It’s time to dust off your old VHS tapes because a character that came alive in them is officially making a comeback. Confess, Fletch is an upcoming comedy starring Jon Hamm (Mad Men). As it was announced last year, the Emmy winner was taking over the quick-witted character that was made famous by Chevy Chase (Community) in 1985’s Fletch. In both versions, Fletch is an investigative reporter that chases a big lead and gets caught up in a web of conflict and mystery. The follow-up story - and third overall - is set to premiere in mid-September.
The trailer for Confess, Fletch reveals the title character is pretty happy with his life in Europe, but also unafraid to take on a challenge. As he's called upon to investigate the disappearance of a millionaire’s collection of paintings, Fletch is surprised by the police as he becomes the main suspect in a murder case. Unfazed, Fletch sets out to prove he’s innocent.
For Mad Men fans out there, Confess, Fletch is a pleasant reunion, as it also brings to the screen John Slattery (Spotlight). The two actors traded the same type of banter you see in the trailer when both of them starred in the AMC long-running drama series. Here, however, both lean a lot more into the comedy, and we can expect a lot of funny name-calling and one trying to one-up the other as the story develops.
Confess, Fletch is directed by Greg Mottola, who previously helmed fan-favorite comedies Superbad and Adventureland. In an interview to Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker revealed underscored that this isn't a remake, and teased what we can expect from the new iteration of Frank: "This is essentially the same character who was Fletch's editor in the first Fletch movie, played by Richard Libertini. They have a love-hate relationship."
Motolla also revealed why original Fletch Chevy Chase wasn’t invited to star or cameo on this new version:
"The reason we didn't ask Chevy Chase to be in it is not because we don't love the original movies, we do, but we thought this should be a new thing. There's a lot of things Chevy did that aren't in the 'Fletch' books: his style of comedy, the slapstick, and all the different names and disguises. We thought it wouldn't be right to steal them. We reference the original, we pay homage to it, but we tried to really balance it halfway between a detective mystery and a comedy, possibly more than the original."
Aside from Hamm and Slattery, Confess, Fletch also stars Marcia Gay Harden (Uncoupled), Kyle MacLachlan (Joe vs. Carole), Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show), Lorenza Izzo (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood), and Annie Mumolo (Queenpins).
Confess, Fletch premieres in theaters, on digital and VOD on September 16.
You can watch the trailer below: