Sunday, August 26, 2012

FLETCH VS. FLETCH LIVES



“Is everything a joke to you, Fletch?” “Everything, Sam.”

Fletch (Chevy Chase) and Sam (George Wendt), Fletch (1985)

Oh, Chevy Chase. You used to be so funny (granted I haven’t seen “Community” all that much; if you like him there, more power to you). Still, this guy used to be one of the biggest names in comedy – “Saturday Night Live”, Caddyshack, the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies (except the one in Vegas; come to think of it, I don’t much care for the European one either), Spies Like Us, ¡Three Amigos! and Funny Farm. Then somewhere along the lines, he wound up playing roles like voicing The Karate Dog and a Train in Doogal. Why can’t he make more funny films like… Fletch?


There were two Fletch films made with Chevy Chase in the lead role: Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989). They’re both films I like and enjoy, but most people seem to prefer the original over the sequel. Today, I’ll be seeing why this is the case by looking through both films “bit by bit”.


In Fletch, Irwin M. Fletcher is an investigative reporter undercover as a “middle-class junkie” for a story on drug trafficking on a local beach. He is soon approached by a millionaire named Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) who tells him he is dying of cancer and, rather than live through months of pain through chemotherapy, asks Fletch to murder him at his house, so his family can receive the riches he has. In exchange, Stanwyk promises that Fletch can flee the country safely with $50,000 in tow. Stanwyk doesn’t realize that Fletch is not really a bum, having been tricked into thinking his name is “Ted Nugent”. Reluctantly agreeing, Fletch decides to look into Stanwyk’s case. Moving to a hospital, Fletch discovers that Stanwyk is, in fact, not dying from cancer. He eventually uncovers the corrupt police Chief Karlin (Joe Don Baker) who threatens Fletch off the beach and away from his men. Chased after by police, Fletch follows Stanwyk’s assets to Utah where he finds out that he is married to two different women. Gail Stanwyk (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), the more faithful of the two brides, is devastated and finds comfort (and much more) in Fletch’s arms. Fletch confronts Stanwyk and Karlin who hold him and Gail at gunpoint until its safe for Fletch to fight back. Karlin eventually kills Stanwyk and Fletch manages to knock out Karlan. Safe to continue their relationship, Gail and Fletch go walking on the beach, while Fletch explains the joys of basketball.



Fletch Lives picks up on Fletch quitting his job at the newspaper in order to live at a Louisiana mansion that a great aunt he didn’t know he had has left him after her death. Imagining living the slow and leisure life down South, Fletch is shocked to discover the mansion in complete disrepair. Meeting with a local attorney, Amanda Ross (Patricia Kalember) who wants to buy his property, Fletch works his natural charm well enough to sleep with her. Unfortunately, he wakes up in the morning alone – she’s been murdered. Of course, nobody in town believes Fletch wasn’t the killer except the mansion’s caretaker Calculus (Cleavon Little) and another local attorney, Hamilton Johnson (Hal Holbrook). Investigating who keeps offering money to buy the house, Fletch falls back into his old investigation instincts by disguising himself as a faith healer to follow a charismatic charlatan of a preacher, Rev. Jimmy Lee Farnsworth (R. Lee Ermey) who wants Fletch’s land to put up a Bible-themed theme park. Fletch discovers although the preacher is obviously a loud-mouthed fraud, he’s not responsible for framing him for Patricia’s death. Fletch trails the money back to a mysterious organization “Everest Development”. Everest wants to purchase Fletch’s land to dump its excess toxic waste. The owner of Everest turns out to be none other than Hamilton Johnson, out for revenge against Rev. Farnsworth. Chasing Fletch onto Farnsworth’s live show, Hamilton is shot by Calculus who is revealed to be an FBI agent. Although the incident doesn’t change Farnsworth’s low-down behavior, Fletch decides it’s time for him to return home. Back at the newspaper, Fletch gleefully gives the now worthless toxic dump property to his ex-wife.



What sets apart both films is its use of humor and tone. Whereas Fletch’s humor came out of the situations Fletch found himself in because of a serious mystery he was investigating, Fletch Lives’ humor is somewhat reversed – the humor comes out of the disguises Fletch uses to solve the mystery. It starts out as a joke to solve a crime, rather than solving a crime and then finding the jokes within. Both films have a great supporting cast. It’s especially humorous to see Joe Don Baker play a police chief in Fletch after seeing his slovenly performance in Mitchell on an episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000”. Fletch Lives has Blazing Saddles’ immensely talented comedic star Cleavon Little and the unforgettable R. Lee Ermey playing against type as a Jimmy Swaggart-esque preacher.



