Fletch Lives

Last updated
Fletch Lives
Fletch Lives movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster, parodying that of Gone with the Wind
Directed by Michael Ritchie
Written byLeon Capetanos
Based on Characters
by Gregory Mcdonald
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography John McPherson
Edited by Richard A. Harris
Music by Harold Faltermeyer
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • March 17, 1989 (1989-03-17)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8 million [1]
Box office$39.5 million [2]

Fletch Lives is a 1989 American comedy mystery film starring Chevy Chase and the sequel to Fletch (1985), directed by Michael Ritchie from a screenplay by Leon Capetanos, and based on the character created by Gregory Mcdonald.

Contents

Plot

Fletch, a reporter in Los Angeles for the Los Angeles Times , is contacted by the executor of his late aunt's will, attorney Amanda Ray Ross. Ross informs Fletch he has inherited his aunt's 80-acre (32 ha) plantation, Belle Isle, in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Upon arriving, Fletch is disappointed to find the mansion terribly dilapidated, but he agrees to keep on its caretaker, Calculus Entropy. Fletch has dinner with Ross at her home, and she tells him of an anonymous $225,000 bid for Belle Isle.

Fletch awakens the next morning to find Ross dead. Fletch is charged with Ross's murder and taken into custody, nearly being raped by his cellmate Ben Dover, spared only because Dover is released on bail. Dover's lawyer Hamilton "Ham" Johnson manages to get Fletch released. When Fletch declines a second, even larger, offer of $250,000 for Belle Isle, this time presented by realtor Becky Culpepper, he starts getting harassed. First, a hired group of Ku Klux Klansmen harasses him. Then, an arsonist burns down the mansion. Finally, Ben Dover tries to kill Fletch during a raccoon hunt with some locals. Fletch discovers the land on Belle Isle is polluted by toxic waste. He determines to uncover the identity of the anonymous buyer, whom he suspects is attempting to intimidate him into selling.

He learns the local megachurch, Farnsworth Ministries, is interested in obtaining the Belle Isle property. Fletch investigates televangelist Jimmy Lee Farnsworth, and discovers Farnsworth's daughter is Becky Culpepper. The toxic chemicals in the soil of Belle Isle are traced back to Bly Bio, a chemical waste facility in Mississippi. Fletch obtains an invoice from the plant's manager, which proves that Ham Johnson ordered the waste dumped on the Belle Isle land.

Fletch confronts Ham with the evidence at a costume party fundraiser hosted by Ham at his home. Ham admits he polluted Belle Isle out of revenge for the way he feels Farnsworth took advantage of Ham's mother shortly before she died. Farnsworth persuaded her in her confused mental state to give away her valuable land, on which the church then built a profitable amusement park. Ham intended to devalue the land owned by Farnsworth Ministries. He killed Ross when she realized his plan. Becky is captured by Dover and brought to Ham's mansion, and Ham orders Dover to kill Fletch and her. Fletch creates a distraction by spilling out the urn containing Ham's mother's ashes, and Becky and he escape. They flee to the Farnsworth Ministries church nearby, interrupting a televised service in progress. Ham follows them, intending to kill Fletch, but Ham is shot by Calculus. Afterwards, Calculus reveals himself to be FBI Special Agent Goldstein working undercover as part of an investigation of Farnsworth Ministries' financial dealings.

Returning to Los Angeles with Becky, Fletch is thrown a welcome home party by his co-workers and receives a $100,000 insurance claim check for the mansion fire. His ex-wife's alimony lawyer, Marvin Gillett, appears, offering to forego all future alimony payments in exchange for the Belle Isle property. Fletch happily signs over the polluted land.

Cast

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 30 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Chevy Chase remains ideally suited for the role, but Fletch Lives lacks its predecessor's wit, relying instead on silly disguises, cheap stereotypes, and largely unfunny gags." [3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 40 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [4] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. [5]

Roger Ebert gave it 1.5 out of four stars. [6] The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Some of the lines are funny, but after a while you just want to smack him." [7]

Box office

The movie debuted at No. 1. [8] It went on to gross $39.4 million worldwide. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevy Chase</span> American comedian, writer and actor (born 1943)

Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live (SNL), where his recurring Weekend Update segment became a staple of the show. As both a performer and a writer, he earned three Primetime Emmy Awards out of five nominations and two Golden Globe Award nominations.

<i>Heaven Can Wait</i> (1978 film) 1978 film by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry

Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American sports fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry about a young man being mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, and the resulting complications of how this mistake can be undone, given that his earthly body has been cremated. It was the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's play of the same name, the first being Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).

<i>Stand and Deliver</i> 1988 American drama film

Stand and Deliver is a 1988 American drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca, based on the true story of a high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. For portraying Escalante, Edward James Olmos was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 61st Academy Awards. The film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature in 1988. The film's title refers to the 1987 Mr. Mister song of the same name, which is also featured in the film's ending credits.

<i>Tom and Huck</i> 1995 American film

Tom and Huck is a 1995 American adventure comedy-drama film based on Mark Twain's 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Mike McShane, Eric Schweig, and Amy Wright. The film was directed by Peter Hewitt and produced/co-written by Stephen Sommers. The movie was released in North America on December 22, 1995.

<i>L.A. Story</i> 1991 American film by Mick Jackson

L.A. Story is a 1991 American satirical romantic comedy film written by and starring Steve Martin and directed by Mick Jackson. The plot follows a weatherman (Martin) trying to find love in Los Angeles. It was released on February 8, 1991, and received generally positive reviews from critics.

<i>Comes a Horseman</i> 1978 film by Alan J. Pakula

Comes a Horseman is a 1978 American Western drama film starring Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jason Robards, and Richard Farnsworth, directed by Alan J. Pakula.

