Film

Confess, Fletch

A cheerful crime caper where Jon Hamm plays Fletch, a charming journalist tangled up in murder and stolen art. It's a breezy whodunit that treats mystery-solving as an excuse for chaos and banter rather than a logic puzzle. If you miss the pleasure of a movie that wants to make you smile more than think, this one's for you.

TMDb rating3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy breezy, scattershot mysteries where the pleasure lies in a cheerfully unruly cast of suspects and a wisecracking hero who seems to be improvising his way through the case.

Skip it if you need a tight, clue-driven puzzle, because this sprawls and its jokes run broad rather than sharp, so the mystery rarely feels fair.

What it asks of you: a brisk, breezy hour and a half that keeps its foot on the accelerator, asking you to track a crowded cast of suspects without much patience for slow reflection.

If you liked this

Knives Out2019

A detective mystery that delights in its own cleverness without taking itself seriously. The plot twists earn their laughs, and the cast—from Daniel Craig to Ana de Armas—seems to be having genuine fun unraveling a deliberately tangled murder.

But The meta-commentary about whodunits can feel a bit much if you just want a straightforward puzzle. Some find it tries too hard to be clever.

Knives Out poster

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005

Robert Downey Jr. as a small-time crook stumbling through Hollywood and a murder investigation. Shane Black's script crackles with sardonic humor and genuine warmth, and the mystery is satisfying without being the point of the movie.

But The tone whips between comedy and genuine darkness. If you want tonal consistency, this will feel uneven.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang poster

The Nice Guys2016

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as mismatched detectives in 1970s LA, trading quips while investigating a vanishing girl. The chemistry is effortless, the period detail gorgeous, and it's funny in ways that sneak up on you rather than demand laughter.

But The plot gets messy in the third act and mostly stops mattering. If plot resolution is what you're after, you'll feel short-changed.

The Nice Guys poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Confess, Fletch

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Columbo1968

Both films build charm around a detective who seems disheveled or scattered but is quietly competent. The investigation matters less than the pleasure of watching someone clever move through chaos.

Peter Falk in a rumpled raincoat, asking 'one more thing' while genuinely befriending the murderers he's hunting. Each episode reverses the whodunit formula—you know the killer, so the pleasure is watching Colombo's seemingly bumbling certainty close in. It's empathetic crime-solving.

But It's deliberately slow and repetitive in structure. If you need visual flash and constant plot momentum, it will feel tedious.

Columbo poster
More like this (7)

Ghostbusters1984

Comedy and supernatural mystery braided together with impeccable timing. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis create characters you want to spend time with, and the script balances gags with genuine stakes.

But It's a 40-year-old film; some of the comedy lands differently now. The special effects are visibly dated if that bothers you.

Ghostbusters poster

Burn After Reading2008

The Coen Brothers' funniest film: a CIA manual, mistaken identity, and characters so aggressively stupid they create genuine chaos. Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand are magnificent, and the absurdity builds with perfect control.

But There's no hero to root for and the ending is deliberately unsatisfying. It's a cynical movie dressed as comedy, which some find frustrating.

Burn After Reading poster

The Long Goodbye1973

Robert Altman's loose, rambling take on Chandler's detective novel. Elliott Gould wanders through a corrupt LA landscape, almost comically out of place. It's crime storytelling as jazz—improvised and oblique.

But This is the opposite of plot-driven. If you want clear answers and forward momentum, the meandering pace will test your patience.

The Long Goodbye poster

Murder Mystery2019

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston on a luxury yacht where everyone's a suspect. It knows it's silly and commits fully to the vacation-movie vibe. If you like Sandler when he's relaxed, this is him at his most charming.

But It's broad and silly in ways that land or they don't. The mystery is purely an excuse for the stars to be likeable together.

Murder Mystery poster

Game Night2018

A murder mystery party becomes real with pitch-perfect comic timing and an ensemble cast that actually clicks. The visual gags are inventive, and it commits to both comedy and genuine mystery-solving momentum.

But The twists feel manufactured once you see the join. On repeat viewing, the machinery shows.

Game Night poster

The Pink Panther1963

Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau, bumbling through jewel theft investigations while accidentally solving crimes. It's physical comedy and character-based humor that still holds because Sellers' commitment is absolute.

But The pacing is slow by modern standards. The humor depends entirely on your patience for slapstick and accents.

The Pink Panther poster

Brick2006

Both treat crime mystery as a vehicle for character and tone rather than plot mechanics. The investigation is a skeleton; the movie's real business is personality.

A high school noir where Rian Johnson transplants 1940s detective language and logic into a contemporary school setting. It sounds gimmicky until you realize it's genuinely smart—a mystery told with care and style, funny because it trusts the premise rather than winking at it.

But The affectation can feel cold. Some find the self-aware genre play gets in the way of caring about the characters or stakes.

Brick poster

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