not for murder, but for "Pissing him off." Fletch is taken to the jail and put in a cell with a transvestite necrophiliac named Ben Dover (Randall 'Tex' Cobb), who threatens to molest him. Fletch is saved by another attorney - Hamilton "Ham" Johnson (Hal Holbrook), who gets the Ben out of jail. Fletch asks the new attorney to take his case, and he does. He gets Fletch released and they leave.Fletch goes back to his house and talks to Calculus. They sit on the porch to relax, but the KKK shows up chanting over a bullhorn. Fletch puts on a couple of white sheets and joins them - telling them his name is Henry Hiemler. He finds out that they are not there on their own, but are on a "contract job" - someone hired them to get rid of some "undesirable carpetbagger" - presumably Fletch. Calculus runs them off with a shotgun.The next morning, a real estate agent - Becky Ann Culpepper (Julianne Phillips) comes to put another offer on Fletch's property. This time it's up to $250,000.00. Fletch asks her who is offering the money and she tells him that it's confidential. Fletch decides to do some snooping, so he goes back to Amanda Ross's house and goes in as an exterminator. He finds out that there are others involved in the mystery of his aunt's estate - the Rev. Jamie Lee Farnsworth (R. Lee Ermey) and a mysterious corporation by the name of Bluebird. The police catch him there, but he talks his way out of it by telling them he's searching for termites. He leaves and goes back to the plantation and talks to Calculus about the Reverend and finds out that he is a local icon with his television show and "Bibleland" amusement park. Fletch decides to check this out.He goes to a live taping of the television show the next day and is called up front by the Reverend to "confess his sins" and "be saved." Fletch makes friends with the Reverend and learns that he wants Fletch's property to expand Bibleland. The next day, Fletch goes to talk to Ham and finds out that he has been cleared of the murder charges and that Amanda's death has been ruled "natural causes." The attorney confesses that the reason Fletch has been cleared is because of his "religious conversion" on the Reverend's show. Ham also tells Fletch that the good reverend is a scam artist who tricked his mother out of her land and plantation.Fletch goes fishing that afternoon with Calculus and they discuss the possibility that Amanda's death was natural. The both say that's very improbable, and Fletch decides that he needs to get a look at Amanda's body to know for sure. He asks Calculus to help him get into the morgue. They put Fletch on a gurney under a sheet and take him in. The morgue operator is Ben Dover. He takes Fletch's prize Laker watch. Calculus tells him that Fletch's name is "Eldridge Cleaver" (the great civil rights leader) so we know that Calculus isn't as ignorant as he pretends to be. Once they get back into the morgue, Fletch checks for Amanda's body, but it has already been cremated. This convinces Fletch that she was murdered and cremated quickly to cover it up. So, Fletch goes on the hunt for a murderer.After the morgue, Calculus and he go back to Belle Isle and there's a fire. Fletch has to move in with Calculus. Later they go out to eat so they can talk. While at the restaurant they run into some friends. They offer to take Fletch "Coon Hunting" and he goes. While running around the Louisiana night, they go across several properties that were recently sold to the mysterious "Bluebird" corporation. The properties are barren and have puddles of goo all over them. Fletch steps in one. As he is checking this out, someone shoots at him. He ducks and runs toward the shooter and gets in a struggle with him. Another gunshot scares off the first shooter, and Fletch finds himself alone...but, on the ground is his Laker watch. He goes back to Calculus' house and tells him he was shot at and he goes to check out Calculus's shotgun to see if it's been used recently, but Calculus grabs the gun off the wall before Fletch can touch it and goes outside. We hear a shot and Calculus tells Fletch that he thought he saw something and shot in the air to scare it away.Fletch decides it's time for some outside help...so he calls his boss back in California. He finds out that Becky Culpepper - the real estate agent is the Reverend Farnsworth's daughter, and he sends his tennis shoes to his boss to have the goo analyzed. The next morning he goes to see Becky and asks if the $250,000 offer is still good. It isn't. He confronts her with the information he received about her paternity and she admits that the Reverend is her father, but that she doesn't believe he's a murderer.Fletch decides it's time to go back to Bibleland and check out the Rev. Farnsworth some more. He dresses up and goes onto the show disguised as a "faith-healer." He sneaks backstage and checks out the computers. He finds out how the Reverend knows how to call specific people out of the audience - he has a computerized system and someone who tells him names and specifics in an earpiece during the show. He also finds out that the Rev. Farnsworth has plans that would expand Bibleland