Save the Cat rankings

Fletch script analysis

Fletch script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

Independent reporter Fletch is drawn from his laid-back beach life into a high-stakes mystery when wealthy Alan Stanwyk hires him to kill him. As he tailspins through deception, secret identities, and near-misses, he uncovers a web of bigamy and murder. In the end, Fletch outwits the villains and reunites with Gail in Rio.

85 Save the Cat fit score 83% analysis confidence / 43 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

80%

A desolate California beach and Fat Sam’s rundown stand set Fletch’s easygoing world.

2

Theme Stated

Scene 2 / Page 1 / 5% target

75%

Fletch’s quip about supply chains hints at the theme of appearances versus reality.

So what do you figure?
3

Set-Up

Scenes 1-4 / Pages 1-2 / 10% target

80%

We meet Fletch on the beach, see his drug‐supply side gig, and get approached by Alan Stanwyk with a bizarre prologue.

4

Catalyst

Scene 5 / Page 2 / 12% target

85%

Stanwyk’s shocking request that Fletch murder him flips the story into motion.

I want you to murder me.
5

Debate

Scenes 6-8 / Pages 2-4 / 20% target

78%

Fletch wrestles with Stanwyk’s illness claim, posing as patient and thief to verify he isn’t dying.

6

Break into Two

Scene 10 / Page 5 / 25% target

80%

Fletch meets Stanwyk’s wife Gail, shifting him into the investigative ‘upside-down world.’

What's he doing in Utah?
7

B Story

Scenes 10-11 / Pages 5-6 / 30% target

77%

The budding rapport with Gail provides the romantic B-story and emotional stakes.

8

Fun and Games

Scenes 6-16 / Pages 2-9 / 40% target

82%

Fletch’s disguises, break-ins, interviews, and goofy cover stories deliver the noir-comedy promise.

9

Midpoint

Scene 17 / Page 9 / 50% target

80%

The false victory of gathering clues is undercut when Fletch is arrested, raising the stakes.

If you keep nosing around, you make the bad guys just a little bit more cautious. That makes...
10

Bad Guys Close In

Scene 27 / Page 14 / 65% target

79%

Confronted by hired goons in the Provo house, Fletch’s investigation turns dangerous.

Who the hell are you?
11

All Is Lost

Scene 29 / Page 15 / 75% target

76%

A bullet through his car window suggests Fletch is outgunned and outmatched.

12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scenes 32-34 / Pages 16-17 / 80% target

78%

In the motel and on the plane, Fletch reflects on dead ends and losing Gail’s trust.

13

Break into Three

Scene 40 / Page 19 / 85% target

81%

Armed with new proof, Fletch breaks into Stanwyk’s house for the final evidence.

14

Finale

Scene 42 / Page 20 / 95% target

84%

Fletch dramatically exposes Stanwyk’s murder scheme and stops him at gunpoint.

Alan Stanwyk murdered me tonight. The charred remains found by the police in the Jaguar are mine, not...
15

Final Image

Scene 43 / Page 21 / 99% target

82%

Fletch and Gail’s reunion in Rio contrasts the opening’s lonely beach.

Not mine, stupid. Yours.