History Film / Fletch

* SuicideByAssassin: Due to Stanwyk's terminal cancer, he hires Fletch to stage a "robbery gone wrong" as a MercyKill that wouldn't forfeit his life insurance payout to his family. His motives don't quite hold up under investigation; [[ultimately {{Subverted|Trope}} as he really wants to fake his death using Fletch's corpse.]]

-->'''Fletch:''' According to this hospital, Alan Stanwyk does ''not'' have cancer.

-->'''Fletch:''' Has Alan ever mentioned the name Sally Ann Cavanaugh?\\

-->'''Fletch:''' [[spoiler:You're planning on killing me, aren't you?]]

* ActorAllusion: Fletch tells a beach drifter in one scene that he "feels like a hundred dollars". Creator/ChevyChase said the same line in ''Film/{{Caddyshack}}'' and in ''Seems Like Old Times''.

Probably Chevy Chase's most well-known role after [[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation Clark Griswold]], and something of a cult hit. A 1989 sequel, ''Fletch Lives'', takes Fletch to The DeepSouth where he investigates intrigue around his family estate.

* {{Disneyesque}}: Fletch's ImagineSpot about being a plantation owner.

* IntrepidReporter:
* IHaveManyNames: Fletch, due to his occupation as and undercover reporter, has many different aliases which he uses (all of which are either real people or famous fictional characters).

* IronicEcho: A visual example. [[spoiler: In the first scene where Stanwyk approaches Fletch, Stanwyk is in a smart suit and Fletch in a scruffy Lakers shirt and jeans. In the last scene, they've essentially switched clothing -- Stanwyk because he's actually planning on killing Fletch, Fletch because he's long since figured out that this is what Stanwyk's planning on doing. And because it's actually Stanwyk's suit, which Fletch acquired prior to sleeping with Stanwyk's wife.]]

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Stanwyk is planning to shoot Fletch, having lured him there with the whole "I'm dying and want you to kill me for the insurance" thing. He ends up getting shot and killed by the Chief, whom he was double-crossing.]]

* LastNameBasis: Hey, it's better than 'Irwin'.

-->'''Fletch:''' You fellas wanna read me my rights?
-->'''Detective:''' You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have your face kicked in by me. You have the right to have your balls stomped by him (''indicating his partner, who is silently mouthing a kiss'').
-->'''Fletch:''' [[DeadpanSnarker I'll waive my rights]].
* NoHonorAmongThieves: How the villains are undone at the end. [[spoiler: Turns out Stanwyk, learning on the grapevine that Fletch's story was on the verge of blowing the drug smuggling at the beach wide open, decided to fake his death and flee to Rio with his wife (well, one of them) and several hundred thousand dollars that the Chief of Police had staked him for the next shipment. The Chief, naturally, was not overly pleased.]]
* OhCrap: At the end [[spoiler: when Fletch realizes that performing TheSummation on Stanwyk's scheme won't actually stop Stanwyk from, well, going through with his scheme.]]
--> '''[[spoiler:Stanwyk]]:''' I was already gonna commit one murder, ''assface'', what makes you think I won't commit two?
--> '''Fletch''': [[DidntThinkThisThrough ...Whoops.]]
--> '''Gail''': ''Whoops''? What do you mean, 'whoops'?! Don't say 'whoops'!

* UncleTomfoolery: Calculus Entropy. [[spoiler: It turns out to be an act and he is in fact an undercover FBI agent.]]

--> '''Fletch''': According to this hospital, Alan Stanwyk does ''not'' have cancer.

--> '''Fletch''': Has Alan ever mentioned the name Sally Ann Cavanaugh?
--> '''Mr. Stanwyk''': *{{Beat}}* Boy, what in ''the hell's'' the matter with you?
--> '''Fletch''': He has mentioned her?
--> '''Mr. Stanwyk''': Of course he has. [[spoiler:It's his wife!]]

--> '''Fletch''': [[spoiler: You're planning on killing me, aren't you?]]

** Gail's tennis forehand

* DirtyCop: [[spoiler: Chief of Police Karlin is behind the drug running on the beach, along with Stanwyk. Most of the other cops who appear are pretty corrupt as well.]]

* ForcedIntoEvil: Fat Sam and Gummy in the first movie. They are drug dealers, but it's made pretty clear that they're just low-level junkies being exploited and forced into dealing by people higher up the food chain. [[spoiler: Namely, Stanwyk and Chief Karlin.]]