to all of the neighboring plantations, not just his. Fletch gets rid of the computer operator and checks the files. He sees that the Reverend wasn't trying to buy the properties, but another mysterious corporation named "Everest Development" was.Knowing he needs more information, Fletch decides to start with Ben Dover since he was the one that was shooting at him. He follows Ben from the morgue to a biker bar. Fletch dresses up as "Ed Harley", goes into the bar and claims to be the owner of Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Ben doesn't recognize him, and offers to let him go on a ride with his gang. Fletch does - with Becky on the back of his motorcycle. During the ride, Fletch's disguise comes off and Ben recognizes him. They give chase, but Becky and he get away. They go back to her house to clean up. While there, Fletch calls his boss in California and finds out that Bluebird is a corporation that finds dump sites for toxic waste. There is only one near Louisiana and it's in Mississippi. Fletch goes to check it out.In Mississippi, Fletch poses as the CEO of Everest Development and talks to the Bluebird factory foreman (Phil Hartman). He finds out that Belle Isle is scheduled to receive a large shipment of the toxic waste in a few weeks. He also finds out from the paperwork there who the "owner" of Everest is.Fletch goes back to Louisiana and goes to a party thrown by Hamilton Johnson. He tells him that he wants to talk to him privately. When they get upstairs, Fletch tells him that he knows that he is the one who tried to buy his land, killed Amanda, framed him, and has planned a shipment of toxic waste for Belle Isle. Ham then admits to everything - saying he hates Jimmy Lee Farnsworth for what he did to Ham's beloved "mamma." He says he wanted to turn everything around Bibleland into a toxic waste dump to ruin the reverend. Ham pulls a gun and tells Fletch that he's going to kill him. Fletch tells Ham that he left all of the incriminating evidence with Becky and if he doesn't let Fletch go, she'll send it to the FBI. Ham tells Fletch that he's bluffing - and out walks Ben, who has kidnapped Becky. Ham has ordered both of them to be murdered. Fletch is stuck...until he gets an idea. He picks up a picture of Ham's mom and begins insulting her...and this infuriates Ham. Then Fletch grabs Ham's mother's ashes and begins playing with them. He tosses them across the room at Ham, and this causes Ben and Ham to fall, this allows Fletch and Becky to escape. They run to Bibleland and into a live taping of the Reverend's show. Ham comes in with his gun and tries to shoot Fletch, but the Reverend gets in between them and tells Ham he'll have to shoot him first. Just then, shots ring out and Ham goes down...the FBI is there and have killed Ham...the FBI agent in charge is Calculus...whose real name is Agent Goldstein. They have had the ministry under investigation for months. They all go outside and talk about things a bit...Fletch tells Calculus that he knew he wasn't a backwoods simpleton all along. The Reverend says he's going to rerun the show with the shooting incident every day for Sweeps month. Fletch kisses Becky and mentions the possibility of her coming back to California with him.When Fletch gets back to California and his job at the newspaper, there's a big party for him and his boss has given him a raise and a corner office. Fletch also receives an insurance check for $100,000 for the fire and the toxic waste dumping at Belle Isle. Just then, Fletch's ex-wife's attorney shows up and says that Fletch's ex-wife wants the property in Louisiana as part of the alimony. He tells Fletch if he'll sign over the property, that they'll leave him alone for the rest of his life and he'll never have to pay anything to her again. So, Fletch gladly does...pretending all the time it's killing him to do it...and never telling the attorney that they plantation is now a burned-down toxic waste dump...

Tags: humor, satire, murder

Review:
First of all, how can anyone pick up a video with this sort of picture of Chevy Chase on the front and expect it to not be stupid--in the best possible sense!
And yet I have only recently added the first movie to my private collection.Chevy Chase is one of the best out-and-out comedy actors available in my opinion.
And you can't expect him to be serious in a movie that was intended to be anything but.I think the best part about Chevy Chase as Fletch, is that he lives out those crazy ideas we sometimes get (such as convincing someone of invisible squealing bugs, simply telling someone their house is on fire, and marching into a corporation like you own the place), and he gets away with it when most of us don't dare in the first place.
Pros - Entertaining Story, many hilarious jokes, Chevy Chase.
Cons - Last Fletch film starring Chevy Chase, not quite a satisfying ending for the two films Overall a must see and a guaranteed laugh.
M. Fletcher "Fletch", he must have had Chevy Chase in mind.
Snappy dialogue and amusing disguises by Chase make these two Fletch movies, his best film work.
If you like Chevy Chase you'll love "Fletch Lives and "Fletch"..
