IMDb > A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A Fish Called Wanda
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A Fish Called Wanda (1988) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 5)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988) -- In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   46,546 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 24% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Writers:

John Cleese (story) and
Charles Crichton (story) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for A Fish Called Wanda on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

15 July 1988 (USA) more

Genre:

Comedy | Crime more

Tagline:

A tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood. more

Plot:

In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot. full summary | full synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations more

User Comments:

The Funniest Movie Ever Made more (147 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA | UK

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The fish that Kevin Kline eats are made out of Jello. Kline claims that he offered to eat real, live fish, but the filmmakers wouldn't let him. more

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Wanda is talking to George in prison, you can see crew equipment bobbing up and down over their heads. more

Quotes:

Ken: Otto t-t-tried to k-k-kiss me.
Wanda: I thought he might.
more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jolly Roger: Massacre at Cutter's Cove (2005) more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
52 out of 61 people found the following comment useful.
The Funniest Movie Ever Made, 31 May 1999
10/10
Author: DanB-4 from Canada

This is the only film I ever paid to see two days in a row. I missed too much of it the first time because of my own hysterical snorting laughter.

This is a work of comic genius. And, like any good film, the screenplay is at the heart of the belly laughs. Every character is given a detailed personality quirk or two, and then it is shamefully exploited for laugh after laugh. Note for example, John Cleese's speech to Jamie Lee Curtis about how awful it is to be British - the eternal fear of embarrassment. Moments later, he is caught buck naked in a marital tryst in some else's flat by the people to used to live in his own home. Also, the funny-offensive envelope is pushed to the limit when K-K-K-Ken (Michael Palin), the passionate animal lover inadvertently kills three innocent dogs in his attempt to murder an old woman who would otherwise be a prosecution witness. Now that's funny!

Cleese's character, Archie Leach (Carey Grant's real name) is a likable buffoon of a lawyer, happy in his banal existence until he meets the sexy American, Wanda (Jamie Lee). I cannot even being to describe the plot beyond that point without doing it a grave disservice. It twists and dangles about in a world of double-cross and goldfish-eating for no other reason than to set up a joke.

You cannot speak of this film without mention of Kevin Kline as Otto, a role that won him a richly-deserved Oscar. Otto is the ex-CIA "weapons man" who makes it his business to read philosophy but would be more at home with Curious George. An obsessive, self-indulgent, painfully stupid, violent, deceitful, gullible egomaniac, the character of Otto is amongst the best comedic performances ever delivered.

The film's funniest scene takes place at Leach's (Cleese) house. In a scene that rivals anything that has ever hit the screen for laughs, the film and its scripts looks deep enough into itself to even give Cleese's dry-as-toast wife a laugh or two. Then, later on, this scene proves to be the set up for even more jokes. A Fish Called Wanda is pure comedy and every scene either provides a laugh or sets one up - it graciously does not waste our time trying to be moral or turning into a formula car-chase flick.

My comments are choppy but so is this movie. If you see it and don't laugh, check your pulse. We have only been given a handful of good comedies in the last decade. A Fish Called Wanda is a treasure. **** out of ****.

NOTE: TBS and some other TV networks show this film with the "offensive language" edited out. It kills the movie - if you can't hack the language, pass this one over.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Jamie Lee Curtis attractive? deathbyanxiety
Missing scene? CountessDuckula
I still find this movie brillaint trinstoy
Snatch is funnier... imdblovers
Archie Leach swmpman
This movie wasn't funny... tedious_toad-1
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