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Jackie Mason takes over for Rodney Dangerfield and looks painfully uncomfortable doing so. When he is not delivering lines that probably worked best in his stand-up routine, he wears a "What, Me Worry?" expression that suggests he alone was viewing the daily rushes. A far too rigid and stone-faced Robert Stack reincarnates the stuffy apoplectic WASP archetype originally played by Ted Knight. The wackiness achieved by the irreplaceable Bill Murray as Carl the groundskeeper is split between Dan Aykroyd and Randy Quaid, both overacting and chewing scenery as if desperate for a meal. Aykroyd's high-pitched vocal tone, maintained for the length of his performance, is far worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. Then there is the shame of viewing Chase, the sole returning cast member, and his lifeless, soul-deadened performance. There are times when he literally walks out of a scene as if he couldn't be bothered to do anything further. I kept expecting him to flash the paycheck he was receiving and the contract which specified the bare minimum number of on-screen minutes he had to deliver to receive said check. Painful.

By default, Fletch Lives is the best of the three in that Chase appears to be playing the same character from the first film and his smart-ass nature jibes with that of his role. As mentioned earlier, I have no personal stake in the Fletch creation but Chase is an ideal fit playing someone who is a huckster at heart, even if that huckster is also a muckraking crusading journalist. Setting Fletch loose on a decaying Southern plantation for a would-be murder mystery isn't as enticing a prospect as the more twisty plot shenanigans in Fletch but Chase has a marvelous time playing off of R. Lee Ermey (as an oily televangelist) and the scenes where the two of them are plying away at would-be faith-healing have a wonderful feeling of one-upmanship. Chase's difficulty in conveying sincerity does result in perhaps the least likely reaction ever to waking up to find your one night stand has died on you. But moments like that are far between and Fletch Lives is a pleasant enough diversion. The sequel pulled in over half of the gross of the first Fletch ($35 million to $51 million) and taken with that winter's Christmas Vacation helped make 1989 Chase's last great year at the box office.

So what conclusions, if any, have I come to? A great theme song can only go so far in redeeming an awful movie. Chase should have made more movies with Goldie Hawn as the two of them had a definite chemistry. (Foul Play 2?) Looking back at what I liked as a kid is always a dicey prospect.

Next time: I need somebody. Not just anybody. You know I need someone.

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