Chase's disguises carry the second Fletch film.
The best of it comes in Chevy Chase's many disguises.
His use of phony names – though of real people in history, was funny for one movie, but gets tiring and not too funny in this sequel.
With a good enough plot, I think some writers – and Chase in impromptu, could have come up with some newer funnies.
You had to a fan of Chevy Chase to fully enjoy the first installment but here you have to be a die hard devotee to get the most out of the sequel.
The first one had a really good detective story that nearly got buried with wisecracks, but on subsequent viewings it really came alive and it ranks as one of the best movies Chevy Chase has been involved in.Fletch Lives has Fletch moving to the South where he has inherited a mansion from his aunt.
Continuing interest in buying the nearly worthless land for a huge amount of money evokes suspicions and our favorite reporter goes snooping around.Fletch Lives is not nearly as well crafted or written as the first one, with a rather predictable mystery that doesn't seem to take itself seriously for one second.
But it does have some fantastic comic sequences; such as Fletch impersonating a faith healer, Fletch encountering a mean biker gang, a memorable meeting with a fellow inmate and some one great one-liners delivered with style by the great comedian (as you might have guessed; I'm a big fan).Supporting actors like Hal Holbrook and R.
Lee Ermey add to the enjoyment and Chase delivers but when all is said and done Fletch Lives is for fans only who can overlook the shallowness of the film as a whole..
Irwin Fletcher, or better known as 'Fletch' is a Los Angeles investigative reporter, who quits his job and heads to Belle Isle a vast 80-arce Louisiana plantation that he has inherited from his late aunt.
'Fletch Lives' is basically more or less a vehicle for Chevy Chase's dry, smart-ass humour, and his prominently cunning persona.
Lee Ermey, Julianne Phillips and Richard Libertini basically play off Chase's character and fall under the mockery of his heavy-handed humour.
If you think this sequel is going to be just like the 'Fletch', forget it.
Chevy Chase's cool-as-ice performance was great fun, and I just enjoyed his manic absurdity overall and Cleavon Little was delightful as Calculus Entropy the caretaker of Fletch's estate.Nothing will totally gobs-smack you about it, but it's just a sentimental favourite of mine, which I always find something joyous upon each viewing..
Chevy Chase returns as goofy reporter Irwin Fletcher.
To complicate matters, he finds himself involved in a murder plot, gets chased by the Ku Klux Klan, and various other mishaps.Oh come on!
The very presence of Chevy Chase should identify that it's a hilariously wacky good time (remember, he was funny before his failed attempt at a TV show; and he did play a good role in "Orange County").
Has Chevy Chase ever played so many people in one film?
Chevy Chase, once again, nails the role of Fletch and only he can deliver the deadpan sarcasm in a way no other actor can.Fletch quits his job as an investigative reporter after he inherits a plantation mansion in Louisiana.
And why the producers commissioned a brand new screenplay instead working from one of Gregory MacDonald's novels is beyond me.His disguises will, however, make you grin from ear to ear (Claude Henry Smoot steals the show) and they way he comes out with the most ridiculous of things when he's talking to people makes you wonder why they ever believe it.
Lee Ermey as the eccentric TV Evangelist makes up for it.And to any of you who are puzzled why Mr. Underhill is credited in the cast of characters but not actually in the film, he IS.
Look closely at the Zipedee Doo-Dah sequence and you can see him as one of the dancers.Had the producers treated Fletch like James Bond we might have a new Fletch mystery every two years since 1985 if they followed the order of MacDonald's books (not chronologically, of course, as they're all over the place).
Fletch (Chevy Chase) is a reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper, but he acts more like a detective.
While there is a certain level of fun with any classic Chevy Chase film, this one has almost none of what made the first one great.
However, when time came to make a sequel, the studio decided that none of the other dozen or so Fletch novels would be suitable and Instead put together a generic comedy mystery with a plot right out of Scooby-Doo. This is dumbed down generic 80s action junk of the worst sort, partially saved by Chevy Chase's deadpan use of the trademark Fletch trick of disguising himself and impersonating people to get information.
A comedy-mystery, like any other hybrid, has to work effectively in both genres to be a success and the mystery plot line is just too weak to carry the film.This movie for me was a special disappointment, as the Fletch series ended here, when Chase could easily have made a career out of starring as Fletch in adaptations of several books before Chase-as- Fletch wore out his welcome.
It contains more laughs than the original, but relies too much on the stupidity of the supporting characters to set up the jokes.I also found Chase's character too arrogant and often irritating..
