A Fish Called WandaGet a taste for what's been missing in your humdrum life, and you might be willing to throw everything away for it. A Fish Called Wanda is a slapstick comedy, romantic comedy, and heist flick all rolled into one. It is written by and starring John Cleese as a successful--if henpecked--barrister (read: British attorney) named Archie Leach, who begins an affair with the lovely Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis). But Wanda is a criminal involved in the armed robbery of a fortune in jewels. She has been acting as the moll to the heist's organizer, George Thomason (Tom Georgeson), while secretly plotting to cheat George and his stuttering comrade and animal lover, Ken (Michael Palin), out of the riches with her actual lover, an arrogant sociopath with delusions of intelligence named Otto (Kevin Kline). All the while, Archie begins taking wild risks in the name of love, unaware of Wanda's true intentions.
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Cleese (as Archie) largely plays the "straight man" to the absurd humor in A Fish Called Wanda, but gets caught up as an unwitting victim in Wanda and Otto's manic scheme to claim the jewels before George. Grassing George to get him out of the picture backfires after Wanda and Otto discover that he hid the take beforehand, prompting their intervention before he is brought before the magistrate; it just happens to be Archie's luck that he is defending him. Archie is a skillful attorney, yet is surprisingly willing to allow Wanda to ingratiate herself into his life, subsequently violating ethical standards when he identifies that she is a key witness. Archie enjoys a prosperous life at home, although his wife, Wendy (Maria Aitken), and daughter, Portia (Cynthia Cleese), are selfish and do not listen to him. Archie is missing something crucial in his life, and the promise of affection from Wanda is enough to turn his screws and make him forget his responsibilities to his client, inch by inch. Wanda is a smooth operator, and exploits her sex appeal without remorse to get Archie to disclose whether George confessed to him where he hid the jewels. Archie is convinced that George is actually innocent, which is surprising considering Archie is reputed to be a capable defense attorney, and how flimsy George's alibi is--not to mention that he actually did the robbery. Wanda should be considering alternative ways of obtaining the jewels, but continues to see Archie under the auspices that she can learn more by maintaining this facade of a heated romance. Why? Otto is a real jerk and an idiot--just don't call him stupid. Worse still, he is convinced he isn't stupid, and any insinuation makes him flare up in violent anger. Otto brags that he "used to kill people for the CIA", and resents being in England, outright mocking Brits while coming across as the quintessential "ugly American". Kevin Kline's performance as the dim-witted weapons expert has echoes of Steve Martin from films like The Jerk, because of how ignorant he is of his own absurdity. Otto likes to read Nietzsche while practicing his crackshot aim, and tries to arouse Wanda by uttering gibberish in Italian, which surprisingly works. Wanda is a very smart woman--despite being amoral and manipulative--begging the question what she ever saw in Otto (or George). She makes it clear that she has no compunctions about making men drool over her to get them to do what she wants; when she is in the room with Otto, George, and Ken, it's clear that she's really the one with all the power. It's suggested that Ken carries a torch for Wanda, even naming his favorite fish after her, but he is resigned to the fact that he's not likely to win a prize like her with his debilitating stutter--plus, there's no profit in it for her. It's never explicitly stated that Wanda feels anything more for Archie than what she pretends. She even breaks character when she asks him if he's "rich", and it's clear that she's considering "trading up" for Archie from Otto, who has become a jealous, overbearing bore. There is just enough of the suggestion that Wanda grows to feel something deeper than her purse for Archie--whether it is pity, guilt, or actual affection is up for debate.
