Film Review — Confess, Fletch
An amiable caper, with Jon Hamm taking over from Chevy Chase as the eponymous investigative reporter
Confess, Fletch is based on the novels by Gregory McDonald, which I confess I’ve not read. The original Fletch adaptation in 1985 resulted in a modestly entertaining comedy thriller, and featured Chevy Chase as the eponymous investigative reporter. Fletch’s many disguises became a bigger focus, perhaps to capitalise on Chase’s comedic baggage. A forgettable sequel followed in 1989, and for years, a reboot has been mooted. Confess, Fletch is the eventual manifestation of that reboot, now starring Jon Hamm instead of Chevy Chase.
Frankly, I think Hamm is the better Fletch, though like Chase he carries his own baggage. For instance, he gets a scene with his Mad Men co-star John Slattery, a former editor whom he jokes about blackmailing, because he “defiled” one of his female subordinates. Slattery laughs, saying it was a “different time” and that the defiling was mutual. Given the subject matter of Mad Men, it’s an amusing in-joke.
The plot involves Fletch investigating an art theft, on behalf of his new Italian girlfriend Angela de Grassi (Lorenza Izzo). Unfortunately, this results in Fletch winding up in the frame for murder, with the suspicions of Detective Morris Monroe (Roy…