When Fletch finds out that he has inherited an estate in the deep south from an aunt he hardly knew, we get a wicked satire of "Song of the South", complete with animation and a singing Chevy.
We also get southern beauties who present themselves with three names like "Amanda Ray Ross" and "Becky Ann Culpepper" and you just know that the first thing Fletch does is make a rather suggestive remark that the women find irresistible and they immediately jump in the sack with him.
Chevy Chase = good times..
Even though the story isn't anywhere near as good, Fletch Lives is every bit as funny as the first movie.
I've realized that Chevy Chase can make any movie work.
If you're a Chevy Chase fan, this movie is worth checking out.
I'm a big fan of mystery/comedies, and the Fletch series is one that I think had a lot of potential that wasn't fully realized.
Some of the highlights in this one include a rather funny gathering of the Klu Klux Klan in front of Fletch's new home, two funny healing scenes in the televangelist church, and a rather humorous chase scene on some motorcycles.
Good movie to me that while it is not quite as realistic as the first or have the story, but it makes up for it by being more fun in places..
I love "Fletch Lives", it is so damn funny and cackles with hilarious dialogue.
I love "Fletch Lives", it is so damn funny and cackles with hilarious dialogue.
Director Michael Ritchie and Chevy Chase team up once again for "Fletch Lives", with Chase reprising the role of Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, newspaper journalist and master of disguise.
Chevy Chase, once again, nails the role of Fletch and only he can deliver the deadpan sarcasm in a way no other actor can.
Fletch quits his job as an investigative reporter after he inherits a plantation mansion in Louisiana.
I recommend this to fans of the character, the movie that came before this, and/or Chevy Chase(people who like what he does, not the...
We had a great time and a ton of laughs and when it was finally over, it struck me that I was going to miss this new character who I'd just been introduced to a couple hours ago...Suddenly, the announcer comes on: "Coming up next, Fletch is back in the 1989 hit sequel 'Fletch Lives'!".
The concept and setting were great, as were all the new characters, and Chevy Chase was in top-form once again.
Seeing him play Fletch is so satisfying because he's like a much more competent version of Clark Griswold who actually gets to win 'em all.Thanks for a great evening, Chevy.
Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher(Chevy Chase) is at it again.
They know you will return for a sequel of a hugely popular movie and thus take the time to overload it with PC (see Porky's 2 and about a million others).
While the beginning was lame, the rest of the movie was quite interesting, and the ending was much better than the original Fletch.
Bottom line: If you like the original Fletch, or if you like 80's comedy, give Fletch Lives a try, its a much better movie than its made out to be, and like someone mentioned, marked Chevy Chase's last good movie..
I absolutely love the original Fletch movie.
Chevy is nonstop hilarious in it, and I like the hard boiled detective style.Fletch Lives sucks.
In the first film he wants to do good and help everyone.Nothing like his fast-talking quick witted character from the first movie.
It's a rather lazy , uninspired , obligatory sequel to a hit movie , yet far from being truly terrible.The 1985 "Fletch" movie was a hit and a really good movie in style of "Beverly Hills Cop" .
It was funny movie with a solid , realistic detective story which was a quite faithful adaptation of the first book in the Fletch series by Gregory McDonald.
A hit book series produces an original hit movie and there is enough material to use for new movie so the decision to make sequel seems logical , right ?
There were eight sequels and prequels written by Gregory McDonald that could have been used as the basis for the second "Fletch" movie at the time and yet Universal decided to write a completely new story.
In the end "Fletch" and "Fletch lives" are like apple compared to orange - that different.The mystery here is lame , rather predictable and silly stuff that could easily appear in Scooby Doo cartoon.
The story is thin and the focus seems to have shifted to Fletch's disguises and gags rather than working on layers of mystery.
Chevy Chase carries this movie with his usual cynical wit and comedic timing.
I can understand that some people really like this movie for being more crazy than original.
However in the end "Fletch lives" is a very shallow movie with no real intelligence or passion behind it.
Shame that the Fletch series ended here, when Chase could easily have made a career starring in his own franchise for few next years.
Chevy Chase stars as the title character and gets into more trouble after he inherits a southern plantation and leaves his job at the Los Angeles newspaper.
Not As Good as the First; Not As Bad as the Rep. Fletch Lives (1989)** 1/2 (out of 4) Chevy Chase returns as Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher in this sequel to the 1985 flick.
Sure, the movie isn't as smooth or as good as the first one but the most important thing is laughs and that's something I did quite a few times.
