Get out your old VHS cassettes, because a beloved character from your childhood is returning to the big screen. The forthcoming comedy Confessions of Fletch will feature Jon Hamm (Mad Men). The Emmy winner was tapped to play Fletch, the quick-witted character made popular by Chevy Chase (Community) in 1985. this role was confirmed last year. Fletch is an investigative reporter in both adaptations, and he follows a huge lead only to become embroiled in a web of conflict and intrigue.
The second instalment, and third in total, will premiere in the middle of September. Confess, Fletch’s trailer shows us that the protagonist is not only content with his life abroad in Europe, but is also ready to take on any challenge that comes his way. After being asked to look into the loss of a wealthy man’s art collection, Fletch finds himself the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Fletch is unfazed and determined to clear his name. Fans of the AMC series will enjoy seeing John Slattery again in Confess, Fletch (Spotlight). When both actors appeared in the AMC drama series, they engaged in the same kind of witty back-and-forth shown in the teaser.
In this case, though, they both put greater emphasis on the comic elements, so the audience can expect plenty of humorous slurs and attempts to one-up each other as the plot progresses. Greg Mottola, whose prior credits include the critically acclaimed comedy Superbad and Adventureland, is at the helm of the new film Confess, Fletch. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the director emphasised that this is not a remake and gave a sneak peek at what to anticipate from the new Frank: “Basically, he is the same guy who played Fletch’s editor in the first picture. The two of them feel both love and hatred for one another.” In addition, Motolla said why the original Fletch Chevy Chase wasn’t asked to reprise his role or make an appearance in the remake: “The reason we didn’t cast Chevy Chase isn’t that we don’t like the original films; we do. We just felt like this should be something fresh. Chevy’s slapstick, his many aliases, and his unique brand of comedy are only some of the things that aren’t covered in the ‘Fletch’ volumes. We decided that stealing them would be wrong. We nod to the source material and pay our respects, but we also made an effort to make this feel as much like a comedy as a detective story.”
As well as Hamm and Slattery, Confess, Fletch features the talents of Marcia Gay Harden (Uncoupled), Kyle MacLachlan (Joe vs. Carole), Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show), Lorenza Izzo (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), and Annie Mumolo (Queenpins).
The debut of Confess, Fletch takes place in cinemas, online, and on video-on-demand services on September 16.