If you've read the Fletch novels, you know what a let down this enterprise was. The first Fletch film stuck pretty close to the book on which it was based, had a great cast, and Gregory McDonald himself even said he thought Chevy made a good Fletch. It was a very good film and readers of the novels were excited to see them be brought to film.
Then the second film came out, which had nothing to do with the novels and was just "let's watch Chevy Chase mug for the camera." It was truly terrible. I don't know whose decision it was to go that direction, but it let down every fan of the books, all of which are terrific. It could have been an iconic film series, but the producers decided to go "stupid humour" instead and blew the whole venture with that series killer of a dud movie.