<i>Housesitter</i> 1992 film by Frank Oz

Housesitter is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Oz, written by Mark Stein, and starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. The premise involves a woman with con-artist tendencies who worms her way into the life of a reserved architect by claiming to be his wife.

<i>Fletch</i> (film) 1985 American neo-noir comedy thriller film by Michael Ritchie

Fletch is a 1985 American neo-noir comedy thriller film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Andrew Bergman. Based on Gregory Mcdonald's popular Fletch novels, the film stars Chevy Chase as the eponymous character. It co-stars Tim Matheson, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Geena Davis and Joe Don Baker.

<i>Little Giants</i> 1994 American family sports comedy film

Little Giants is a 1994 American family sports comedy film directed by Duwayne Dunham. The film stars Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as Danny and Kevin O'Shea, two brothers living in a small Ohio town who coach rival Pee-Wee Football teams. The film was produced by Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label.

<i>A Little Princess</i> (1995 film) 1995 American film

A Little Princess is a 1995 American family drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews as Sara Crewe with, supporting roles by Vanessa Lee Chester, Rusty Schwimmer, Arthur Malet and Errol Sitahal. It was distributed by Warner Bros. through their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label.

<i>Under the Rainbow</i> 1981 comedy movie

Under the Rainbow is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Steve Rash and starring Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Eve Arden, and Billy Barty. Set in 1938, the film's plot is loosely based on the gathering of little people in a Hollywood hotel to audition for roles as Munchkins in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Jerry Maren, who had a role as a Munchkin in the original film, also appears in Under the Rainbow. Filming locations include the original Culver Hotel, which was used by the Munchkins during the filming of The Wizard of Oz.

<i>Wagons East</i> 1994 film by Peter Markle

Wagons East is a 1994 American Western adventure comedy film directed by Peter Markle, written by Matthew Carlson, and starring John Candy, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Ellen Greene, Robert Picardo, Rodney A. Grant, and Ed Lauter. It tells the story of an alcoholic wagon master who leads a group of misfit settlers in the Wild West back to the East. The film was released in the United States on August 26, 1994. Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico, and in Durango, Mexico.

<i>Funny Farm</i> (film) 1988 film by George Roy Hill

Funny Farm is a 1988 American comedy film starring Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith. The film was adapted from a 1985 comedic novel of the same name by Jay Cronley. The movie was filmed on location in Vermont, mostly in Townshend, Vermont. It was the final film directed by George Roy Hill.

<i>Lassie</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Daniel Petrie

Lassie is a 1994 American adventure family film directed by Daniel Petrie, starring Tom Guiry, Helen Slater, Jon Tenney, Frederic Forrest, Richard Farnsworth, Michelle Williams and featuring the fictional collie Lassie.

<i>Mr. Wonderful</i> (film) 1993 film by Anthony Minghella

Mr. Wonderful is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed by Academy Award-winning director Anthony Minghella.

<i>The Couch Trip</i> 1988 film by Michael Ritchie

The Couch Trip is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars Dan Aykroyd, Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin and Donna Dixon. It is loosely based on the 1971 novel The Couch Trip, by Ken Kolb.

<i>Ripley Under Ground</i> (film) 2005 German film

Ripley Under Ground is a 2005 German-British-French crime thriller film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and based on the 1970 second novel in Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley series. It stars Barry Pepper as Ripley and features Willem Dafoe, Alan Cumming and Tom Wilkinson in supporting roles.

<i>Waste Land</i> (film) 2010 documentary film directed by Lucy Walker

Waste Land is a 2010 British-Brazilian documentary film directed by Lucy Walker, co-directed by João Jardim and Karen Harley, and produced by Angus Aynsley and Hank Levine. The music for the film was created by Moby, who is a friend and frequent collaborator of Walker. The film follows artist Vik Muniz as he travels to the world's largest landfill in Jardim Gramacho, just outside Rio de Janeiro, to collaborate with a lively group of "catadores" to make contemporary art using some of the materials they have "picked". Muniz donated the proceeds from the sale of his pictures of the artworks to the ACAMJG, which is a co-operative founded and led by Sebastião "Tião" Carlos Dos Santos, one of the catadores involved in the art project; the prize money from the awards won by the film was also donated to the organization.

Constance Ann Shulman is an American actress. In 1987, Shulman originated the role of Annelle in the first production of Steel Magnolias on Off-Broadway. She later appeared in films Fletch Lives (1989), Men Don't Leave (1990), and Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). She voiced Patti Mayonnaise in the animated sitcom Doug (1991-99) and the 1999 film Doug's 1st Movie. She played Yoga Jones in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black from 2013 to 2017, for which she received three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

<i>Confess, Fletch</i> 2022 American film

Confess, Fletch is a 2022 American crime comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Zev Borow. Based on Gregory Mcdonald's 1976 novel of the same name, the film stars Jon Hamm, Lorenza Izzo, Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, Roy Wood Jr., and John Slattery. It is the third installment in the Fletch series, following Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989), and the first not to star Chevy Chase.

References

  1. ↑ Box Office Information for Fletch Lives. Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine The Wrap . Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Box Office Information for Fletch Lives. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Fletch Lives". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved September 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ "Fletch Lives Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  6. ↑ Roger Ebert (1989-03-17). "Fletch Lives :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  7. ↑ CHRIS WILLMAN (1989-03-17). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Fletch Lives' Takes Bad Jokes, Bad Taste to Deep South - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  8. ↑ Easton, Nina J. (1989-03-21). "WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : Chevy Lives . . . 'Rooftops' Collapses - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.