Fletch

Two fairly routine plots (who is the Mr Big in the drug supply chain and Lady from Shanghai's 'I want you to murder me please') are neatly interwoven in a film that depends heavily on how we feel about Chevy Chase and his delivery of wisecracks. This could be Bob Hope material c1942 and Chase does acquit himself well (though with cool reserve) in the gags-to-plot transitions. What dulls the enterprise is that Ritchie so keeps his distance from every character that we seldom give a damn. Subdued performances by Mars and Baker are hard to imagine, but here they are. From Gregory McDonald's novel.