Review of A Fish Called Wanda (1988) by John V — 15 Feb 2010

'A Fish Called Wanda' frequents the much-loved lists of 'Greatest Comedy Films of All Time', rarely dropping outside the top quartile. Written and directed by Charles Crichton and John Cleese with Michael Palin in a major role, 'A Fish Called Wanda' fully utilizes the anarchic sense of Monty Python humour to create an outrageously funny and flatteringly intelligent comedy-cum-crime spoof.

George Thomason (Tom Georgeson) and his lovably stuttering right-hand man Ken Pile (Michael Palin) recruit seductive con artist Wanda Gerschwitz (Jamie Lee-Curtis) and self-styled intellectual yet idiotic Otto (Kevin Kline) into their gang in order to carry out a jewel heist. Through a series of double-crossings, the George is arrested and the loot's location hidden, bringing George's unhappily-married and awfully polite lawyer Archie (John Cleese) into the web of trickery and double-crossings via the seductive techniques of Wanda.

With only a handful of roles on offer to create such masterfully-woven web, the cast fully deserve the numerous awards bestowed upon them individually. Veering between allegorically funny or outright hilarious, 'A Fish Called Wanda' never fails to resort to cliches or formula to produce countless laughs and highly original sequences. The python twist and touch of Cleese in the movies' creation sees a torture and assassination scenes play with a subtle hint of menace but maintain the light-heartedness with an amazing demonstration of imagination; Pile's stutter never slacks and more importantly never fails to grow old and grate. Wanda's somewhat unusual fetish is a stroke of comedic genius also.

Amongst a set of peerless performances, Kline's manic, egotistical Yank (for that is part of the laugh, the ever-present feel of Britain versus America) stands tall. Again the script, direction and casting contribute to his greatness-character interaction in 'A Fish Called Wanda' goes far beyond the spoken word and is another spectacular layer on display in a film where depth and seriousness are far from foremost in mind. Kline's performance eptiomizes the bizarre brilliance of a film realizing the potential in the combination of British eccentricity and the sheer American force of Curtis and Kline.

Thankfully the Python fondness for visual gags (the horse-riding) is rarely, if ever, employed in 'A Fish Called Wanda'. Crichton's film presents itself seriously without ever taking itself so. Perhaps the highest, if most tragic, praise of all worthy of 'A Fish Called Wanda', is the death by laughter of Danish audiologist Ole Bentzen upon viewing this comedic tour de force.