Fletch Lives (1989)

After receiving an inheritance in Louisiana, Los Angeles reporter Irvin Fletcher heads to the Belle Isle plantation where he gets himself into hilarious trouble.

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writers:

Gregory McDonald (character), Leon Capetanos

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher
Hal Holbrook	...	Hamilton "Ham" Johnson
Julianne Phillips	...	Becky Culpepper
R. Lee Ermey	...	Jimmy Lee Farnsworth
Richard Libertini	...	Frank Walker
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Ben Dover
Cleavon Little	...	Calculus Entropy
George Wyner	...	Marvin Gillet
Patricia Kalember	...	Amanda Ray Ross
Geoffrey Lewis	...	KKK Leader
Richard Belzer	...	Phil
Phil Hartman	...	Bly Manager
Titos Vandis	...	Uncle Kakakis
Don Hood	...	Tom Barbour
Dennis Burkley	...	Joe Jack

Storyline

Ailing Los Angeles newspaper reporter Irvin "Fletch" Fletcher, in debt, inherits from a aunt "Bell Isle", a sprawling 80-acre Louisiana plantation estate, quits his job and moves east expecting to live like a Dixie king. But he failed to inspect the run-down inheritance, leaving him only a shabby mansion with a shifty caretaker instead of reliable staff. Having celebrated anyway with an attractive lawyer in bed, he wakes up finding her mysteriously murdered and himself jailed, soon to be bailed, as prime suspect. Undaunted by a neighborly lawyer's warning to leave town, he waves foxy real estate agent Becky Culpepper's persistent offer well above the apparent value from a third party and starts snooping why with Becky. That proves a dangerous activity for him and almost anybody around, everything pointing to local magnate Hamilton "Ham" Johnson and his 'Confederate' circle of friends; including TV preacher Jimmy Lee Farnsworth and a dodgy chemical plant.

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Plot Keywords:

inheritance | louisiana | disguise | wisecrack humor | sequel | 

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Taglines:

When there's more trouble than one man can handle...there's more than one man for the job.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fletch Saved

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,045,760, 19 March 1989

Gross USA:

$35,150,960

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,450,960

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Cornelius Productions, Vincent Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene when Fletch hides in the morgue's refrigerator from Ben Dover (Randall "Tex" Cobb), the chalkboard in the background has names for the other corpses in storage. Names include those of Wally Cox, Carol Wayne, Allen Ludden, and Paul Lynde, all of whom made appearances on The Hollywood Squares (1965). Most likely, this was done because of the 3 x 3 grid of the refrigeration units.

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Goofs

When Fletch first sits on the water bed, the guitar falls from the wall. In the next shot the guitar hangs on the wall, although nobody put it back there.

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Quotes

Fletch: Sorry I'm late.
KKK Leader: Who goes there?
Fletch: Henry Himmler.
KKK Leader: What klavan claims you?
Fletch: California klavan, Cucamonga.
KKK Leader: California?
Fletch: Yeah. I was passing through town and was lookin' for something to do this evening.There was nothing goin' on at the Rotary Club. I heard about this.
KKK Leader: Welcome, Henry. I'm the Grand Kleagle.
Fletch: Oh.
[KKK Leader starts secret handshake and Fletch slowly follows through and then backhands the side of the Leader's head]
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Serial Mom (1994)

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Soundtracks

Bim Bam, Thank You Mam
Performed by Buckwheat Zydeco

User Reviews

Ed Harley, Harley Davidson Motorcycle

Another classic Chevy Chase film. This film is only just better than the previous movie. There are plenty of wise-cracks and smart remarks to keep you laughing. A must see for Chevy Chase fans and comedy fans in general. This film is very similar to the original. Irwin Fletcher has inherited a mansion from his Aunt who has passed away. Soon enough Fletch finds that his land is worth more than he expected, around lets say $250,000. Remember this is back in 1989 and that was a hell of a lot of money back then! Soon enough Fletch discovers that whoever wants his land, will not hesitate to rid him as well. I don't want to give away too much information, it will be better for you to discover it for yourself. Pros - Entertaining Story, many hilarious jokes, Chevy Chase. Cons - Last Fletch film starring Chevy Chase, not quite a satisfying ending for the two films Overall a must see and a guaranteed laugh. Heres a tip, invite a few mates over your place, order some pizza and you are set for a night of entertainment. Movies don't get much better than this.