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	...	Fletch
Hal Holbrook	...	Ham Johnson
Julianne Phillips	...	Becky Culpepper
R. Lee Ermey	...	Jimmy Lee Farnsworth
Richard Libertini	...	Frank
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Ben Dover
Cleavon Little	...	Calculus
George Wyner	...	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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chevy Chase meets Phil Hartman in this film. Chevy was one of the very first players on Saturday Night Live, when it began in 1975. Phil Hartman was also a player on Saturday Night Live (1975), starting in 1985.

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Goofs

In a callback to the first movie, Fletch uses the Underhills' credit card to break into Amanda's office. However, in the first movie Fletch only made fraudulent charges on their account at the country club and to pay for a trip to Brazil, he was never in possession of the physical card.

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Quotes

Fletch: It's a championship Laker watch.
Cindy Mae: Oh, are you a Laker?
Fletch: I used to date one - only thing I have to remember him by.

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Connections

References Elmer Gantry (1960)

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Soundtracks

Hard Times
Performed by Buckwheat Zydeco

User Reviews

Predictable mystery but fun for fans of Chevy

You had to a fan of Chevy Chase to fully enjoy the first installment but here you have to be a die hard devotee to get the most out of the sequel. The first one had a really good detective story that nearly got buried with wisecracks, but on subsequent viewings it really came alive and it ranks as one of the best movies Chevy Chase has been involved in.

Fletch Lives has Fletch moving to the South where he has inherited a mansion from his aunt. Continuing interest in buying the nearly worthless land for a huge amount of money evokes suspicions and our favorite reporter goes snooping around.

Fletch Lives is not nearly as well crafted or written as the first one, with a rather predictable mystery that doesn't seem to take itself seriously for one second. But it does have some fantastic comic sequences; such as Fletch impersonating a faith healer, Fletch encountering a mean biker gang, a memorable meeting with a fellow inmate and some one great one-liners delivered with style by the great comedian (as you might have guessed; I'm a big fan).

Supporting actors like Hal Holbrook and R. Lee Ermey add to the enjoyment and Chase delivers but when all is said and done Fletch Lives is for fans only who can overlook the shallowness of the film as a whole.

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 Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1