Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Jon Hamm, Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, Roy Wood Jr.
Have I Seen it Before: No, but I’ve read a number of the Fletch books, including listening the the audiobook of this one quite recently.
Did I Like It: Which I think goes straight to my big problem with the film, even if it is a minor one. It’s only been a few weeks since I took the story in, and I had long since forgotten who did it. While I like the character of Fletch, and the journey of through these stories are always pleasurable enough, the mysteries themselves aren’t anywhere near as engaging.
All things considered, that’s probably a pretty good mark against an adaptation: For better or worse, it has harnessed the spirit of its source material, flaws and all. Thankfully, while I felt a little disconnected with the mystery that fuels the comedy, I can say that the usual steadfast rule that the most famous person in the cast is usually the one who did it didn’t hold up here. There were two people of relative equal fame who weren’t playing one Irwin Maurice Fletcher, and only one of them did, in fact, do it. Knives Out (2019) probably made more hay out of avoiding that cliche, but that is more a question of budget than intent.
The other problem I’ve had as I’ve read the Gregory Mcdonald books is that it has been absolutely impossible to reconcile the character within those pages with the fundamentally smart-aleck, and occasionally needlessly absurdist starring vehicle tailored for Chevy Chase in the 80s. Hamm, however, feels perfectly at home in the role. There is almost nothing zany about his work in the role. So, for someone who has been itching to have Fletch return to the screen, this is about as welcome a return as a man could hope for.