Influences: “Fletch”
“Rincon Point” didn’t just come out of nowhere. It is the result of a lifetime affection for the mystery genre, along with other works of fiction. In this series, I’ll explore some of my favorite books, movies, and TV shows, and discuss how they helped shape my own story.
The idea of the reporter as a detective is nothing new in popular fiction. After all, both occupations serve essentially the same function — to find the truth — and often employ similar methods in doing so. Perhaps the example that most frequently comes to mind for people around my age is the 1984 movie “Fletch.”
Chevy Chase’s Fletch introduced the “man of a million identities” angle to the character.
Not only is “Fletch” hilarious and packing a great score by Harold Faltermeyer (same guy who did “Beverly Hills Cop” a year later), it’s also a pretty good mystery. A mystery that is solved, of course, by the eponymous investigative reporter. It’s essential viewing for any fan of 1980s movies. You can rent it on Amazon Prime. Go ahead. Charge it to the Underhills.
Parallels to “Rincon Point” protagonist Terry Cahill are fairly obvious. Both are investigative reporters with smartass tendencies who don’t get along with their bosses and aren’t particularly good at maintaining a marriage. They also both drive beat-up old Buicks, although I think Fletch’s Rivieras are a little fancier than Cahill’s deuce-and-a-quarter.
The hooptie car was an essential ingredient in a lot of 1980s movies and TV shows. Fletch drove a series of beater Rivieras in the movies.
What I didn’t know until fairly recently is that “Fletch” is based on a book by Gregory McDonald. Indeed, there is an entire series of novels with Irwin Maurice Fletcher starring as protagonist. I’ve since purchased the lot of them, though I confess I’ve yet to finish all of them.
A new Fletch for a new century. Jon Hamm brings the character back to the big screen.
The latest entry into the Fletch cannon is “Confess Fletch,” starring Jon Hamm. I had some difficulty picturing anyone other than Chevy Chase in that role, but I have to say that the movie works. It’s an entertaining flick, and as it is one of the books I’ve read, I can also say that it stays pretty true to the source material. Frankly, Hamm’s portrayal of the character is much closer to the Fletch of the books than Chase’s take, which veered into cartoonishness with “Fletch Lives.”
That said, Chase’s Fletch as “Ed Harley” still cracks me up.