Of course they did. That was the character. Nobody thought that was Chevy Chase, he played it really well but a lot of other comic characters could do it too. They did ramp it up later on, Pierce was more likeable at first.
I believe he was involved for getting Dan Harmon fired at the end of Season 3, and he got bored and walked off the set a number of times (not sure if Season 3 or Season 4), then dismissed the show afterwards in a nasty way, which was a bit much given it was his career lifeline and got him back into the world…
His behaviour in Community is what gave him his recent reputation as being unemployable. That has little to do with the writers making him seem unlikeable.
Jones was only 28 when the book was written and 39 when the movie was made (he’s two years younger than Chase). I feel that’s a reasonable age range to play the character.
As for his seriousness, that’s why I think he would have done well in the role. Jones can play comedy but he does it with a straight face (unlike Chase, who has a terrible habit of mugging for the camera).
Sorry, I was unclear. My point was that in season two and beyond they made him so unlikable, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, that it appeared they were reacting to Chase, the actor. That episode where he tortured the other members of the group by giving them conditional heirlooms was as big a “fuck you” as I have ever seen writers give a character/actor. The writers and producers purposely sabotaged Pierce both to the group and to the audience by making him do things for which he really couldn’t be forgiven.
In S1, he was just “unlikable” in the way TV characters are, but he still had some redeeming moments. On S2 and beyond? It went WAY beyond that.
In the first novel, Irwin Maurice ‘Fletch’ Fletcher is in his late twenties or very early thirties, and often mistaken for looking younger. (No specific age or date is mentioned but he served in Viet Nam and hos boss mentions that he is too young to have two ex-wives.) Tommy Lee Jones was born looking like he was in his mid-thirties and has looked progressively older. In The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) he looks like he’s in his mid-forties even though he was actually 31 years old. He also plays the straight man in the rare comedic roles he takes (Men in Black, Man of the House, U.S. Marshalls). He is basically the antithethis of the literary character who doesn’t take much of anything with seriousness despite the consequences (murder, blackmail, embezzlement) which drive the plots of the novels in which he appears.
The arguement can be made that, as with Bond or Bourne (to name a few), that the literary and cinematic characters should be taken separately as suits their respective mediums, but the Fletch movies were strictly vehicles for Chevy Chase to do stereotypical Chevy Chase things, and therefore neither very interesting or unique. Chase was at his best as a hapless family man getting screwed on a car deal or portraying Gerold Ford for the executive sin of stumbling on a steep aircraft stairway, and never developed any potential beyond that schtick. That he is also an irredeemable asshole beyond his lack of talent makes him an unworthy recipient of sympathy. Fuck that guy.
“Doesn’t take much of anything with seriousness despite the consequences” and “callous disregard for social convention” are excellent ways to put it - I always pictured the anti-hero Fletch as basically an asshole, so at least there is that connection. Too bad about the Chevy Chase movies.
I liked him on SNL. As for his films, the only ones I ever saw were the Vacation movies and Caddyshack. I don’t like the Vacation movies much.
I agree with Ukulele Ike about his performance in Caddyshack. Any competent actor could have done as well as he. Ted Knight, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield were the ones who made that movie great.
I’m also like Ex-Tank. I have emotional scars from my childhood, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for being an asshole.
The funniest thing Chevy Chase was involved in was Stephen Colbert’s performance at the 2002 New York Friars Club Roast of Chevy Chase. I can’t currently find it on YouTube but if you can track it down it’s definitely worth checking out.
Meh. I find his movies to be lightweight but enjoyable fare, suitable for an afternoon’s entertainment. That he personally is an asshole doesn’t bother me much. The fact that this assholishness has shafted his career bothers me not at all.
I’ll defend Chevy Chase on one point; he absolutely was talented and funny, as any comedian knows. He had comedy chops that went far, far beyond acting like he was cool. I mean, Clark Griswold is absolutely the opposite of cool, and Chevy Chase was wonderful in that role.
But why should anyone feel sorry for him? He had a fine career. He’s 74. Most of the guys he’s being compared to, like Steve Martin or David Letterman, are absolutely NOT in any sort of demand; the things they’re doing are things they produce themselves.
I liked Foul Play, Three Amigos and loved Fletch. Christmas Vacation is the only film that ever made my grandma laugh. Before that, I didn’t know she had it in her.
But my learning what a dick he is did lessen my enjoyment of his work. I mean, how hard is it not to be an asshole. At the very least, you can ACT like you’re a decent person till you’re alone.