Fletch

Los Angeles Times reporter Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher embarks on an undercover investigation into drug trafficking along the beach, targeting a food vendor named Fat Sam. He suspects that Fat Sam is distributing heroin from his shack at the beach and decides to pose as a homeless drug addict to expose the truth.

Fletch's undercover act leads him to an unexpected encounter with Alan Stanwyk, who mistakes him for a junkie. Stanwyk, revealing himself as the vice president of Boyd Aviation, offers Fletch $1,000 for a peculiar proposal that sets off a chain of unexpected events.

Stanwyk claims to be terminally ill with bone cancer and asks Fletch to murder him, framing it as a burglary to facilitate his escape. Intrigued yet cautious, Fletch pretends to agree to the unsettling proposal, shifting his focus away from the drug trafficking story.

The following day, Fletch visits Stanwyk's doctor, Dr. Dolan, to extract information about Stanwyk's health through an invasive rectal exam. This uncomfortable situation highlights Fletch's commitment to uncovering the truth, but it provides little actual insight into Stanwyk's claims.

Fletch sneaks into a hospital records room disguised as a doctor, only to find that Stanwyk has been lying about his cancer diagnosis. Instead of pursuing his drug trafficking story, he becomes entangled in Stanwyk's mysterious personal life.

Attempting to gather more intel, Fletch visits Stanwyk's wife, Gail, at her tennis club. Posing as an acquaintance of Stanwyk, he engages in a flirtatious tennis lesson, but ultimately leaves without acquiring significant information regarding Stanwyk.

In a bold move, Fletch disguises himself as an FCC agent to investigate Stanwyk's finances through Gail's father, Stanton Boyd. He uncovers that Gail recently liquidated an astonishing $3 million worth of Boyd Aviation stocks for her husband, which deepens the mystery surrounding Stanwyk.

After returning home, Fletch is confronted by Marvin Gillet, his ex-wife's lawyer, who is there to collect overdue alimony payments. Fletch cleverly bribes Marvin with the cash Stanwyk had previously given him, cleverly sidestepping a sticky situation.

While conducting an undercover operation on the beach, Fletch witnesses a drug dealer's escape attempt from the police. Despite his efforts to intervene, he ends up getting kicked in the groin, highlighting the dangers of his investigation.

Fletch travels to Provo and breaks into a realtor's office, where he uncovers a suspiciously low selling price on a property deed. His search for information is interrupted when a guard dog chases him out, adding a comical twist to his investigation.

LAPD Chief Jerry Karlin catches wind of Fletch's pending drug article publication and retaliates by sending detectives to plant heroin in Fletch's apartment. During a tense confrontation, Fletch retorts with an absurd story about off-track betting in the Himalayas, amused at the absurdity of it all.

Fletch dons a disguise as a redneck airplane mechanic to infiltrate Stanwyk's hangar. There, he discovers Stanwyk's dubious travel plans to Utah, further complicating the layers of Stanwyk's intentions and actions.

On the night of the planned murder, Fletch learns that Stanwyk intends to kill him instead. The realization comes just in time as he discovers Stanwyk's plot to fake his own death and escape with a large sum of money.

In a climactic moment, Chief Karlin appears and kills Stanwyk when he learns of the plan to escape with stolen drug money. The chaos escalates when Karlin turns on Fletch, only to be knocked out by Gail, providing a twist that shifts the balance of power.

Following Stanwyk's murder indictment against Chief Karlin, Fletch starts a fresh chapter in life by dating Gail. Their vacation to Rio brings closure to the chaotic events, with Fletch humorously revealing he charged the trip to Underhill's credit account, leaving the audience laughing as it all fades to black.