- The Guardian,
- Tuesday July 4 2000
In the cut-throat world of movie franchises it has to be said that the word "Fletch" does not ring the same kind of big-bucks bells as, say, "Batman", "Bond" or even "Babe". Indeed, given the increasingly youthful average age of cinema-goers, it seems a fair bet that most of today's popcorn munchers were still in nappies when Fletch Lives, the second and last film to feature the perennially wise-cracking hack, was released in 1989. Furthermore, the franchise's star, Chevy Chase, has not been a bona fide big-screen draw since Ronald Reagan was in The White House.
So, it will doubtless come as a surprise in many quarters to learn that American independent studio Miramax has secured the rights to all 11 of Gregory McDonald's Fletch books for Generation X auteur Kevin Smith. After all, last time the Clerks director worked on non-original material he was writing the script for Superman, a franchise with infinitely more box-office cachet. But, in fact, Smith has been a fan of the films for a long time. He was first attached to a Fletch sequel three years ago when it was Universal's turn to option the books, and he even had some exploratory meetings with Chase himself. Nor is he alone in his admiration. Ben Affleck, for example, is also a huge Fletch fan, not least the scene where Chase, having been irritated by the waiter-haranguing antics of a certain Mr Underhill, charges a lavish dinner to his account.
"I always tell people at hotels to 'put it on the Underhills' account'", says the Armaggedon star. "Sometimes they actually try to do it. Only rarely do they know what I'm talking about. But, when they do, I know I've met a kindred spirit."
Hardcore devotees of Irwin Maurice Fletcher, however, know the films represent only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the first Fletch book, which would win the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award, appeared back in 1974. Like his hero, McDonald had spent time working for a paper, The Boston Globe, and the early books crackle with black newsroom humour. In Fletch Won, for example, McDonald's hero attempts to prove his unsuitability as a copywriter by coming up with the headline "Governor Jokes On Purpose."
Subsequently sent to the obituary department by his increasingly frazzled editor, Frank Jaffe, Fletch begins one piece with the words "Ruth Mulholland died peacefully today, having accomplished absolutely nothing." ("It was a fact, Frank, I checked it.") Fletch really wants to cover sports, an ambition he never fulfils. Instead, over the course of McDonald's books, Fletch engages in several unfortunate marriages, becomes incredibly rich and solves innumerable crimes. He also gets older in a manner that the likes of other 'tec heroes like Sam Spade or Dashiell Hammett's anony mous Continental Op were never allowed to do. In fact, by the time of 1993's Son Of Fletch, McDonald had lumbered his character with a long-lost offspring who, somewhat to his irritation, proved just as much of a smartarse.
McDonald's books proved hugely popular and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling. Although an established star with hits like Foul Play and National Lampoon's Vacation under his belt, Chevy Chase had never really found the vehicle that would allow him to show off the hip, laconic persona he had perfected on Saturday Night Live. Fletch, released in 1985, would prove to be the perfect match, with its hilarious range of disguises, aliases (Dr Rosenpenis, Arnold Babar, Ted Nugent) and a script which brilliantly inverted noir clichés ("The coroner had certified Stanwyck dead. Or at least extremely sleepy." ) A huge success, Fletch cemented Chase's position as one of Hollywood's biggest stars and made a sequel virtually inevitable.
Unfortunately Fletch Lives proved less popular despite an even more extravagant array of alter-egos (Victor Hugo, Billie Jean King, KKK member Henry Himmler). Worse still, in the early 90s, Chase's career began to disappear down the drain following a series of high profile drug-related personal problems and several box-office bombs including Memoirs Of The Invisible Man - a misguided attempt to present Chase in a more dramatic role that its director, John Carpenter, would virtually disown. The nadir came in 1993 when his chat show was cancelled after a mere six weeks. To all intents and purposes his career, and hence the Fletch franchise, was dead.
Of course, the most interesting aspect of this whole situation will be whether Smith decides to resurrect not just Fletch but Chase too. It is easy to imagine that Miramax - who are rumoured to have shelled out nearly a million dollars for the series rights - might insist on someone a little younger. Someone like Ben Affleck, for instance, who also happens to be a close friend of Smith's and starred in his recent religious satire Dogma.
On the other hand Chase may be in luck. Certainly, when Smith was interviewed by film magazine Neon in 1997, he had no doubts about who should fill Irwin Maurice's filthy sneakers.
"Chevy Chase is Fletch", claimed the director. "There is a scene in Fletch Lives where this guy asks for his phone number and Chevy goes, 'Er, seven.' It's genius, and when I was at this restaurant, sitting down with the dude, the waitress was asking for his phone number on the back of a cheque and he goes, 'Three... two... that's it.' The dude quoted himself!"
