Director: Greg Mottola

Writers: Zev Borow and Greg Mottola

Starring: Jon Hamm, Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, Roy Wood Jr., and John Slattery

Rating: ★★★★

Over the last thirty or so years there’s been a few attempts to reboot the Fletch series, based on the series of novels by Gregory McDonald from the 1970s and 80s. Since the original two films in the 80s starring Chevy Chase as the title characters, various names have been attached to the series, including Kevin Smith who spent the better part of a decade trying to get it off the ground. Now a new adaptation has arrived, starring Jon Hamm as Fletch.

The story is set in Boston, where Fletch has travelled at the request of his girlfriend, Angela de Grassi (Lorenza Izzo), to retrieve a painting that was stolen from her in order to trade it with the people who have kidnapped her father. As soon as he arrives, Fletch finds himself at the centre of another mystery, where he finds that his rented apartment has turned into a murder scene.

Jon Hamm is perfectly cast as Fletch. He’s charming, snarky, and just arrogant enough to think he can solve the mystery. He’s really funny in the film, especially in scenes between Fletch and the inspector investigating the murder, Sergeant Inspector Monroe (Roy Wood Jr.), who also believes that Fletch is the murderer. However, the biggest laugh is from Kyle MacLachlan, who plays a cleanliness obsessed art dealer with a passion for EDM. The entire cast is great and make the film funny and engrossing.

The mystery revolves around stolen art and a murdered woman who Fletch finds when he checks into the apartment his girlfriend has rented for him. There’s a lot to the mystery, with a lot of threads that don’t seem connected, until they’re all wrapped up at the end with a satisfying co conclusion. It’s a great mystery that you can really get hooked into, trying to figure it out before the big reveal. This adaptation also modernises Fletch, with refences to things like the pandemic (something I think we will be seeing a lot of in upcoming films/books), as well as smart phones.

Confess, Fletch is smart, witty, and overall very entertaining. Jon Hamm is brilliant in the role and the mystery is excellent. One of the funniest films of the year without a doubt and hopefully the start of a new series. It would be a shame for the other books not to get the same treatment.

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