Fletch Lives Blu-ray Review
Summary: Master undercover journalist Fletch returns to uncover the truth of his own inheritance.
3.5
Fletch Returns
Fletch is back at it only this time it’s a lot more personal. Upon his aunt’s death, Fletch inherits a sprawling 80-acre Louisiana plantation. It all seems too good to be true and sure enough it’s not as simple as it seems. When an attorney mysteriously turns up dead, a “neighbourly” lawyer warns Fletch to leave town and a real estate agent shows up with a persistent offer to purchase his newly acquired estate. Never one to back away from curiousity, Fletch digs into the reason for interest over his property and comes out of it all better off almost despite himself.
Sequels can be a risky game… often being doomed to be mere shadows of their origins but Fletch Lives is one of those fine examples of a sequel that is equal, if not better than the original. The makeup/disguise kit seems to have grown in size and quality with a wide range of new identities for Fletch to slip into and out of trouble with. Not only that but he is not alone this time around… along with his sprawling mansion and land comes a house mate/caretaker Cleavon Little as Calculus Entropy who shares a lack of fear for the mad cap situations that Fletch gets himself into… it’s not often you’d get a black man dressing up in a Ku Klux Klan outfit to investigate their activities… but Calculus is right there with Fletch digging for information.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Fletch film without a love interest and yet again that interest is tied up with the truth at the heart of the story… Julianne Phillips plays Becky Culpepper who, much like Calculus gets into danger with Fletch beyond what most sane people might. These are just some of the supporting cast that also includes such well known players as Hal Holbrook, R. Lee Ermey and Randall “Tex” Cobb who gets one of the funniest throw away lines for his name… Mr Ben… Dover.
Again the transfer here is nothing amazing but certainly not bad… it’s basically what you would expect from a movie of the era that hasn’t been remastered. Essentially the colours are a little more pastel and don’t pop so much but that isn’t terrible. The sad thing again is in the complete lack of any extra features… don’t plan on learning a foreign language by putting on subtitles as you watch because there aren’t any… it’s English audio and that’s it.
Much the same with the original Fletch… even without extra features, this is still a must have for your comedy collection. The line delivery is right up there with the greatest and almost seems like it would go well in some political interviews these days… but for a pleasant distraction from world events… grab a copy of Fletch Lives on Blu-ray… sit back and have some chuckles!
Blu-ray Details
Director – Michael Ritchie
Actors – Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips, R. Lee Ermey
Film Genre – Comedy
Label – Shock
Audio – English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Running Time – 105
Region Coding – B (Blu-Ray)
TV Standard – HD
Rating – PG
Consumer Advice – Not recommended for children under 15; may include moderate levels of violence, language or themes
Year of Release – 1989
Primary Format – Movies/TV – Blu-Ray
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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