I'd seen the trailer about a million times on HBO, or some other cable TV slog back in the 80s. Based on that repetition, I've harbored a healthy disdain for the goofy mugging in the trailer.

Especially the bit where Fletch, in doctor's scrubs, points to himself, incredulously.

That was on loop in my head for far longer than is humane.

In fact, Fletch fell off my radar pretty quickly and forcefully. As far as movies "on my list" go, it was down in the basement. I would have likely died without even coming close to seeing it.

Flash forward to 2022. "Confess, Fletch" randomly comes across my path. It immediately brings the concept of Fletch back into my short term memory. What he was, I still never knew. Was he some kind of professional quick-change artist? Was it like that Dana Carvey "Master of Disguise" flick? (Even that I've never seen, thank god.)

So I throw on the trailer. I'm intrigued to see Jon Hamm as the title character, recast. I almost bust a spleen at the "reproductions" joke.

So, sold, I watched that, and REALLY enjoyed it.

And that gave me the inspiration to check out the originals with Chevy Chase. It puts me in the unenviable position of judging the original by the reboot.

You know what? Loved this, too. Clearly "Confess" was a worthy successor to this. Same sharp, super-dry, sarcastic wit. A nice mystery to solve.

Good stuff. Feels like it was the pilot for a TV series, actually. That would have absolutely killed.

I hear the sequel blows, but let's see how it goes. 👌

REALTIME OBSERVATIONS:
- so much synth
- terrific cast
- fletch has superhuman driving skills
- some of the costumes fetch uses are a touch too much
- each act is less fun than the last, but still worth it
- would make a great TV series