A Fish Called Wanda (1988) MGM/Comedy RT: 108 minutes Rated R (language, violence, brief rear nudity, sexual content and references) Director: Charles Crichton Screenplay: John Cleese and Charles Crichton Music: John Du Prez Cinematography: Alan Hume Release date: July 15, 1988 (US) Cast: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken, Tom Georgeson, Patricia Hayes, Cynthia Caylor, Geoffrey Palmer, Roger Brierley, Llewelyn Rees, Stephen Fry. Box Office $63.4 million (US)
Rating: ****
Everybody has their idea of the funniest comedy ever made. Mine is A Fish Called Wanda, a hilarious caper about a jewel heist and its aftermath with everybody trying to steal the loot for himself (or herself). There truly is no honor among thieves as evidenced by all the double and triple-crossing going on here.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve NEVER laughed so hard at a movie than I did (and still do) at A Fish Called Wanda. In one of those all-too-rare instances, everything comes together perfectly. Every scene is great and every line a classic. I still quote it to this day. Talk about a super-cast, this one stars John Cleese and Michael Palin (both of Monty Python fame), Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and, in an Oscar-winning turn, Kevin Kline (The Big Chill). OMG!!! His character, in my not-so-humble opinion, is among the greatest ever created for the big screen. He plays Otto, the weapons man who despises all things British and thinks himself an intellectual. He hates being called stupid proving that truthful words do hurt the most. He’s a complete idiot! On top of that, he’s also a total psycho. Lethal combo! Every one of his lines is pure gold. Every scene he’s in is a riot. I love everything about A Fish Called Wanda (with one notable exception), but he’s the absolute best part of the movie hands down.
It begins with a well-planned heist at a London diamond exchange. Led by gangster George (Georgeson, Notes on a Scandal), the team consists of right-hand man and animal enthusiast Ken (Palin), American con artist Wanda (Curtis) and, of course, Otto. Wanda and Otto pretend to be brother and sister when they are actually lovers. The robbery goes off without a hitch and all four parties go their separate ways. That’s when the fun really starts.
Otto and Wanda anonymously turn George in to the police and he’s arrested. Defending him in court will be Archie Leach (Cleese), a super-reserved barrister with a less-than-idyllic personal life. His wife Wendy (Aitken, Half Moon Street) is –for lack of a better term- a bitch that constantly brow-beats him. His teenage daughter Portia (real life daughter Cynthia) is a spoiled brat. It’s no wonder he’s so easily seduced by Wanda who wants him to get George to reveal where he moved the diamonds shortly before his arrest. While I’m certain many of you have already seen this movie and know it well, I will say no more regarding the plot.
Among other things, Otto is an insanely jealous man even though he claims such a quality is for the weak. He keeps interrupting Wanda’s attempts to seduce Archie, at one point dangling him upside down out a window in order to elicit an apology for calling him stupid. That’s my favorite bit in the whole movie followed by Otto shouting “A—hole!” at other drivers when it’s he who’s driving on the wrong side of the road. That’s one of the quotes I still use. I could go on and on about Otto’s finest moments, but that would defeat the purpose of my recommending the movie to those who have yet to see it. Let me instead discuss the thing I don’t like about A Fish Called Wanda. There’s a running gag involving little dogs getting killed in botched attempts on the life of an elderly woman that witnessed the gang’s getaway. I’m a dog lover and do NOT find that kind of thing funny. I’m capable of laughing at jokes that are considered in bad taste, but animals being harmed or killed crosses a line. It’s a personal thing and I don’t expect everybody to share that feeling, but for me it’s the one wrong note in an otherwise perfect movie.
Comedy is all about timing and director Charles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob) has a firm grasp on the concept. The comic timing in A Fish Called Wanda isn’t just great, it’s immaculate. And I have never seen a cast work this well together. They play perfectly off one another. The chemistry is magical. Cleese is a hoot as the repressed Englishman that slowly lets down his guard as he falls for Wanda. In one scene, he perfectly explains that thing that defines British society, the fear of saying something embarrassing or inappropriate. He really does make an awesome straight man. Curtis has never been better. She’s funny, no doubt about it. She’s also never been hotter! Man oh man, is she sexy in this movie. Her reaction when somebody speaks in a foreign language, priceless. Palin is very funny as animal-loving Ken. His character speaks with a bad stutter, something Otto endlessly mocks him for. In fact, Otto is just plain rotten to Ken. It’s mean but funny.
As for Kline, he richly deserved that Best Supporting Actor award. And who thought he had such a brilliant comedic performance in him? It’s great to see him lighten up after such serious-minded films as Sophie’s Choice and Cry Freedom. I’m sorry to keep repeating myself but Otto is- in the vernacular of the younger generation- THE S**T!!!
The Oscar-nominated screenplay by Cleese and Crichton (68 at the time) is top-drawer stuff! A lot happens, yet the narrative never becomes convoluted. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way to the madcap ending. I can’t praise A Fish Called Wanda enough. And I knew it was going to be a great movie from the moment I first saw the trailer earlier that summer. I made it a point to see it opening day, first matinee. And the rest, as they say, is history.
