Based on Gregory Mcdonald's popular Fletch novels, the film stars Chevy Chase as the eponymous character.

The film revolves around Los Angeles Times reporter Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher, who is offered a large sum of money by a millionaire to kill him, claiming he has a terminal cancer prognosis and suicide would invalidate his life insurance policy.

While posing as an addict, he is approached by Boyd Aviation executive vice president Alan Stanwyk, who assumes Fletch is a real junkie.

Stanwyk offers $50,000 for Fletch to kill him at his mansion in a few days' time, stage the scene as a burglary, then flee to Rio de Janeiro.

Along with his colleague Larry, he begins investigating Stanwyk instead of completing his drug exposé, much to the chagrin of his editor Frank Walker.

Looking into Stanwyk's finances, Fletch finds that Gail recently converted $3 million of her personal stock in Boyd Aviation into cash for her husband, to buy a ranch in Provo, Utah.

Fletch watches Stanwyk making a suspicious briefcase exchange with Chief Karlin, but is unable to deduce the nature of their meeting.

Stanwyk was also using his private jet to smuggle drugs from South America to supply Chief Karlin, who blackmailed ex-convicts Fat Sam and Gummy to distribute it on the beaches.

Fletch begins dating Gail, taking her to Rio on Stanwyk's tickets and using Underhill's American Express Card.

After multiple attempts by Columbia Pictures to film the novel, production stalled and the rights to Fletch were eventually acquired by producer Jonathan Burrows in 1976.

[citation needed] Despite these efforts, there were still no takers, including Universal Pictures, the studio that would eventually produce and release the film.

[4] Throughout the early stages of development, Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin and Barry Bostwick were among those considered to play Fletch.

[5] Chase did not officially agree to take the role until after producer Alan Greisman and screenwriter Andrew Bergman got involved.

"[14] The comedian enjoyed working with director Ritchie, because he gave him the freedom to improvise: "It all began when [costar] Tim Matheson asked me what my name was.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Quotably funny – and fast-paced enough to smooth over the jokes that don't land – Fletch is one of the best big-screen vehicles for Chevy Chase's brand of smug silliness.

While the plot and supporting cast were praiseworthy, Ebert thought "the central performance is an anthology of Chevy Chase mannerisms in search of a character.

[23] Vincent Canby in his review for The New York Times praised Chase's performance, writing, "He manages simultaneously to act the material with a good deal of nonchalance and to float above it, as if he wanted us to know that he knows that the whole enterprise is somewhat less than transcendental.

"[24] Time magazine's Richard Schickel wrote, "In Fletch, the quick, smartly paced, gags somehow read as signs of vulnerability.

"[25] In his review for the Chicago Reader, Dave Kehr wrote, "Chase and Ritchie make a strong, natural combination: the union of their two flip, sarcastic personalities produces a fairly definitive example of the comic style of the 80s, grounded in detachment, underreaction, and cool contempt for rhetorically overblown authority figures.

"[26] Neil Gaiman reviewed Fletch for Imagine magazine, stating that it is "a very enjoyable detective comedy starring Chevy Chase as an undercover reporter who gets mixed up in a murder plot.

IGN felt that this version was a decent replacement for anyone who still owned the film on VHS, but for "anyone seeking more than that will be sadly disappointed by the ill-executed extras and slap-dash sound upgrade.

[citation needed] In an interview for the New York Post, Bergman tried to explain the film's appeal: "It's so bizarre, but Fletch strikes a chord.

"[30] In an interview with a Fletch fansite, Mcdonald himself stated: "I watched it recently, and I think Chevy and Michael Ritchie did a good job with it.

The 2005 animated feature Hoodwinked!, a parody of the Little Red Riding Hood story, depicts the Big Bad Wolf as a sarcastic investigative reporter in a direct parody of Fletch, right up to the Lakers shirt, disguises, and a version of Fletch's theme playing during his scenes.

Filming the prequel/origin story would have allowed Smith to make the movie without Chase, while still leaving the door open for him to appear in a cameo role in framing scenes and/or as narrator.

The role of Fletch remained uncast, with Smith considering a list of actors including Affleck, Brad Pitt, and Jimmy Fallon.

In 2013, David List, who represents the McDonald estate, stepped in with his own draft, which proved attractive enough to engage Jason Sudeikis in the title role.

[41] It was released in a limited theatrical run and on premium video on demand on September 16, 2022, followed by a Showtime premiere on October 28, 2022.

The remake received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise being given to Jon Hamm's performance as Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher.