Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
When investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher goes undercover to write a piece on the drug trade at a local beach, he's approached by wealthy businessman Alan Stanwyk, who offers him $50,000 to murder him. With sarcastic wit and a knack for disguises, Fletch sets out to uncover Stanwyk's story.
Fletch lives and dies by Chevy Chase's comedic performance, which is genuinely exceptional — his deadpan sarcasm and disguise-based humor elevate what is otherwise a fairly conventional 80s mystery-comedy plot. The investigative premise is serviceable but not particularly tight or surprising, and the ending resolves things somewhat flatly without a satisfying payoff. Cinematography is functional at best, typical of mid-80s studio comedies with little visual ambition. Novelty gets a slight bump for Chase's singular comedic voice and the social-engineering disguise gimmick, but the overall structure is familiar territory.