Review of A Fish Called Wanda (1988) by Michael Y — 11 Aug 2011

One of the funniest movies of the '80s, and even an Oscar winner, A Fish Called Wanda is a wonderful blend of American and British humour with a great cast.

After a diamond heist in England, the 4 robbers all try to double-cross eachother. When one of the robbers, George, is arrested the other 3 learn that he stole and hidden the loot. So Wanda (the femme fatale of the group) tries to seduce George's lawyer into telling her if George revealed to him where the diamonds are. Written by Python Boy, John Cleese himself, this hilarious movie of deciet and different cultures is hilarious as well as very creative. But what makes this movie even better is the performances. John Cleese is sophisticated but acts out in many hilarious ways, Jamie Lee Curtis is as seductive as she has ever been, another Python, Michael Palin co-stars in a silly but delightful role, but who really stands out is Kevin Kline who's performace is so hilarious and well played that he even one an Academy Award.

John Cleese and Charles Crichton team up to create this creative comedy from over the pond. It's not a overly complex movie and it doesn't demand a lot of top notch cinematography, But what this movie has is creativity and timing. THe directing of the scenes is no doupt wonderful, and how the actors play with the scenes and how the film edits the movie with great timing is what makes this movie so funny and effective. The physical comedy is also well directed and performed that play so much in the movie. And the suspence of scenes to come is also wonderful, like when Michael Palin's character tries to kill a witness, and much more. And this movie is also accompanied with a nice tune for its music score.

It might just be silly fun but A Fish Called Wanda is a true original and a step up from other comedies in its decade. It has a very creative premise performed very well from an enjoyable cast. Definitely John Cleese's best work since Monty Python.