Chevy Chase became known as part of the cast on Saturday Night Live. After leaving the show, he went on to make several movies that were very popular, like National’s Lampoon’s Vacation. I have seen and enjoyed many of his movies, even some that were rather silly. I added Fletch Lives to my DVD collection recently and just watched it again.

Irwin M. Fletcher was still writing a column using the name of Jane Doe for a newspaper in Los Angeles. He was surprised when an aunt he hadn’t seen in years left him Belle Isle, a plantation in Louisiana. Fletch was less thrilled when he arrived at Belle Isle and saw the run down condition. Fletch was pulled into an investigation when Amanda Ray Ross, his aunt’s attorney, died mysteriously after spending the night with him. He started poking around, trying to find out why Amanda died and who was wanting to buy Belle Isle. Fletch uncovered a connection to a ministry run by Jimmy Lee Farnsworth that had been buying land in the area for a religious amusement park. Fletch ended up receiving some help from Becky Culpepper, a local real estate agent.

Fletch Lives was a sequel to another Chevy Chase movie, Fletch. It wasn’t clear how much time had passed since the end of the first movie when this one started. Fletch, his boss Frank, and his ex-wife’s lawyer were the only characters that were in both movies. The events from Fletch weren’t mentioned in Fletch Lives and there was no major plot point carried forward into the second movie. One small joke about Mr. Underhill’s credit card was carried into the second movie. Because of that, I think that people who haven’t seen Fletch could enjoy Fletch Lives. I actually didn’t know that there had been a previous movie when I first saw this movie in 1989 and I was still able to enjoy the movie. I think it was a few years before I finally saw the first movie. This movie did introduce again the fact that Fletch was a reporter that used disguises to get his stories. The first movie was based on a book written by Gregory McDonald. I think he wrote more than one book featuring Fletch. I haven’t read any of the books, so I don’t know how the character might have been changed for the movies.

Fletch Lives was a funny movie that had a touch of mystery in it. Fletch worked as an investigative reporter, so he wasn’t a stranger to poking into things. He seemed like he was just bumbling around at times, but he knew what he was doing. He seemed to have an unlimited supply of disguises that he used when working on a story. He looked like he was just bumbling around at times, but he really knew what he was doing. The mystery in the movie dealt with Belle Isle and why someone was anonymously buying up land in the area. The mystery wasn’t as strong as it would have been if the movie was more serious. That didn’t bother me because there were still some surprises that kept me guessing about what was going on.

Fletch provided the humor in Fletch Lives for the most part. He used many disguises throughout the movie that made me laugh. He would also change his voice and make up some silly names, like Elmer Fudd Gantry, to go with his disguises. He came up with back stories that made the disguises more believable. The scene that I think made me laugh the most involved Fletch pretending to be an exterminator when he was found in Amanda’s house/office. Fletch claimed he was looking for a very rare type of termite and had the police officer doing something really funny to deal with one of the bugs. It was a bit silly, but it worked for the scene. Fletch would say some silly things in a serious way in different situations. I also thought those things were funny. At different times throughout the movie, Fletch provided some narration that added more humor. There was one scene that involved Fletch dreaming of how his life would be once he was at Belle Isle that added a little humor as well. A few of the jokes were related in sex, though they weren’t too explicit.

Fletch was the main character and most developed. Part of that was because the character had already been developed in the first movie. He tended to act goofy though he could be serious when it was needed. He was good at investigating and always had something with him that he could use for a disguise. I liked Chevy Chase in the part. Fletch’s boss Frank was only in a few scenes, so he didn’t have much to do.

Amanda was the lawyer that was handling the estate of Fletch’s aunt. She and Fletch only shared a little bit of time together before she died. It wasn’t shown, but it was made clear that she and Fletch had sex. Becky first showed up with an offer from a client to buy Belle Isle and she ended up helping Fletch and eventually sleeping with him. That was also just strongly hinted at instead of actually shown, though Fletch was shown pulling her into the shower with him. There was no nudity in the movie. Julianne Phillips was fine in the part, though nothing special. She and Patricia Kalember, the actress that played Amanda, went on to playing sisters on the television show Sisters.

Calculus Entropy had worked for Fletch’s aunt as sort of a caretaker for Belle Isle. He helped Fletch with some of the investigation and seemed to always turn up. Cleavon Little was good in the part. Jimmy Lee Farnsworth ran a ministry in the area along with having a show on cable television and a religious amusement park. Jimmy Lee used some sneaky methods to help him during the broadcasts of his show. R. Lee Ermey was very good in the part. Hal Holbrook played Hamilton Johnson, a local lawyer that helped Fletch. Phil Hartman and Geoffrey Lewis had small parts in the movie.

Main Cast

Chevy Chase - Fletch
R. Lee Ermey - Jimmy Lee Farnsworth
Hal Holbrook - Hamilton Johnson
Patricia Kalember - Amanda Ray Ross
Cleavon Little - Calculus Entropy
Julianne Philips - Becky Culpepper

Michael Ritchie - Director

DVD Information

The copy of Fletch Lives that I have is in the widescreen format. The DVD case says that it is anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. I’m not sure if there is a full screen version available. There really weren’t any special features on the disc.

Fletch Lives was a very funny, entertaining movie that I still enjoy watching. It wasn’t quite as good as Fletch, but I still think it is worth watching. This is a good movie to watch when you are in the mood for a funny movie.

Chevy Chase Movie Reviews
Fletch ~ Foul Play ~ National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ~ Vegas Vacation ~ Zoom ~


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD