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.

Directors:

Charles Crichton, John Cleese (uncredited)

Writers:

John Cleese (story), Charles Crichton (story)

Stars:

John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cleese	...	Archie Leach
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Wanda Gershwitz
Kevin Kline	...	Otto
Michael Palin	...	Ken Pile
Maria Aitken	...	Wendy
Tom Georgeson	...	Georges Thomason
Patricia Hayes	...	Mrs. Coady
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Judge
Cynthia Cleese	...	Portia (as Cynthia Caylor)
Mark Elwes	...	Customer in Jeweler's Shop
Neville Phillips	...	Manager of Jeweler's Shop
Peter Jonfield	...	Inspector Marvin
Ken Campbell	...	Bartlett
Al Ashton	...	Warder
Roger Hume	...	Locksmith

Storyline

In London, George Thomason, his seductive American girlfriend Wanda Gershwitz, and their associate Ken Pile are planning their latest crime, a diamond heist that should net them £13 million. They plan on leaving the country with the goods after the heist. On Wanda's recommendation, they enlist the help of her brother, Otto, a weapons expert, for this heist. In reality, Otto is not Wanda's brother, but her latest lover, a dimwit who gets off on his own body odor, who believes he's an intellectual because he reads Nietzsche, and who does not tolerate being called stupid by anyone. Wanda has one weakness in men which is how Otto was able to get her to be his lover: speaking Italian in seduction. Wanda and Otto plan to double cross George by having him arrested for the heist, while they abscond with the jewels. Wanda further plans to triple cross Otto by eliminating him from the picture after she has the jewels. They are able to get George arrested with him not knowing who tipped the ...

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Plot Keywords:

stuttering man | heist | ugly american | fish tank | plan gone wrong | 

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Taglines:

A New Comedy About Sex, Murder and Seafood.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Italian Russian French

Release Date:

5 August 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Fisch namens Wanda

Filming Locations:

Roehampton Church School, Wandsworth, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$115,418, 17 July 1988, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$63,493,712

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Prominent Features, Star Partners Limited Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jamie Lee Curtis was listed as "Jamie Lee Schwartz" on all the call sheets, because John Cleese found it amusing that her father Tony Curtis's real name was Bernard Schwartz.

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Goofs

When Archie opens his office door to let Wanda in, shadow of the camera can be briefly seen on his back.

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Quotes

Archie: [to Wanda] How could a bright and smart girl like you have a brother who is so...
Otto: [coming between them] Don't call me stupid!

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the closing credits is the word FIN -- which is how French films say THE END, but in English a "fin" is a part of a fish.

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Alternate Versions

The Special Edition DVD has a bunch of deleted scenes including Otto's secret hobby and alternate scenes making the film more darker comedy.

• There are two alternate endings. Both feature Otto dying and covered in blood in the cement but have different scenes on the plane, both imply that Wanda is going to run off with the money.

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Connections

Featured in The 50 Greatest Comedy Films (2006)

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Soundtracks

Nel blu, dipinto di blu
Written by Franco Migliacci and Domenico Modugno
Performed by Domenico Modugno

User Reviews

The Funniest Movie Ever Made

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.