March 29, 2024

Jon Hamm in CONFESS. FLETCH.

We confess... this one's good.

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

CONFESS, FLETCH

Rated R, 98 minutes
Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Jon Hamm, Roy Wood Jr., Annie Mumolo, Ayden Mayeri, Lorenza Izzo, Kyle MacLachlan, Marcia Gay Harden, John Slattery, John Behlmann

With CONFESS, FLETCH, director Greg Mottola awakens a revered, long-dormant franchise, bringing it back to its literary pulp fiction roots whilst delivering a peppy, funny madcap caper in the process. Though the rascally titular character at the heart of the FLETCH films hasn’t changed one bit, the actor playing him has – and this new iteration surprisingly doesn’t miss a beat. By basing it on Gregory McDonald’s novel, our hero’s quick wit and wily charm are given a refreshing facelift. Despite lacking a few key ingredients, this new chapter in an ever-growing saga is a deft series revamp.

Former investigative reporter “of some repute,” now freelancer on the art beat I.M. Fletcher (Jon Hamm) arrives at his rented Boston townhome only to find a mysterious dead woman on the floor. Detective Monroe (Roy Wood Jr.) and trainee Griz (Ayden Mayeri) suspect him, naturally. However, Fletch has a sneaking suspicion this murder is tied to a stolen art collection he’s tracking down for his fiancé Angela (Lorenza Izzo), whose father The Count has been kidnapped and held for ransom.

As Fletch follows the trail left behind by the missing priceless artworks, he’s also compelled to clear his name in the case of the dead woman. This puts him in contact with colorful, quirky folks like his fiancé’s flirtatious mother (Marcia Gay Harden), an EDM-loving art dealer/ college professor (Kyle MacLachlan), the townhome’s opiate-addicted owner (John Behlmann), that guy’s Goop-y estranged wife (Lucy Punch) and their flighty, zany neighbor (Annie Mumolo). It also revives Fletch’s friendship with former editor Frank (John Slattery). Best of all, it gets the wiseacre into a lot of shenanigans.

Ayden Mayeri and Roy Wood Jr. in CONFESS, FLETCH. Courtesy of Miramax.

Screenwriters Mottola and Zev Borow hit all the patented character-driven notes right out of the gate, from the snappy banter to some light physical comedy. Fletch’s blossoming antagonistic relationship with Monroe and Gris is hysterical. He finds ways that are uniquely him to mess with their investigation, like evading their attempts to tail him by car and also impeding their surveillance efforts. Hamm’s keen sense of comedic timing (a mix of sarcasm and sincerity) works great. Monroe’s running gag is he’s sleep training his infant son and grows more tired and annoyed as things progress. Wood plays exasperated pitch-perfectly. Gris’ arc of trying to prove herself also takes entertaining turns – and Mayeri can hit a tightly constructed punchline to a scene unlike anyone else.

That said, there is room for improvement. The picture is left desperately aching for a Harold Faltermeyer score, or one that would better define and audibly identify this refashioned version of the character. Composer David Arnold’s jazzy, big band bluster is fine, but slightly ill-fitting. Cinematographer Sam Levy’s work also disappoints as the under-lit images and gray cast do no favors. His occasional use of backlighting makes those actors in the foreground into a dark silhouette, obscuring their expressions. And, in terms of the narrative, some of the mystery aspects tend to overcomplicate themselves, especially given the rather predictable outcome that transpires.

Grade: B-

CONFESS, FLETCH is in theaters, on Digital and On-Demand September 16.

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