In this delightful comedy romp, Jon Hamm stars as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit—from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.
GREG MOTTOLA, Director’s Statement
Writing mysteries lets me get away with murder. I think ‘the mystery’ may be the greatest form for social criticism, simply because it is pedestrian.” -Gregory Mcdonald, author of FLETCH
A couple of years ago Jon Hamm approached me with the idea of doing a Fletch movie. We’re both fans of the Chevy Chase FLETCH, which is based on the first Fletch book by Gregory Mcdonald. Jon thought the second book CONFESS, FLETCH would be a good one to adapt. He had read the other Fletch books (there are 11 books total), but I hadn’t.
I then read CONFESS, FLETCH and several more of the series. I loved Mcdonald’s writing — the books are witty, surprising, full of lively, oddball characters and crackling dialogue. And a great, original protagonist: an irreverent, smart-ass investigative reporter as the stand-in for a detective in a murder mystery plot. Between the banter and the investigations, there’s also incisive social commentary. Although we updated the time period from 1976 to today, we set out to capture the tone of the book. I also tried to sneak in a bit of contemporary social commentary of my own.
I’ve always loved the detective genre and its offshoots. “The Thin Man”, “Maltese Falcon”, “Laura”, “The Third Man”, “The Long Goodbye” and “Chinatown” are among my favorite films. It was a thrill to work with Jon and such a talented cast of actors (including my old friend Marcia Gay Harden) on this particular detective comedy. -Greg Mottola
