Verdict
Summary
A flighty and less clever sequel to Fletch, Fletch Lives has some inspired moments (there’s a whole section filmed in a retrofitted Universal Studios), but ultimately is a bit of a disappointment considering how funny (and exciting) the original was. This one feels more like a handful of sketches stretched to feature length and needs a good chase or some action to enliven it up, and while Chase manages some good, solid laughs a few times in the film, the plot and execution fails the audience on the whole.
Plot:
Investigative reporter Fletch inherits a Louisiana plantation that some very powerful people want … at any cost.
Review:
With his career as a daring investigative reporter going stagnant, Irwin Fletcher (Chevy Chase) has debts and alimony up the wazoo, and so when he gets a call from an attorney informing him that his long lost aunt has died and left him a sprawling plantation home in Louisiana, he quits his gig and goes to investigate. Indeed, he has inherited a huge home and property, which isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (the place is very old and needs tons of work, but the land is almost priceless), and he gets a big surprise when the attractive attorney he slept with is murdered in bed right next to him. He’s blamed for the woman’s death, but he’s bailed out by another lawyer (played by Hal Holbrook) that basically informs him that the land is coveted by a shady televangelist (played by R. Lee Ermey) who wants to add the land to his already thriving Biblical theme park nearby. Fletch, using his uncanny ability to go undercover in various disguises, infiltrates the televangelist’s carefully guarded empire (leading to some of the movie’s funniest moments), but realizes that there’s much more than meet’s the eye in the conspiracy to get Fletch to hand over his inheritance.
A flighty and less clever sequel to Fletch, Fletch Lives has some inspired moments (there’s a whole section filmed in a retrofitted Universal Studios), but ultimately is a bit of a disappointment considering how funny (and exciting) the original was. This one feels more like a handful of sketches stretched to feature length and needs a good chase or some action to enliven it up, and while Chase manages some good, solid laughs a few times in the film, the plot and execution fails the audience on the whole. Returning director Michael Ritchie manages to tap into Chase’s signature humor, but this time the chemistry is a little less electric.
Kino Lorber’s brand new edition of Fletch Lives comes in a new HD master from a 2K scan of the 35mm interpositive, and comes with a new audio commentary by several journalists, as well as a making-of feature, a profile on Chevy Chase, a theatrical trailer, and TV spots. This edition has a slipcover.
