Peggy Lee Zorba, alias Nostradamus, alias Henry Himmler, alias Billie Jean King, alias Irwin Mahatma Fletcher, alias Chevy Chase.

Yes, the master of disguise and one-liners is back with a vengeance in Fletch Lives.

Chevy Chase plays I. M. Fletcher ("Just call me Fletch"), the infamous investigative reporter who works for a Los Angeles newspaper.

There isn't too much in the sequel different from the original 1985 Fletch, but this does not necessarily mean that the film is bad. The jokes are consistently funny and Chase delivers them as only he can, with subtle facial expressions and a matter-of-fact sarcasm.

Fletch Lives is definitely a Chevy Chase vehicle.

One of the funniest scenes is when Fletch dreams about his newly inherited Louisiana plantation. It starts off with him as the revered owner, and turns into a full scale send-up of gala Southern musical numbers with Fletch singing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," while plantation workers, neighbors and animated animals flock around him.

The film is irreverent at times, and Fletch can be quite a sexist pig, but Chase maintains a tongue-in-cheek attitude. This doesn't make it right, but it's the same kind of off-color humor found in Saturday Night Live or Monty Python.

Many of the jokes use women as sex objects, as he comments to one woman, "What can I do to - for you?" Jokes like this are plentiful and can be annoying.

In addition to the jokes, women are seen as helpless and ignorant. The jokes themselves would not be that bad if they were undermined by women who were intelligent individuals, but they aren't.

There are some inconsistencies in the film with regard to the plot. For example, throughout the film evangelists are made fun of and ridiculed. This is humorously exemplified through the costume Fletch uses when he appears on the local evangelist show as a "Guest healer." However, at the end of the movie they are inadvertently presented in a good light. This makes one wonder what the intended message is.

Another inconsistency occurs toward the beginning of the movie when Fletch makes a joke that has negative racial implications (he tells Cleavon Little to "pick some cotton"). Yet, he does not ultimately come across as a racist. He even dresses up like a Klu Klux Klan member in order to make fun of the group.

This makes the earlier comment inappropriate and questionable. It was probably meant to be nothing more than a joke, but it was unnecessary and borders on offensive.

Supporting performances by Julianne Phillips (Skin Deep) as Chase's love interest and Hal Holbrook (The Fog and All the President's Men) as the helpful lawyer aren't very memorable, as it is Chase who gets all the attention and all the laughs.

The only one who gets to share in the fun is Cleavon Little (Blazing Saddles) who serves as Fletch's sidekick and gets to utter a joke here and there.

While some of the material is offensive and confused, there are enough truly funny moments in Fletch Lives to recommend it to Chase fans. Just think about what you're laughing at, and decide for yourself if it's appropriate.