# Fletch Lives
**Fletch Lives** is a 1989 American comedy-mystery film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring [Chevy Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevy-chase) as Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, the wisecracking investigative reporter he first played in *Fletch* (1985). In the sequel, Fletch inherits a dilapidated 80-acre Louisiana plantation, becomes the suspect in a lawyer's murder, and investigates a suspicious land deal using his trademark disguises.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) • [2](https://kinolorber.com/film/fletch-lives-special-edition) The film was written by Leon Capetanos, produced by Alan Greisman and Peter Douglas for Universal Pictures, and released on 17 March 1989 with a PG rating and a running time of 95 minutes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 17 March 1989 (Los Angeles and New York openings), Universal Pictures[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) |
| Cast | Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips, R. Lee Ermey, Cleavon Little, Richard Libertini, Phil Hartman[2](https://kinolorber.com/film/fletch-lives-special-edition) |
| Box office | $8,045,760 opening weekend; $35,150,960 domestic (89.1%); $39,450,960 worldwide[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097366/credits/) |
| Reception | 38% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (32 reviews); Metascore 40 on Metacritic (19 reviews)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fletch_lives) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fletch-lives/) |
| Earlier titles | *Fletch and the Man Who*, *Fletch II*, *Fletch – Saved*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) |
| Production start | 6 June 1988, in Louisiana, New York, and Los Angeles[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) |
| Rating / length | PG; 95 minutes; Dolby Stereo in selected theaters[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens in Los Angeles, where Fletch turns in an exposé on a Greek crime syndicate and tells his boss Frank ([Richard Libertini](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-libertini)) he is taking a long-postponed vacation; Frank insists he first report on a sewage scandal.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) Home to an alimony collection visit from his ex-wife's lawyer Marvin Gillet ([George Wyner](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-wyner)), Fletch destroys the contents of Gillet's briefcase with water and sends him away.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES)
Fletch then travels to [Belle Isle](https://www.edgepedia.org/belle-isle), a sprawling 80-acre Louisiana plantation he has inherited from his aunt, arriving with dreams of running an antebellum-style estate that are dashed when he is escorted to a dilapidated property.[2](https://kinolorber.com/film/fletch-lives-special-edition) • [6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002) An attorney he spends the night with is found dead the next morning, a neighborly lawyer named Ham Johnson ([Hal Holbrook](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-holbrook)) warns him to leave town, and a real estate agent, Becky Culpepper ([Julianne Phillips](https://www.edgepedia.org/julianne-phillips)), makes persistent offers for the land.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fletch_lives) • [2](https://kinolorber.com/film/fletch-lives-special-edition) Fletch hires Ham to represent him and is released from jail on insufficient evidence, then works to unravel a land scramble involving a corrupt televangelist, Jimmy Lee Farnsworth (R. Lee Ermey), using disguises and fake identities.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fletch-lives/) Variety's review credited the film's "scathing satirical sketches" of the fictional preacher as its saving grace.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fletch-lives/)
## Development and title changes
Plans for a sequel were announced the day before *Fletch* opened theatrically on 31 May 1985; the script, then titled *Fletch and the Man Who*, was already written, and Chase was contracted to star in a total of three Fletch films for Universal. That early screenplay revolved around a statewide attorney general race, with Andrew Bergman named as writer, though he received no onscreen credit.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002)
**Rewrites and delay.** Filming was delayed, and by May 1987 Chase's new production company, Cornelius Productions, was in talks with Leon Capetanos to write a new script, then called *Fletch II*, based on an earlier draft by Walter Bernstein; neither [Cornelius](https://www.edgepedia.org/cornelius) nor Bernstein received onscreen credit.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002) When the premise moved from politics to a story involving a corrupt televangelist, the title became *Fletch – Saved*. Universal then changed it once more to *Fletch Lives* to avoid offending religious moviegoers, after the controversy surrounding the studio's 1988 release *The Last Temptation of Christ*.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002)
Universal green-lit the project on 4 April 1988 with Ritchie set to direct, and principal photography began 6 June 1988. Location filming took place in Louisiana, where Rosewood Manor, a landmark plantation home in Brittany, Louisiana, stood in for Ham Johnson's home, with additional work at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City and Universal City Studios in California.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002)
## Notable production details
**The maid disguise.** In a 1989 *People* interview, Chase said he "hated" dressing as a woman for one of his disguises and fought Universal to remove scenes showing him in a maid's uniform and wig, arguing that at 6 feet 4 inches he was too tall to resemble a woman. The scenes were kept after preview reactions.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002)
**"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".** Universal obtained rights from [Walt Disney Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-pictures) to use the Academy Award-winning song from *Song of the South* (1946) for a very low price, rumored to be around $200. Co-producer [Peter Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-douglas) said the final cost was actually a four-figure number, still only ten percent of what had been budgeted. The resulting musical fantasy sequence, in which Fletch leads a chorus of the song with animated friends, used over 1,000 extras recruited from Louisiana dance companies and community organizations.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002) • [7](https://www.deseret.com/1989/3/17/18799232/chevy-chase-keeps-the-chuckles-alive-in-fletch-lives/) The Deseret News called it "the film's most inspired moment."
