Freelance reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Jon Hamm) is in Boston investigating stolen artwork for his friend Angela (Lorena Izzo) the daughter of an Italian count who's been kidnapped with the kidnappers demanding the artworks as ransom. Upon his arrival in Boston, Fletch discovers his townhouse rented on his behalf has been the site of a murder which detectives Monroe (Roy Wood Jr.) and Griz (Ayden Mayeri) are all too eager to believe Fletch is the perp despite him calling the police in the first place. Unphased by the possibility of taking the fall for a frame-up, Fletch travels around Boston interacting with various quirky characters and using his unconventional investigative skills to find the artwork and the true killer.
Confess, Fletch is an adaptation of the second in the Fletch series of books written by author Gregory Mcdonald that had previously been adapted with Chevy Chase with an adaptation of the first book in 1985's Fletch, and a wholly original story with Chase reprising his role in Fletch Lives in 1989. In the time since the release of Fletch Lives, there've been attempts at reinvigorating the comic mystery series with various creative teams and stars including Jason Lee, Zach Braff, and Jason Sudeikis, until eventually Mad Men star Jon Hamm landed the role with Superbad and Paul director Greg Mottola writing and directing with the two having previously collaborated on Keeping Up with the Joneses. The end resulted is a nicely entertaining piece of comic mystery fare that maintains the core appeal of the earlier incarnations while still putting its own spin on it.
Jon Hamm is really solid playing the titular Fletch and his laid back slightly sardonic attitude is captured by the pitch perfect timing of Hamm's performance and Greg Mottola's direction who keeps the gags and exchanges quick and rapid fire with the various quirky characters we meet established and utilized without letting them run rampant with line-o-rama or unstructured improvision. Actors such as Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, and fellow Mad Men alum John Slattery show up to put their own stamp on these character and the exchanges are quite amusing particularly a running gag with Harden's countess where she keeps giving mixed signals as to her intentions when she invites herself to Fletch's borrowed townhouse.
Confess, Fletch is a welcome bit of light hearted escapism and the only downside is the fact that Paramount seems to not have any faith in this film dumping it as a day and date release before premiering it on Showtime later this October. In prior years this is the kind of smaller film that would've come out in late August or early September and been a modest adult skewing theatrical performer, but in this climate where theatrical audiences are more skewed towards "event" and "tentpole" releases meaning smaller films like this are relegated to streaming. Hopefully enough people discover the movie because it's a solid addition to the series. I'm not sure I like it as much as Fletch, but I definitely like it more than Fletch Lives.
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