Fletch (Chevy Chase) is on the beach when a man, Alan Stanwyck (Tim Matheson) requests that Fletch kill him. He says he is dying of cancer and wants to be spared the worst of it while still providing his life insurance to his wife. Fletch agrees to kill him. Fletch happened to be on the beach, because he is investigating the drug trade. His investigation so far has only revealed that Fat Sam (George Wendt) is the onsite seller but who is giving him the drugs? Police Chief Karlin (Joe Don Baker) is quite hostile to Fletch's investigation, threatening to kill him if he doesn't stay away. While laying low on the drug story, Fletch digs into the life and history of Alan Stanwyck, meeting his wife, Gail (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), doctor, father-in-law, parents, etc. His investigation paints a very different picture of Alan Stanwyck than was provided.
Though the movie generally follows the book, it is all zany comedy. The Chevy Chase version of Fletch has him in goofy disguises and offering slapstick humor to discover the truth. It is often puerile. I remember enjoying it when I saw in theaters those many years ago but now it was mostly one long cringe fest. Part of that is I had never read a Fletch novel when I first saw this, so didn't know the character. Also, this sort of dumb humor is better suited for a younger audience. It certainly doesn't work for solo viewing at this point. The movie ends entirely differently from the book. Here, Stanwyck is part of the drug smuggling ring. Also, Fletch and Gail travel to Rio de Janeiro together, where in the book Fletch went alone with all of Stanwyck's ill-gotten gains.
Disappointing. See the Jon Hamm version (Confess, Fletch) instead.
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