Is Fletch bad?

No, its not, although Reihan Salam of the American Scene argues that it is a case of liberal angst at the rise of Reagan. This is the base of his argument, that Fletch is a boor and a liberal one at that. He is not blinkered, as his favorite 80s comedy is an explicitly liberal attack on the military industrial complex. Still I didn't find his anti-Fletch attack convincing. Although perhaps we can blame it, along with SNL, for the rise of catchphrase comedy.