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Throughout the ‘80s, Chevy Chase starred in a number of comic adventures and created some memorable characters at the same time—characters like Clark Griswold and Irwin M. “Fletch” Fletcher, a reporter with a love of disguises and a knack for solving crimes. Now, 23 years after his last Fletch movie, Jon Hamm takes over the role for Confess, Fletch.
Confess, Fletch follows the former investigative journalist to Boston, where he’s following a lead on a number of priceless works of art that were stolen from his girlfriend’s father in Rome. When he arrives at his rented townhouse, though, he discovers a woman who’s been murdered there. The police immediately believe that Fletch is the killer, so while they keep him under constant surveillance, he investigates both the owner of the home and a shady art dealer in an attempt to find the paintings and clear his name in the process.
Along the way, this fast-talking sleuth interacts with all kinds of quirky characters—from the crazy neighbor to The Countess (Marcia Gay Harden), his girlfriend’s spoiled stepmother, who arrives in Boston to keep an eye on him. There’s a little bit of action and some over-the-top laughs as Fletch outwits the police, security guards, and his girlfriend’s family in his quest to find the answers he needs to close the murder case and recover the paintings.
If you haven’t seen a Fletch movie before, maybe that will be enough. You’ll have a few laughs, you’ll follow the character in this complex case, and you’ll find it all to be reasonably entertaining. If you have seen Chevy Chase’s Fletch movies, though, this new version isn’t what you’re most likely expecting. Gone are the wacky tone, the silly disguises, and the bumblingly brilliant sleuth. Granted, a lot of the comedy of the ‘80s just wouldn’t work today, but this modern-day Fletch is completely different—mostly because Jon Hamm just doesn’t fit in the role. The guy from Mad Men is just too suave to pull off the silliness of the character, and it changes the whole tone of the film. Had Chevy Chase gotten this script a few decades ago, he could have run with it and given it his signature style—but Hamm just can’t make it work.
Though Confess, Fletch does have enough action and laughs to make it a brainless Friday night movie, it just doesn’t have the crazy energy of Chevy Chase’s classic Fletch movies. It’s needlessly complicated and lacking in Chase’s lovably bumbling wit—and that will definitely leave fans feeling let down.
You can hunt down Confess, Fletch in select theaters and on demand beginning on September 16, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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