A Fish Called Wanda DVD > Reviews

Advantages: Comedy Genius, brilliant performances, excellent characters, good script
Disadvantages: relatively uninteresting sets?

My Experience with A Fish Called Wanda -------------------------------------------------------- When my mum first brought this film home from Asda, I looked at her awkwardly and said; "it's really old...and it's about a fish? How can that be funny?" And admittedly I began watching the film several weeks later (as long as I could put it off) with the stubborn belief that I was not going to enjoy it one bit, and that it was probably funny 20 years ... Read review

Advantages: British Comedy at its best. John Cleese - Enough said!!!
Disadvantages: Special Feature quality is not superb to be honest

...That film was of course, A Fish Called Wanda. *** The Plot (Without Giving Too Much Away!!!) *** The film was written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton, who also directed the film, and this was Crichton's first film for almost 25 years. The general outline of the plot is simple enough. Four criminals, led by Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her boyfriend George Thomason (Tom Georgeson) plot to steal $20 million worth of diamonds. However, ... Read review

Advantages: Some fine comedy moments, Klines acting
Disadvantages: Some irritating characterisation

A Fish Called Wanda sets out with the objective of being a romantic comedy playing on familiar themes of American/British differences and the gangsters girlfriend being tempted away to a better crime free life. It succeeds in much of its aims in as much as it has amusing moments and there are some distinguishable elements of romance. Alas as a whole though it is disappointing as it fails often to achieve true originality or brilliance. Perhaps with ... Read review

Advantages: Good acting, numerous opportunities for fish related puns
Disadvantages: Too slapstick

...week’s competition is not only a film, but a film I enjoy, I was, understandably, very happy. Like a ‘Fish’ to water, one could say (har, har). In 1988 Cleese’s last successful outing had been in Clockwise, yet another very funny film. But this was in 1986, and he was seemingly long overdue a new venture of some kind. He had however, been writing a new comedy film with director Crichton for two years. The story is this; American Wanda (Curtis) ... Read review

Advantages: Very funny , great characters , great performances , good plot , farce
Disadvantages: Perhaps a little dated now.

When A Fish Called Wanda hit the big screens, in 1988, it was way ahead of it's time. As with many movies, it suffered a little from over-hype by the press and reviewers. As such, it was a wee bit of a disappointing film to me. However, I only mean a very small wee(gosh I hope you know what I mean)bit. The plot revolves around an American couples visit to England. Wanda, a sex bomb of a con artist and Otto, a jewel thief have planned, and are to ... Read review

Advantages: Keeps you laughing
Disadvantages: No Disadvantages

A director who hadn’t made a film in almost 25 years. A male romantic lead the wrong side of 40. A female romantic lead, famous for her ‘perfect’ body, who refused to do any nudity. They really couldn’t give tickets away. But the few who did turn up for preview screenings of A Fish Called Wanda weren’t surprised when it went on to become one of the most successful comedies of all time. Not only that, it set up ... Read review

Advantages: Ensemble playing at its finest
Disadvantages: Can't think of any

...comedy TV series. But in reality A Fish Called Wanda was about as far as it could get away from Cleese's roots, with him fairly liberally straying into the world of cost transatlantic comedy. It was almost odds on to be a box office smash just on the strength of Cleese's contribution alone, but then one might have thought the same about the exceedingly lacklustre Clockwise, and look what happened to that. Wanda, however, was something completely ... Read review

Advantages: Great cast
Disadvantages: none

...the girlfriend of his client, a jewel thief. Kevin Kline won an oscar for his portrayal of Wanda psycotic brother Otto. The film follows the exploits of Wanda and Otto trying to discover the hidden jewels, but the only person who knows is stuttering Ken superbly played by Michael Palin At times this is a very funny movie ... Read review

Advantages: Jamie Lee Curtis
Disadvantages: Not funny

Not a film I would wish to watch again. I like John Cleese, but not in this film. Unfortunately he just was not funny at all. As A Cleese fan I was very disappointed. Perhaps I was expecting something more on the lines of Monty Python. The film does not even have a very original story line and was un-memorable to me. It is a shame really that it wasn’t funnier. In fact there isn’t one part which really sticks out as being memorable apart from Jamie ... Read review

Advantages: great cast, one funny scene
Disadvantages: not funny, quite sick humour

I thought I would love A Fish Called Wanda. I think Jamie Lee Curtis is great and loved Perfect and Trading Places. Michael Palin is great too, I love his travel series and adored Monty Python. John Cleese is a comic genius, one of my heroes. But - guess what ? I hated this film ! I think it is just a little sick for my taste really. I love animals and this film seems to delight in gruesome things that can happen to animals. It is also just not ... Read review

Advantages: excellent
Disadvantages: so funny i cried

...fish of the title, but a sexy American thief played by Jamie Lee Curtis. She and her gang--Cockney tough guy George (Tom Georgeson), stuttering animal rights advocate, Ken (Michael Palin), and ex-CIA assassin, Otto (Kevin Kline)--pull off a well-executed jewel heist but in the thieves' subsequent rush to double-cross one another and grab all the loot, George ends up in jail and the booty hidden in a safety deposit box, the location of which is known ... Read review

Advantages: Good hardy laughs, and a good plot.
Disadvantages: Not much...

...funny? Thankfully, the film was a hit like it deserved, and is one of the best British made films ever made. Ignore the recent British films, in which we can only make feel good films, pathetic love storys, and cliched "gangsta" movies, (I'm watching you Richie.) and look back to the genius of Monty Python. The film is well put though, and the characters in it are some of the most memorable characters ever put on screen. Michael Palins stuttering ... Read review