Title: A Fish Called Wanda
Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin and Tom Georgeson
Synopsis: Written by and starring Monty Python‘s John Cleese, A Fish Called Wanda is an astutely British comedy that never grows old. The plot revolves around the aftermath of a dramatic diamond heist, performed by a ragtag group of criminals; There’s the keen-eyed leader of the pack, George (Georgeson), his loyal, but stuttering right-hand man Ken (Palin), and two Americans in the form of the sly and beautiful con-artist, Wanda (Curtis) and the Nietzche-reading psychopath/”weapons man”, Otto (Kline). When Wanda and Otto’s plan to dupe the other two and steal the jewels for themselves fails and George – the only person who knows the true location of their stolen diamonds – is put to trial about the heist, Wanda makes plans to seduce his lawyer, Archie Leach (Cleese) into revealing all. And so begins a maddeningly hilarious plot of deception, seduction and misdirection.
What makes the film so enjoyable is that nostalgically familiar brand of British humour that Cleese excels at; in which language is used to hysterical effect and the prim and proper mannerisms of the British people are always put into question. And then of course, there’s the cast. Arguably the best of the entire troupe, seeing Cleese and Palin away from Python but in just as funny a situation, is delightful – with Cleese playing the proper Englishman, and Palin playing the sympathetic good guy getting involved in all the wrong things. Curtis is also deliciously good fun to watch, as she seduces all the men onscreen with her beauty, charm and wit. The stand-out performance however, is Kevin Kline as Otto. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1989 for his portrayal of this loud-mouthed Anglophobe and it’s easy to see why. Even up against the best of British comedy, he steals the spotlight in every scene with the perfectly tuned vulgarity and hysterical physicality of his character.
Utterly quotable – “Why you pompous, stuck-up, snotnosed, English, giant-twerp, scumbag, fuckface, dickhead, asshole!” (All, Otto by the way) – and incredibly funny, A Fish Called Wanda is not to be dismissed.
Watch if you liked: Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Trading Places and Who’s That Girl
Rating: 9/10 – A personal favourite, it’s just utterly brilliant.
Words by Annie