A third Fletch film has been talked about for years without any serious development. In 2000, Kevin Smith, a fan of the Fletch films, wrote a script titled “Son of Fletch” which would have cast Jason Lee as, of course, Fletch’s son. It was written in a way that could vary on Chevy Chase’s involvement – if he committed to it, they could co-star in the film together, if he only wanted in certain scenes, they could explore more of Lee’s character. Disagreements between Chase and Smith led to a second attempt at a third Fletch film called “Fletch Won”. “Fletch Won” would be a prequel involving a young Fletch on his first assignment. The film would have potentially still involved Chase as either reprising his role in bookends or simply narrating the film. 5 years went by without any further involvement and Smith left the project. The project is currently supposedly to be held by Hot Tub Time Machine director Steve Pink, but since Pink has just been hired to direct Bad Santa 2 and the upcoming remake of The Toxic Avenger, there’s no telling when audiences might see Fletch back on the big screen.



At the end of the day, I would agree with those who say Fletch is superior to Fletch Lives, if only because it has a more compelling mystery. The fact that it’s a comedy is mere icing on the cake and Chase’s performance is completely top-notch. Fletch Lives still has nice moments and a good supporting cast but ultimately loses because of its increased focus on the disguises Fletch wears rather than the mystery he’s trying to solve. Above all, Chevy Chase was at his very best with this character.



“Meet the guy who changes his identity more often than his underwear.”

- Tagline for Fletch (1985)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

TUPELOVE and NATIVE SON: Mike McCarthy, Thank You Very Much


What does your hometown mean to you? Do you find things in your community that you find in yourself? I myself was born in Memphis, TN, but I don’t get to spend much time there when I’m not going to school. It’s heartbreaking, in a way, to be so disconnected from it – 40 miles to drive from my home out in the middle of nowhere. However, I recently had the good fortune to watch two films from a local Memphis filmmaker, Mike McCarthy. He wasn’t born in Memphis; he was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. My parents and their families are from Mississippi as well, though I have few distant relatives who actually live in Tupelo. However, Tupelo runs in McCarthy’s blood. His first major film Teenage Tupelo – a rough and tumble comedy/drama – centers on the idea that he was born as an illegitimate child of Elvis Presley. McCarthy calls Elvis, “the king of American pop culture”. His latest two films, Tupelove and Native Son celebrate Elvis and his birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi.


Tupelove is a short film about a young businessman named Norton (Corey Parker) stuck in a small town in Mississippi outside of Tupelo. This “man in a hurry” meets a mysterious woman named Vee (Amy LaVere) who takes him on a tour of Elvis’ hometown from his birthplace to the local fairgrounds where he played his ’56 concert. She seems a bit out-of-time: drinking vintage Pepsi, reading old issues of Captain Marvel (Elvis’ favorite superhero), and inexplicably changing into fashionable ‘50s-style dresses. Eventually, Norton realizes she was simply a ghost, but has learned never to underestimate a town without learning its valuable history. This 15-minute short film was made by McCarthy as a tourism video for Tupelo.  It’s a great, well-written look at the place where Elvis grew up. The two actors in the film are fun to watch, especially the very lovely Miss LaVere who is just stunning to begin with.


Native Son is a documentary that picks up where Tupelove leaves off. The short film ends with Vee and Norton imagining feeling Elvis’ fingers as he stood on stage during the ’56 concert at the fairgrounds. McCarthy felt that such an important event in Tupelo’s history had not been properly represented. That famous photograph featuring Elvis reaching out to the screaming girls in front of the stage means a lot to McCarthy: he found out his biological mother was one of those girls. He initially believed she was the one who literally touched Elvis’ fingers. He later learned this was not the case, that she was back-a-ways from the stage. McCarthy successfully convinced the town to fund construction for a statue of Elvis posing as he did in the famous photograph. The documentary shows the impressive creation of the statue by Bill Beckwith, who uses only photographs to sculpt with from scratch (without the use of computers). Beckwith talks about how his artist influences shaped him just as he shapes clay. The statue was completed and installed just a few weeks ago. It’s amazing to find out how much a photograph can inspire in people: a film, a statue and a family coming together.


I first met Mike McCarthy at a screening of The Tree of Life with my good friend, Hunter Duesing (who has recently moved back home to Texas, where I wish him the best). In the time since, I’ve noticed he has a great sense of humor, an unique way of telling a story and an immense collection of comic books that confounds and depresses me. Yet the screening I saw of Tupelove and Native Son also showed me a side I didn’t realize before: a man searching for his past in the town where the King of Rock ‘n Roll was born. That, in itself, is a story worth telling and I can’t but feel privileged to have seen it.