The movie obviously cuts back on the various characters Chase plays as this is pretty much left to the final twenty-minutes but I didn't mind this too much.
Chase isn't quite as great as in the original film but he's still good enough to keep everything moving and his various characters once again get plenty of laughs.
Chevy Chase, Is back as the wisecracking investigative reporter,Fletch, inherits a size-able inheritance from his deceased aunt.
On the estate is Calculas, Cleavon 'Blazing Saddles'Little, Who becomes fletch's manservant, who knows all too well about the murderous goings on, Also featuring is genre mainstay, Randall 'Tex' Cobb,As a none too bright thug, And Full Metal Jacket's R Lee Emery, as a Evanglist And father of Chase's love interest, 'Fletch Lives pokes fun at the Obvious, southern drawl Religious evangelism Amusement parks( bible Land ) Fletch Lives is best enjoyed as back to back viewing with it's classic sequel,.
Irwin Fletcher (Chevy Chase) is an L.A. newspaper investigative reporter.
Then Walker tells him that Becky is actually Jimmy Lee's daughter.I compare 'Fletch' to a less funny 'Beverly Hills Cop'.
Chevy Chase is playing up his wacky characters.
Chevy is more annoying than funny in this movie.
All are well-written, witty, and full of great characterizations.Which leads me to my major complaint about this film in that the didn't use any of the other Fletch novels and wrote a completely new script based on the character from the first film and not from the books.
A great comic actor that is missed.And, of course, the star is Chevy Chase.
I believe this film was made simply as an excuse to get Chase into some funny costumes for some cheap laughs.
There may not be a great deal of newspaper reporting going on in Fletch Lives, but it makes up for that with a great deal of mystery solving.From Ed Harley to Claude Henry Smoot, Chevy Chase doesn't disappoint throughout the movie.
Fletch Lives also marks the last funny Chevy Chase movie, so it must have been made immediately before he was replaced by some sort of evil, unfunny robot..
The fact is that it is still a classic 80's Chevy Chase Comedy and has some hilarious scenes (i.e.
The summary of the movie tells it all, if you like bad jokes and Chevy Chase's style of humour then you will love this film.
A far more enjoyable movie, in my opinion, with the same lovable comedic efforts by Chevy.My name...most of the time, is Irwin Fletcher.
This is the sequel to the movie Fletch and is about a reporter, Irwin Fletcher (Chevy Chase), who is a master of disguise.
The property needs a lot of work, the pink Cadillac has no breaks, and his attorney dies during the night: this would be okay it is just that he was in bed with her at the time.Having just read the Ebert Review (and I don't particularly like many reviewers but I have come to the conclusion that Ebert actually puts a lot of thought into what he writes) I have a tendency to agree with him on the point that the movie is really just a string of clichés with a loose plot thrown in.
The amusement park Bible Land is supposed to be funny, but isn't, and the characters do not have those funny little traits that make movies interesting.Fletch Lives is supposed to be a mystery, but it doesn't come out as such.
Fletch Lives is one of the most despised comedy sequels of all time.
Widely regarded by fans as great disappointment and the movie that killed a potential Fletch franchise, the film nonetheless gets just as much play on cable television as the original Fletch does.
Oddly enough, while Fletch Lives isn't based on any of the Fletch stories, I think Chevy Chase does do a better job as Fletch here than he did in the first movie.
Ultimately, Fletch Lives may not have the same tone or feeling of the first film, but it's not nearly as bad as its reputation.
In the sequel to the wild and funny 1985 Chevy Chase vehicle "Fletch", the charismatic journalist Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is back in thick of things.
"Fletch Lives" sadly does not measure up to to it predecessor which was Chevy Chase at his absolute best.
Sadly this sequel was inferior to the first instalment up to the point that it would have been better if they just left well enough alone.After starring in one of his worst movies ever that which was "Funny Farm", Chevy should have realized that the country life was not for him.
Chevy utilizes his usual cynical wit and comedic timing like he did in the first "Fletch" movie and the various disguises he puts on are equally impressive and the impersonations are pure genius.
The plot I found to be overwhelming which did not seem to work this time around for Fletch to wear disguises and deliver his comical wit.
I found Fletch Lives mildly amusing in parts in particular Chevy's comic timing.
FLETCH LIVES is something of a lacklustre sequel to the original spy comedy, featuring as it does over-obvious humour and a kind of anything-goes mentality that means the screenplay is a lot looser and more scattershot than in the original movie.
Chevy Chase returns to the titular role, this time involved in another mystery and travelling to the southern states to irresponsibly romance women and don a number of disguises.