Back and forth we go, as Fletch now tries to balance both of these investigations - much to the dismay of the newspaper he works for, which is only aware of his 'drugs on the beach' story. McDonald's original story is very dry in its humor and much darker than what is portrayed in the movie. For instance, gone is the underage girlfriend Fletch doesn't mind having sex with as part of his investigation. Over-the-top elements were substituted, apparently an attempt at making the story more palatable. As portrayed by Chase, Fletch is seen in a series of ever more elaborate disguises that stretch the level of credibility. Car chases and dream sequences have been added, all upping the silliness quotient. The zaniness seems increasingly forced as the movie's 98 minutes trudge to their conclusion.
It isn't all bad. The first half hour or so is as funny as any Chevy Chase vehicle. The one-liners come so fast that repeat viewing is definitely helpful. Chase actually captures, to a large degree, the laid-back casual dryness of Fletch as written in the novel. The funniest moments are usually the most subtle. However, Fletch becomes tiresome as the filmmakers feel the need to pile on more and more mayhem. The two main plotlines never seem to mesh in a satisfactory way, creating an unfortunate 'who cares?' aura that ultimately sinks the movie after a highly entertaining first act.
As far as the Blu-ray presentation is concerned, this isn't a case study of how good an '80s movie can look in the format. I saw the first standard DVD edition, which was grainy and overall kind of a mess. I know there was a reissue on DVD, but I never saw that version. The picture here looks good, but nothing special. The audio is presented in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, as well as a serviceable 2.0 stereo mix. The DTS track, much like the high-def video, is far from reference quality. The are a few times, with louder dialogue or effects, that I detected some minor distortion. The dialogue isn't as clear as it probably should be during noisier scenes. Harold Faltermeyer's atrocious synth score (how many '80s movies did that guy ruin?) is overbearing at times. All that said, considering its age and overall rank in the pantheon of so-called film classics (read: not very high), both audio and video are acceptable.
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