Fletch (PG, 1985)

In this classic 1980s crime caper, Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chevy Chase), an investigative reporter who's a master of disguises, is getting nowhere on his latest assignment exposing a drug ring at a local L.A. beach. One day a rich businessman (Tim Matheson) offers Fletch a job: to kill him in one week so his wife can inherit his millions before an aggressive cancer takes his life. Smelling a new mystery to solve, he agrees to the contract killing but immediately starts digging into the man's life. Posing as a doctor, an airline mechanic, an insurance adjuster, and an old college chum -- to name just a few disguises -- Fletch manages to uncover enough secrets, solve the crime, and write a Pulitzer Prize-winning series.

The real humor isn't the story, which is fairly predictable, but the brilliance with which Chase uses his character's self confidence to wheedle himself into any situation. When at a country club trying to get close to Alan's gorgeous but ignored wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), he claims to be the guest of a cheapskate patron and promptly orders bottles of champagne, Beluga caviar, and filet mignon. The phrase: "Put it on the Underhills' bill" becomes one of the many running gags in the film. So simple, yet Chase's delivery makes it irresistibly quotable.

As any viewer familiar with suspense-filled comedies knows, Fletch not only gets his story but the girl, too. How he scores both is a series of memorable jokes in an otherwise formulaic comedy.

Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Tim Matheson
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: May 31, 1985
DVD release: May 1, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG