Confess, Fletch is a perfect Jon Hamm vehicle

Jon Hamm gave back 60 per cent of his pay so his new movie could pay for three more days of filming. Now that’s a passion project.

Jon Hamm may have skyrocketed to fame for his brooding, sombre ad man in Mad Men, but the actor has a gift for comedy.

From the moment he appeared onstage on Saturday Night Live or played the fool in 30 Rock or the cad in Bridesmaids, it was clear that Hamm had amazing timing, and that rare, natural gift in which he can make you laugh as well as make you cry.

And when you’re stepping into a role made famous by Chevy Chase (who, despite his more recent reputation, was undoubtedly a comedy legend), you better have the chops. Hamm has the chops.

Chase played Fletch in two popular movies in the 1980s, and this reboot, Confess, Fletch, has transported that same casual and wry energy in a movie that goes down very easily.

That might make it sound as if Confess, Fletch was lazy, but it’s actually difficult to make something seem effortless.

Jon Hamm gave back 60 per cent of his pay to secure another three days of filming. Picture: Paramount+

In the hands of director Greg Mottola (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad), with a screenplay by Mottola and Zev Borow and based on the 1976 novel by Gregory Mcdonald, Confess, Fletch is an amiable experience, exactly the thing you want when you’re in the mood for something unchallenging but still with a teeny bit of spice.

Former investigative journalist Fletch (he really does not like his first name, Irwin) arrives in Boston at the behest of his girlfriend, Andy (Lorenza Izzo), to find her father’s missing art collection.

Arriving at the luxury townhouse she rented for him, he discovers a dead body – a young woman. When he reports the crime to the police, they immediately suspect him. And why not? He’s kind of suspicious.

Mad Men reunion! Picture: Paramount+

Detectives Monroe (Roy Wood Jr.) and Griz (Ayden Mayeri) are convinced is somehow involved and start to tail him – there’s a recurring gag of how he keeps evading Griz’s surveillance – but he starts looking into it on his own.

There are twists and turns, and oddball characters including a Mad Men reunion with John Slattery as Fletch’s gruff former editor, plus Kyle MacLachlan as a germophobic art dealer and Marcia Gay Harden as an Italian countess.

Confess, Fletch works in large part because of Hamm’s charm. Because the character is actually mildly insufferable with his quirks and bold-faced mistruths, so, you have to want him to win if you’re going to go along with him.

Confess, Fletch still Picture: Paramount+

The movie was a passion project for Jon Hamm, who gave back 60 per cent of his fees near the end of production to pay for three extra days of filming. As did Mottola, but the director said it didn’t cost him as much as Hamm, he told IndieWire.

It’s a great fit for Hamm’s talents, and if you didn’t know Chase had done this before, there’s nothing to flag that the onscreen version didn’t originate with Hamm. He just slips straight into that skin.

There are nods to the earlier movies, including Fletch’s penchant for fake names, but it still feels contemporary and not only reliant on nostalgia.

Apparently, there’s a sequel in the works, and if it gets off the ground, we’ll happily come back for another serving.

Rating: 3/5

Confess, Fletch is streaming now on Paramount+

Originally published as Confess, Fletch is a perfect Jon Hamm vehicle