Fletch Lives (1989)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Released by: Universal
Rating: PG
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes
My Advice: Rent it

Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chase) is a writer for a newspaper based out of L.A. and he's tired of his job. He's a kind of investigative reporter that goes in depth to get to the heart of the story, and he's good at what he does. However, his boss is constantly making promises of raises and vacation time that are never delivered. Fletch thinks that his luck has changed when he receives a telephone call from a lawyer in Louisiana stating that a long lost relative has left him her plantation. So, he quits his job and heads on over. He is not prepared for the run down plantation home that he finds, nor is he ready for the political scandal and murderous intrigue that awaits him. Fortunately, Fletch never really travels alone--he keeps his alter egos numbered for just such an emergency.

When you place this movie in its proper historical context (meaning it's one of the last funny films that Chase ever made), this is a comedy classic. As always, Chase uses his uncanny ability to take a pratfall and milks it for everything it's worth, and the rest of the cast understand that their job in the movie is to get out of his way and allow him to do that. R. Lee Ermey is hilarious as the evangelical preacher of a PTL-type tele-ministry that is creating a theme-park shrine to the himself...oh yeah, and God, too.

It's a shame that there isn't any scrap of bonus material on the DVD whatsoever. It would have been nice to have had someone do some kind of comentary, just as long as Chase didn't have to try to cover it himself. He is really only at his best when he can use his humor against a foil of some kind, but even that probably wouldn't have come across on a commentary track. Also, it wouldn't have been that hard to dig around and find a "vintage" behind-the-scenes featurette that was done for one of the cable networks at the time. There are so many other things that could have been presented on this disc, but we are just stuck with a widescreen presentation of the movie and nothing else.

So, if you are looking for a late 80s comedy to invoke a bit of reminiscence, go down to the store and rent this one for the night. In this DVD incarnation, at least, it's just not worth owning.