** Fletch finds out that Alan has been flying weekly to his parents’ home state of Utah, spending $3,000,000 on a ranch using Gail’s money. [[spoiler:It was only 3 thousand, though.]]
** On the beach, Fletch’s friend Gummy is kidnapped by cops, and at the same time ignoring him busting a window with a rock. Serious OOCIsSeriousBusiness.

** The second Fletch returns from Utah, he’s confronted in his apartment by cops, planting heroin on him. [[spoiler:And Karlin threatens to kill him if he doesn’t stop the beach story.]]
** While checking Alan’s personal plane, he finds out from the crew that he uses enough fuel to go to pretty much South America and back.
** Gail comments that she’s never even met Alan’s parents, which is odd considering he visits their hometown so often.

** Stanwyk has a flight for Rio set up to go with a woman named Sally Ann Cavanaugh, a woman who packed up everything at her home in Provo, Utah...Alan’s hometown.
** Fletch visits Alan’s parents, and finds out who Sally Ann is: [[spoiler:His wife!]]

** [[spoiler:When Fletch begins to investigate Stanwyk, he learns that dying of bone cancer is pure crap. He also recognizes that Stanwyk was a gold digger who married the daughter of the CEO of the aviation company he worked for. He then uses said daughter/his wife to secretly steal 3 million dollars from her. Gale’s minor comment to Fletch about looking like the same size as Alan fills him in on Alan’s plan to kill Fletch and burn him to pose as his dead body, while using Fletch’s passports to go to South America with his wife. Oh, and to top it off, he was married for years to Sally Ann Cavanaugh years before he moved south, making him a bigamist.]]

--> Larry: Married Boyd aviation. He's no dummy, that's big money.

* IntrepidReporter: Fletch
* IHaveManyNames: Fletch

Has nothing to do with the British series ''Series/{{Porridge}}'', the main character of which is also referred to as 'Fletch'.

1985 comedy-mystery film starring Creator/ChevyChase, based on [[Literature/{{Fletch}} the novel]] by Gregory Mcdonald.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Fletch goes from comical to darkly serious as the novels progress.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: [[spoiler:Alan Stanwyk was from Utah, marries high school sweetheart Sally Ann Cavanagh, moves to Los Angeles to be a pilot, goes GoldDigger and marries ''a second time'' the daughter of his boss, Gail Boyd, becoming the Vice President. But he doesn't own any stock in the company. So he becomes a drug smuggler for Chief of Police Karlin. And he figures that somewhere along the way, his GambitPileUp will be found out so he decides to fake his death, using Fletch as a body double, not realizing he's a reporter. While at the same time tricking Gail into giving him 3 million dollars of her stocks, and Karlin 8 thousand dollars for the next drug deal.]]

* ActorAllusion: Fletch tells a beach drifter in one scene that he "feels like a hundred dollars". Creator/ChevyChase said the same line in ''Film/{{Caddyshack}}''.
** Also in ''Seems Like Old Times''

1985 comedy-mystery film starring Creator/ChevyChase, (loosely) based on the novel by Gregory Mcdonald.

-->'''Detective:''' You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have your face kicked in by me. You have the right to have your balls stomped by him (''indicating his partner'').

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Stanwyk is planning to shoot Fletch, having lured him there with the whole "I'm dying and want you to kill me for the insurance" thing. He ends up getting shot and killed by the Chief, who he was double-crossing.]]

* ImagineSpot: Fletch as an LA Laker basketball player in the first film, a musical scene on the plantation in the second.

*** [[Film/TheGodfather Don Corleone]]

*** Igor Stravinsky (on the phone with a real estate agent)

* AmoralAttorney: In both films, Fletch is bothered by his ex-wife's incredibly annoying alimony attorney Marvin Gillet, who he despises almost as much as his ex-wife. (Supposedly, Marvin was able to get a rather unfair settlement in his wife's favor.) [[spoiler:Fletch gets even with him at the end of the second film, however, when he shows up offering to forego all future alimony payments (and never show his face there again) in exchange for the Belle Isle property, which he believes to be valuable. Fletch, barely able to contain his joy, happily signs over the land, which unbeknownst to Marvin is worthless and covered with toxic waste due to the events of the movie.]]

** They comment on the historical fact that the "S" didn't stand for anything; it was just a letter.

** The Stanwyks remark at his being named after President [[UsefulNotes/HarryTruman Harry 'S' Truman]].

** The Stanwyks remark at his being named after President UsefulNotes/HarryTruman.