## Box office and reception
The film opened domestically on 17 March 1989, earning $8,045,760 in its first days. It went on to gross $35,150,960 in the United States, 89.1 percent of its $39,450,960 worldwide total.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097366/credits/) By comparison, the first *Fletch* had ultimately grossed $23.9 million.[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57687-FLETCH?cp=1&pos=0&sid=a068d6db-3536-4778-8f14-402124034802&sr=0.17693219)
Critical response was markedly cooler than for the original. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 38% Tomatometer from 32 reviews, against 75% for *Fletch*; the site's critics consensus states that "Chevy Chase remains ideally suited for the role, but *Fletch Lives* lacks its predecessor's wit, relying instead on silly disguises, cheap stereotypes, and largely unfunny gags."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fletch_lives) • [9](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/gallery/24-best-and-worst-comedy-sequels-by-tomatometer/fletch-lives/) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 40 based on 19 critic reviews, categorized as mixed or average, while its user score stood at 6.7.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fletch-lives/) The Turner Classic Movies overview describes *Fletch Lives* as "a less impressive sequel" whose poor performance at the box office killed the possibility of a continuing franchise at the time.[10](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59992/fletch)
## The stalled franchise
Despite Chase's three-film contract, no third Fletch film with him was made. In the mid-1990s Universal approached director [Kevin Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-smith) to make a third film, an effort that ended in development hell; after Universal lost the rights, Miramax acquired them in the early 2000s and Smith worked on a project that considered [Jason Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-lee) or [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck) as possible leads.[11](https://quillette.com/2022/09/23/getting-fletch-wrong/) Smith later purchased the rights to all 11 of Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch books and planned *Fletch Won*, an origin story based on Mcdonald's 1985 prequel novel.[10](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59992/fletch) • [8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57687-FLETCH?cp=1&pos=0&sid=a068d6db-3536-4778-8f14-402124034802&sr=0.17693219)
The character returned to film only with *Confess, Fletch* (2022), a Miramax adaptation of Mcdonald's second Fletch novel starring [Jon Hamm](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-hamm) and directed by Greg Mottola. [Kirkus Reviews](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirkus-reviews) notes that the Chase cycle consisted of exactly two films, 1985's *Fletch* and 1989's *Fletch Lives*, the latter not based on a specific book.[12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/new-fletch-film-to-star-jon-hamm/)
## References
1. [Fletch Lives, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES)
2. [Fletch Lives (Special Edition), Kino Lorber Theatrical](https://kinolorber.com/film/fletch-lives-special-edition)
3. [Fletch Lives (1989), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097366/credits/)
4. [Fletch Lives, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fletch_lives)
5. [Fletch Lives Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fletch-lives/)
6. [Fletch Lives: History, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58069-FLETCH-LIVES?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ba203311-8f1d-47d7-809d-b2baef351a75&sr=0.10240002)
7. [Chevy Chase Keeps the Chuckles Alive in 'Fletch Lives', Deseret News (17 March 1989)](https://www.deseret.com/1989/3/17/18799232/chevy-chase-keeps-the-chuckles-alive-in-fletch-lives/)
8. [Fletch, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57687-FLETCH?cp=1&pos=0&sid=a068d6db-3536-4778-8f14-402124034802&sr=0.17693219)
9. [24 Best and Worst Comedy Sequels by Tomatometer, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/gallery/24-best-and-worst-comedy-sequels-by-tomatometer/fletch-lives/)
10. [Fletch, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59992/fletch)
11. [Getting Fletch Wrong, Quillette (23 September 2022)](https://quillette.com/2022/09/23/getting-fletch-wrong/)
12. [New Fletch Film To Star Jon Hamm, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/new-fletch-film-to-star-jon-hamm/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Teen and comedy series film entries › Entries released before 1990*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license