A Fish Called Wanda DVD > Reviews > Wandaful, Wandaful Comedy....

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Kevin Kline in one of the best comedy performances ever
Disadvantages:	John Cleese with his kacks off .  .  .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Kudos to ciao this week for picking a product of the week which most people will have first hand knowledge of and making a decent competition for a change. I had begun to think the whole thing was pointless when entries from people who had never used the product or had only come into contact with it when it was put up were finishing very highly. To me it seems intrinsically wrong to award those who have written a review based on a scan of a website or a single use of a product and I got quite disillusioned with the whole thing. But me having a moan about the unscrupulous out there is not what we’re here for so let the review commence.

A Fish Called Wanda is without doubt one of the funniest and most memorable comedies I have seen, chocked full of unforgettable set pieces, brilliant running jokes and some of the best comedy performances you are likely to see. Set in London, the story revolves around a £20m diamond heist come a cropper, whereby the head of the gang, George, ends up in jail. He is defended by one Archie Leach (the real name of Cary Grant for movie buffs out there) a stiff British QC in the midst of a mid-life crisis, played in uncharacteristically reserved fashion by John Cleese to great effect. Archie becomes embroiled in the double crossing antics of Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Otto (Kevin Kline) as they attempt to scarper with the diamonds. Unable to find out where George stashed them before his arrest, they believe Archie is the key to getting the information out of George. Cue the hilarity which duly ensues.

The film is filled with little subplots and characters which flesh the story out much more than most comedies. There is slapstick but it’s not the main thrust of the comedy. Michael Palin as George’s ever faithful partner in crime really steals the show at times with the most hilarious stutter this side of Gareth Gates. His little side plot of trying to kill a witness to the robbery to get George off the hook is classic stuff. His stuttering as well is a masterpiece in it’s own right, as well comically timed as Ronnie Barker’s in Open All Hours but with a much more realistic approach, Palin at times turns purple as he strains to get the syllables out.

His Monty Python co-star John Cleese is required to play it much straighter than he usually would, as the brow-beaten barrister Archie Leach and to me looks quite odd without the trademark Basil Fawlty moustache, but he too has moments of real comedy gold. A highlight is his introduction of Wanda to Russian (a much sexier language than Italian according to Archie). Whilst he strips off downstairs Wanda is driven wild by his Russian monologue and Cleese performs in wonderfully uninhibited fashion, though the sight of John Cleese in the buff is not the easiest on the eye. The majority of the funny lines and mannerisms go to his co-stars but Cleese is excellent in the role.

For me though the best part of the whole film is the magnificent Otto, played by Kevin Kline. Every second he is on the screen he has me in stitches. As Wanda’s lover he is driven wild with jealousy as Wanda cosies up first to George and then to Archie in a bid to get hold of the diamonds. His incessant demand of ‘Don’t touch his dick’ cracks me up every time, and his ability to show up at the most improbable of times to remind her is brilliant. I’ve seen Kline in a few comedy roles but he’s never approached this peak in any of those. Idiosyncrasies such as a long sniff of his own armpit as he enjoys the smell of his own musk and his dodgy quoting of odd Italian phrases during foreplay are done really over the top yet for such an eccentric character are both appropriate and believable. He also brings a lot of physicality to the role which is not necessarily something I would associate him with. Indeed so highly rated was his performance that he won the Oscar for best supporting Actor, an all to rare a feat for a comedy movie, but then unusually, Wanda was also nominated for best Director and Best Screenplay which is no mean feat for a movie like this.

Jamie Lee Curtis again proved herself both very adept at comedy roles and very adept at being terrifically sexy. You can understand why Archie would be willing to run after a girl like her, and why Otto would be so incredibly jealous.

The Supporting Roles are also played really well by actors who should be very familiar to the British viewing public. Stephen Fry (brilliant man, not the greatest of actors, Hugh Laurie’s got him there) and Geoffrey Palmer make appearances in minor Roles. George, the hard man head of the heist team is played by Tom Georgeson, who’s been in practically every British TV show you can think of, recently in Bleak House. Archie’s wife is played in a suitably pompous manner by Maria Aitken, herself an accomplished actress and director.

All of the main crew returned for the less successful Fierce Creatures in 1997, not a sequel but a chance to get the old crew back together it seems. They must have had as much fun making this as we did watching it. Unfortunately the humour in Fierce Creatures is not up to the levels reached in Wanda, but it is passable, the main reason being that you wish Kevin Kline had just done Otto again.

I have to say that I thoroughly recommend A Fish Called Wanda to anyone who wants a laugh. It’s much better in my opinion than the likes of the Full Monty and other recent acclaimed British comedies, and I struggle to think of a better one. Give it a watch if you haven’t seen it in a while, it’s always better than you remembered.

Director: Charles Crichton
Writers: John Cleese and Charles Crichton
Cast: John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin, Tom Georgeson
Cinema Release Date: October 1988
Genre: Comedy
Classification: 15+
Runtime: 108 minutes
Awards: Kevin Kline – Best Supporting Actor Oscar
John Cleese and Charles Crichton - Oscar nomination for best original screenplay
Charles Crichton – Oscar Nomination Best Director