It should come as no surprise that A Fish Called Wanda has echoes of Monty Python, since both Cleese and Palin are alumni of the celebrated British comedy troupe. A side story riddled with dark comedy includes George charging Ken with offing an elderly witness with a heart condition who identified him fleeing the scene of the crime. Otto mocks Ken as being incapable of committing murder, but Ken takes his goading personally and commits to slay the old woman, who in turn keeps a trio of yappy little Yorkshire Terriers on leashes that are always getting in the way of passersby. Ken comes up with elaborate schemes to kill the old woman, yet each attempt only ends up gruesomely slaying the dogs one by one--ironic considering Ken is such an animal lover. Archie's best comedy moments come after his attempts at coitus with Wanda are repeatedly interrupted. Archie is obviously sexually frustrated; a montage of Archie and Wendy getting ready for bed versus Otto and Wanda in bed emphasizes that Wanda's attention makes him go to extremes for the promise of sex. After Wanda surprises Archie at home--only for her visit to be interrupted by Wendy returning home early--she loses her pendant, which contains a safety deposit box key that is her only link to the purloined loot. Wanda withholds sex from Archie until he can reclaim the pendant from his overzealous wife, and Archie goes so far as to stage a burglary to justify stealing it away from her. Archie also appropriates a flat in London from a colleague in Hong Kong, so that he and Wanda may have a private place to conduct their affair. This leads to one of the most hilarious scenes, when Archie discovers--in the worst possible way--that the owner had sublet the apartment to another family without telling him. Despite his zeal to commit adultery, Archie represents the moral center of A Fish Called Wanda. He is a man who is missing something integral in his life, and is a part of a society that is so afraid of being embarrassed, that he ultimately accuses them all of being no different than corpses. Despite the spurious circumstances under which Wanda rekindles the ardent flame of life in Archie, it is more important that it has been rekindled at all.
Recommended for: Fans of a hilarious comedy about a group of misfit crooks and the barrister who gets ringed into their schemes, discovering what's missing in his life in the process. A Fish Called Wanda boasts exciting and vivacious performances by the key players, with genuine "laugh out loud" moments throughout.
It should come as no surprise that A Fish Called Wanda has echoes of Monty Python, since both Cleese and Palin are alumni of the celebrated British comedy troupe. A side story riddled with dark comedy includes George charging Ken with offing an elderly witness with a heart condition who identified him fleeing the scene of the crime. Otto mocks Ken as being incapable of committing murder, but Ken takes his goading personally and commits to slay the old woman, who in turn keeps a trio of yappy little Yorkshire Terriers on leashes that are always getting in the way of passersby. Ken comes up with elaborate schemes to kill the old woman, yet each attempt only ends up gruesomely slaying the dogs one by one--ironic considering Ken is such an animal lover. Archie's best comedy moments come after his attempts at coitus with Wanda are repeatedly interrupted. Archie is obviously sexually frustrated; a montage of Archie and Wendy getting ready for bed versus Otto and Wanda in bed emphasizes that Wanda's attention makes him go to extremes for the promise of sex. After Wanda surprises Archie at home--only for her visit to be interrupted by Wendy returning home early--she loses her pendant, which contains a safety deposit box key that is her only link to the purloined loot. Wanda withholds sex from Archie until he can reclaim the pendant from his overzealous wife, and Archie goes so far as to stage a burglary to justify stealing it away from her. Archie also appropriates a flat in London from a colleague in Hong Kong, so that he and Wanda may have a private place to conduct their affair. This leads to one of the most hilarious scenes, when Archie discovers--in the worst possible way--that the owner had sublet the apartment to another family without telling him. Despite his zeal to commit adultery, Archie represents the moral center of A Fish Called Wanda. He is a man who is missing something integral in his life, and is a part of a society that is so afraid of being embarrassed, that he ultimately accuses them all of being no different than corpses. Despite the spurious circumstances under which Wanda rekindles the ardent flame of life in Archie, it is more important that it has been rekindled at all.
Recommended for: Fans of a hilarious comedy about a group of misfit crooks and the barrister who gets ringed into their schemes, discovering what's missing in his life in the process. A Fish Called Wanda boasts exciting and vivacious performances by the key players, with genuine "laugh out loud" moments throughout.