Confess, Fletch

Confess, Fletch is a 2022 American crime comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Zev Borow. Based on Gregory Mcdonald's 1976 novel of the same name, it stars Jon Hamm, Roy Wood Jr., Annie Mumolo, Ayden Mayeri, Lorenza Izzo, Kyle MacLachlan, and Marcia Gay Harden. It is the third installment in the Fletch series, following Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989), and the first not to star Chevy Chase.

Confess, Fletch was released in the United States in select theaters and on premium video on demand on September 16, 2022, before a Showtime premiere on October 28, 2022. It received generally positive reviews.

Plot
Irwin Maurice "Fletch" Fletcher is apparently sent to Boston from Italy by his girlfriend Angela to recover her father's multimillion-dollar art collection. The paintings were stolen and are in the possession of an American art dealer named Ronald Horan. Angela's father is an Italian billionaire count who was apparently kidnapped by the mob demanding his paintings as ransom.

As Fletch arrives in a rented townhouse in Boston, he finds a dead woman, subsequently identified as barista Laurel Goodwin. Despite being the one who called the police, Fletch becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Sergeant Inspector Monroe and Junior Detective Griz of the Boston Police Department begin tailing him.

Fletch meets with Horan under a fake name in an attempt to locate the paintings. He learns from his neighbor Eve that Owen, the townhouse owner, has a history of violence and drug abuse and an estranged spouse named Tatiana, who used to be his business partner. Fletch meets with Tatiana, again using a fake name, and suspects that she is the killer.

Meanwhile, the Countess, Angela's stepmother, invites herself to stay with Fletch. Angela is not happy with this development, as she suspects that the Countess and her brother kidnapped the Count. Angela arrives in Boston and initially appears to be friendly with the Countess.

At dinner that night, Fletch, the Countess, and Angela are visited by Owen, Tatiana, and Eve. Laurel's boyfriend arrives and tries to kill Fletch. When the boyfriend is distracted by Eve's dog, Fletch snatches his gun and learns that Angela knows and was in contact with Owen. She abruptly leaves in the middle of the evening.

Fletch follows Angela to a meeting with Horan on his sailboat, assuming that she stole the paintings and transferred them to Horan to sell. Horan reveals that he killed Laurel and framed Fletch to eliminate him from the painting transaction. He then planned to deceive Angela and pay off his debts by selling the Count's art collection. Horan pulls a gun and tries to kill Fletch, but is shot dead by Griz.

The Count, who faked his kidnapping with Fletch's help as a test of his wife and daughter's love, returns and persuades Fletch to keep the paintings. From an undisclosed location in Central America, Fletch sends paintings to the Countess, Eve, his previous boss, and two street artists, and a large check to Laurel's boyfriend.

Production
Following the release of Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989) starring Chevy Chase, attempts to reboot the series based on the Gregory Mcdonald novels frequently became mired in development hell. Names such as Kevin Smith and Jason Lee, Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff, and Jason Sudeikis were previously attached to the property.

In July 2020, it was reported that Jon Hamm would star in and produce an adaptation of the Mcdonald novel Confess, Fletch directed by Greg Mottola. In June 2021, Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, Roy Wood Jr., and John Slattery joined the cast. The following month, Ayden Mayeri, Lorenza Izzo, and Annie Mumolo were added to the cast.

Principal photography began in Boston on June 28, 2021. In early July, scenes were filmed in Worcester, Massachusetts, outside the local police department. Since the film had a 27-day shooting schedule, Hamm and Mottola returned a portion of their salaries in order to secure an additional three days of filming.

Sequel
Shortly after the film's release, Mottola said he had been hired to write a sequel based on the 1978 novel Fletch's Fortune, but said he was "not sure" if it would be produced.