Fletch: Michael Ritchie

Chevy Chase's Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is the inheritor of not just one, but two great cinematic traditions. The first is the wise-ass comic leading man, able to get into and out of any situation conceivable. In Michael Ritchie's Fletch, we see the eponymous character dive into what must be over a dozen different characters, persona, and personalities all so he can get to the truth surrounding a strange millionaire who asked him (while he was pretending to be a junkie so he could do research on the local drug trade) to murder him. I won't divulge too much more of the plot because it relates to the second tradition that Fletch is heir to: the hard-boiled private dick. Yes, beneath the jokes, wisecracks, and outrageous comic set-pieces, Fletch is practically a neo-noir. This is due in no small part to the fact that the film was based on a novel by noted mystery writer Gregory Mcdonald. In fact, Chase's performance as Fletch seems almost like a response to Elliott Gould's turn as Philip Marlowe in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973). Both are California detectives with generally amiable attitudes who respond to threats of violence and intimidation with wise-cracks and sarcasm. But there are other similarities between the two films. Both feature similar noir-influenced story beats such as duplicity lurking within the upper social classes and corrupt public officials. And remarkably, both films have plots that are satisfactorily labyrinthine yet simultaneously comprehensible enough that they don't leave the audience in a confused stupor like in Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep (1946). So perhaps a new classification is needed for Fletch: neo-noir comedy.

9/10