Product Details

• Actors: Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Libertini
• Directors: Michael Ritchie
• Writers: Gregory McDonald, Leon Capetanos
• Producers: Alan Greisman, Bob Larson, Bruce Bodner, Peter Douglas, Richard A. Harris
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: CBS Television
• VHS Release Date: March 12, 1992
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301374290
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,845 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Before his movie career completely tanked, Chevy Chase made one of the few films that gave him a chance to display his comic versatility: 1985's Fletch, the Michael Ritchie-directed comedy about an investigative reporter who specializes in going undercover on big stories. Lightning, however, didn't strike twice when Ritchie and Chase went back to Gregory MacDonald's novels for a second helping. This sequel features Chase once again as Fletch, super-reporter, who heads from L.A. to the South, where he supposedly has inherited an estate. Before long, he's become involved in a murder plot and is trying to stay out of the killer's sights himself. The material is considerably weaker, revealing Chase's shortcomings as an ad lib comic. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm gonna give 5 stars to this movie ..., November 20, 2000

By 

the_review_guy (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fletch Lives [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I'd have to really go 4.5 but 4 is unfair. Fletch is back and it's great. Leonard Maltin should relax a little bit and lighten up. Starting off in a mafia-controlled seafood restaurant, we find Fletch in drag and the object of desire of a near-sighted Greek man.

Inheriting a Louisiana mansion, Fletch flies down next to an obnoxious but friendly nasal-surgery candidate. Yet another classic dream sequence, and this one is not to be missed, as "Old White Joe", Fletch fantasizes that his ex-wife's lawyer, his boss and the cute gal from the office all fall at his feet. The imagery from Disney's "Song of the South" is pure genius and you might notice "Ted Underhill" making a cameo appearance at the end of the dream sequence (there must have been 300 extras here or a *whole* lot of CGI ... check out the *very end* of the dream sequence closely).

I love it. Again beautiful women involved here including the lovely Julianne Phillips. This is Cleavon Little's best work since "Blazing Saddles" (though he was great in the early 1970's "Vanishing Point"). Randall "Tex" Cobb never fails to amuse especially with his "Ben Dover" appearance as a **faux** zooerastia-obsessed transvestite necrophiliac (get a dictionary!). Now this movie doesn't bash Christians, in fact there are some accurately quoted Bible verses. But it does lampoon some who misuse Christianity for money solely.

Phil Hartman is here as a Bly Bio Chem manager. Richard Libertini is back and a little goosey it appears. Hal Holbrook is here as the vengeful attorney / land owner. And the great Geoffrey Lewis who never fails to deliver an interesting, if not xenophobic and myopic, character, is here. Little is "Calculus Entropy" causing Chase to introduce himself as "Geometry Fletch" and the real-estate attorney as "Miss Trigonometry Ross". As Billy Gene King of Bug Busters, Fletch investigates Miss Ross's house for "Reticularious Marios Cuomos" (approximately!). Dangerous African Flesh-Eating Termites, not only do they cause the walls in Miss Ross's house to be deplaning to an alarming degree but they jump into the ear of the sheriff's deputy. Fortunately, Fletch gives him sound advice on how to get those termites out. Too funny! Besides, how many movies have the terms "carpetbagger", "toxic waste" and "The (Rolling) Stones" in them? ...

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My fave film when I was a kid, April 29, 2006

By 

Inspector Gadget "Go Go Gadget Reviews" (On the trail of Doctor Claw) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fletch Lives (DVD)

Peggy-Lee Zorba, Nostradamus, The Colonel, Billy-Jean King, Hank Himmler, Claude-Henry Smoot, Peter Lemonjello, Ed Harley, Elmer-Fudd Gantry and Bobby-Lee Schwartz II. Not to mention Fletch himself. Has Chevy Chase ever played so many people in one film?

I love Fletch Live, it is so damn funny and cackles with hilarious dialogue. It's a bloody shame that the critics were beastly, when it first came out. Chevy Chase, once again, nails the role of Fletch and only he can deliver the deadpan sarcasm in a way no other actor can.

The plot may be a little weak but it works fine. Fletch quits his job as an investigative reporter after he inherits a plantation mansion in Louisiana. But he stumbles upon another mystery and does his best to unravel it.

His disguises will make you grin from ear to ear (Claude Henry Smoot steals the show) and they way he comes out with the most ridiculous of things when he's talking to people makes you wonder why they ever believe it. As Peter Lemonjello, Fletch tells a studio camera operator that his house is on fire. The guy believes him!

I do wish that they had used more of the Bibleland sets as it seems so much for so little screen time but the presence of R. Lee Ermey as the eccentric TV Evangelist makes up for it.

I'm not really that impressed with this lackluster DVD. There are still pictures over the end credits that hint at deleted scenes, but none of them are on here. The 1.85:1 anamorphic picture is fine, as is the Dolby Surround sound design. But it's yet another non-effort by Universal. Fletch Lives really deserved a lot more than this.

And to any of you who are puzzled why Mr. Underhill is credited in the cast of characters but not actually in the film, he IS. Look closely at the Zipedee Doo-Dah sequence and you can see him as one of the dancers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not as good as the original but still damn witty, November 30, 2005

By 

musicfan "musicfan" (australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fletch Lives (DVD)

This movie is no way as good as the first one, but don't let that put you off. It has some very funny and witty moments throughout with some great one liners by Chevy.

Highlights include:
- Chevy as Claude Henry Schmoot, a guest healer on a tv evangelist show
- Chevy as a member of the KKK
- Chevy confessing his sins to evangelist preacher "I parked in a handicapped zone. Actually on a handicapped person - but I told him I'd be back in five minues so that's not such a big deal."

The film does run out of steam towards the end a little but is definitely worth a view.