Rating: Summary: One of my all-time Top 5 Funny Movies Review: "Fletch" may be the movie with the most JPM (Jokes per minute), some outrageously funny, and some very subtle (such as Fletch's boss holding the coffee pot..."Can I help you with that?". If you dont' laugh at least once during this movie, you absolutely have no sense of humor.Chevy Chase IS I.M. Fletcher. Given Chase's style, I don't see how this character could have been played by anyone else. And it's a good thing, too. There are few films where the lead character is so completely dominant. There isn't a single scene without him, and only a few shots that do not either have him on screen or are shot from his perspective. So the burden of pulling this film off falls squarely on Chase, and he delivers in spades. This doesn't mean that the rest of the cast doesn't have a significant contribution. 2 of them stand out: Richard Libertini, as Fletch's hi-strung boss, and William Traylor as Ted Underhill, who unwittingly finances some of Fletch's adventures. The rest put in solid, if unremarkable performances. There is a plethora of quotable dialogue ("If you shoot me, you're going to lose a lot of those humanitarian awards") and memorable scenes (such as the VFW-type dinner) to keep you laughing. A definate classic.
Rating: Summary: My Favorite Comedy of ALL TIME!!! Review: GET THIS MOVIE!!! I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! Chevy Chase made a few bad movies when he got started but this ISN'T one of them. As an undercover investigative reporter, Irwin M. Fletcher looks into the local drug traffic, only to get caught up in insurance fraud, police corruption, embezzlement and another man's suit. He's Baba au Rum - Holistic Teamster, Magic "Fletch" Christian - Los Angeles Lakers, Ted Nugent - Beach Bum, Igor Stravinsky - Real Estate Developer, Harry S. Truman - Insurance Agent, G. Gordon Liddy - Ajax Supervisor, and a host of of others. Look for Larry "Flash" Jenkins ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off"), Joe Don Baker, Tim Matheson, and the beautiful Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. Plus Geena Davis, George Wendt ("Cheers"), Richard Libertini ("The In-Laws") and Tony Longo ("Eraser"). M. Emmett Wash is the rubber-gloved doctor who examines his patients VERY thoroughly. And there's William Sanderson of TV's "Newhart". And finally Burton Gilliam of "Blazing Saddles". Whew!!! Chase's one-liners and trickery are so subtle that it probably confounds most professional movie critics. They're always tuned to either the person he's playing or the role he's fulfilling. The autopsy scene is not to be forgotten, but you may have to turn up the volume for the full effect (sorry about that!). Learn the one-liners here and you'll have an automatic response for most everday situations. Excellent soundtrack as well.
Rating: Summary: hey, why don't you guys go down to the gym and... Review: Great flic, Funny stuff. Buy it, Rent it, See it, Whatever. "Mooooon River, Few... thank you doc."
Rating: Summary: A perfect vehicle for Chevy Chase Review: If you're already a Chevy Chase fan, then you'll certainly enjoy Fletch. If you've never seen a Chase movie, by all means, give this one a try. It's vintage Chevy Chase: his running commentary is hysterical, and his under-the-breath humor is probably the highlight of this movie. His ability to fake identities to get what he wants is somewhat similar to Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop. While neither movie is going to win any drama awards, I think both plots are interesting enough... particularly since the plot is really secondary to Chase's (and Murphy's) hilarious manipulation of the unwitting.
Rating: Summary: "Nugent, Ted Nugent" Review: One of Chase's best comedies as a news reporter who while undercover as a junkie is propositioned by Tim Matheson to murder him. Almost works like Beverly Hills Cop in that whenever things get serious Chase makes wisecracks and lightens the mood. Much better than the sequel, Fletch Lives, which does have its hilarious moments, but gets boring here and there. By the way, Ted Nugent is just one of Fletch's aliases.
Rating: Summary: "What knid of name is 'Poon', anyway?" Review: Truely one of the best Chevy Chase movies ever. His one liners are golden moments of comedy, and the plot keeps you guessing. Although I've never read the book, this movie rates among my top 10 of all time. Hopefully that will carry some weight coming from a guy with more than 2000 titles on his shelf. Always fun to watch, and anyone spending the time couldn't help but enjoy it.
Rating: Summary: A Realistic View of a Classic Review: Fletch has long been one of my all-time favorite movies. It's hip and fast-talking, doesn't play to a dumbed-down audience, and never ceases to crack me up, no matter how many times I see it. At one point, I had pretty much the entire movie memorized, and still probably know most of it. But let's be realistic. Fletch is a hilarious movie -- a cult classic -- but it's not without its flaws. It's filled with great one-liners, but the script runs roughshod over Gregory McDonald's plot, obscuring it. Could the adaptation have been better? Maybe, but it's doubtful that would've made it a better movie. Looking objectively, it's just not a great film. Looking subjectively, it's one of the best comedies ever made. This is one you just have to judge for yourself.
Rating: Summary: Great adaption of a novel that I thought couldn't be adapted Review: Much as "L.A. Law" seduced thousands of college students into law school with the promise of riches, the novel "Fletch" seduced me into journalism school with the promise of adventure and mystery. Sadly, I discovered that much of journalism is nothing like the novel. That said, Gregory McDonald's "Fletch" remains one of my all time favorite books. When the novel was adapted into a movie, I was skeptical. The novel succeeds because Fletch is much smarter than everyone else, and it moves along based on sharp witty dialogue. How was Chevy Chase going to play Fletch? (Quite frankly, I had always envisioned Fletch as someone like Dirk Benedict -- aka "Faceman" on "The A-Team," or perhaps you remember him as "Starbuck" on "Battlestar Galactica.") The producers of this movie wisely recognized that they couldn't adapt Chevy Chase into the novel's Fletch, so instead, they took what they could from the novel and adapted it to Chase's strengths. The result is wildly successful. Chase's deadpan delivery and physical klutziness makes the movie fun and funny, while the novel's detailed plot keeps the viewer guessing. This is one of the few times where I've liked both the book and the movie equally. Now, on to the technical aspects of the DVD. The picture quality is fine, as with DVDs, but the sound, particularly the end credit music sequence, is a bit flat and monostereo at times. Since I noticed this same problem with the laserdisc version, I don't think it's a DVD defect, but rather a problem with the original source, which is too bad. In summary, I highly recommend this movie; when you're done, you might search for a copy of the novel for a much different presentation of the plot.
Rating: Summary: I Never Get Tired Of This Movie Review: Fletch is one of the best comedies I've ever seen. The constant barrage of one-liners never stops. This is one of the few comedies I've seen that kept me laughing so much, I missed stuff. As I remember, this is one film that a lot of big name critics bashed. This film is also the reason I don't listen to those critics anymore!
Rating: Summary: Mr. Ted Underhill Review: An all time classic! Great one-liners that are used in everyday life. A pure comedy that you can watch over and over again and still keep laughing. Chevy at his best! In at time when comedys lack a good laugh this one is timeless.
|