Fletch Lives (1989)

Fletch finds himself the sole inheritor of an 80-acre estate in the Deep South, where he promptly quits his job as a journalist in order to retire. From there, he quickly becomes embroiled in a murder plot, the Ku Klux Klan, a televangelist megachurch, and other toxic waste. This 1989 sequel is looked down on for a number of reasons, but it's the strength of Chase's performance that really elevates the whole thing for me. It's diminishing returns, but as long as you go into this knowing it's not as good as its predecessor, you'll have a decent time.

2½ plantation dreams out of 5

The Groove Tube (1974)

One of the earliest examples of a sketch comedy movie (outside of Monty Python and Woody Allen), this unconnected series of vignettes revolves around a spoof of '70s counterculture, local television and commercials of the time. A lot of these references are long gone and only the parody remains.

As with all sketch comedy, there are swings and misses, but the worst offense is a lengthy segment in the middle about a couple of drug dealers which really drags the pacing down. This was also Chevy Chase's first role (before he hit it big on Saturday Night Live the following year), but he only features in two brief bits although was advertised as the "star" on the cover of the rental box.

I saw this at an impressionable age and it had such an impact on me that I always return to it warmly again and again. It features irreverent, sexually charged humor that is chock-full of indecency and scatological references. This was always the stuff I craved; I was clearly born in the wrong time.

If obscenity is your bag, you will enjoy this.

3 "make believe" times out of 5

Note: Originally recorded in 4:3 format, it's been "remastered" and cropped to 16:9 for modern boob tubes, which sadly means you lose part of the frame.