DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE
NEARLY FOUR DECADES AFTER CHEVY CHASE’S CULT CLASSIC, WISECRACKING REPORTER IRWIN M. FLETCHER IS BACK ON THE CASE IN CONFESS, FLETCH. STAR JON HAMM AND DIRECTOR GREG MOTTOLA TELL US WHY THEY’VE REBOOTED THE GOOFY SLEUTH
WORDS TOM ELLEN
IN
THE SUMMER OF 1985, a 14-year-old boy entered his local bookstore in Florissant, Missouri, tucked a novel into his jacket, and left without paying.
It was not an isolated incident. Over the next few weeks, the same boy hit the same store again and again, always targeting the same author (mystery writer Gregory Mcdonald) and the same series: a comedic neo-noir franchise about a wisecracking reporter named Irwin ‘Fletch’ Fletcher. Soon enough, the boy had collected the full set, and Waldenbooks Florissant was down to the tune of $35, plus interest.
“Look, I couldn’t afford them,” says the shoplifter — Jon Hamm — today. “But I was radically interested in reading them, and the idea of going to a library never occurred, so...”
The catalyst for this very specific crime-spree was the comedy movie Fletch, an adaptation of Mcdonald’s first book, starring Chevy Chase as the charmingly klutzy journo with a penchant for ludicrous disguises. Hamm had seen the film on its release that summer, been blown away by Chase’s “wildly funny” performance, and was delighted to learn that the character came from a series of equally funny novels. He was instantly intent on reading the lot — even it meant risking a trip to juvenile hall to achieve it.
“There was something [about the character],” Hamm tells Empire. “Fletch is this wry observer, a smartass in some ways, but he never punches down. He’ll always fight for the little guy.”
Hamm was not alone in his affection for the character. The 1985 movie hit big — netting nearly $60 million at the box office from an $8 million budget — and despite a thoroughly underwhelming sequel (1989’s Fletch Lives), it inspired a whole generation of comedians and writers, many of whom would spend the next few decades trying to reboot the franchise. From Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck to Jason Sudeikis, Zach Braff, Dave Chappelle and Ryan Reynolds, myriad Hollywood funnymen have attempted to resurrect Irwin M. Fletcher at some point, but to no avail.
Until now. Directed by Greg Mottola (the filmmaker behind Superbad, Adventureland and Frost-Pegg sci-fi comedy Paul), Confess, Fletch sees Hamm dusting off the LA Lakers hat to play the roguish reporter. And the tale of how this cult comedy icon was finally revived after countless dead-ends is a sprawlingly chaotic shaggy-dog story that could rival one of Mcdonald’s plotlines.