A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

French Canadian title:
“An Angel Called Wanda”

Written and Directed by: John Cleese & Charles Crichton

Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline

Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Rating: R

Pre-Conceived Notions: This movie has always been something I have heard a lot about, because it seems to be on a lot of lists of the best comedies ever. I mean, why wouldn’t it be? It’s written by a Python, and it’s got Jamie Lee Curtis in it. That’s really an unbeatable combination right there. But what I am most looking forward to is the performance by the title fish. A little birdie told me she was scooped up out of a pet store fish tank within minutes of shooting all of her scenes. The casting department really lucked out on that one.

Why I Haven't Seen This Film: Whenever I wanted to see any ol’ movie, ‘Fish’ never was in the back of my mind to see. There were no A Fish Called Wanda viewing parties in college, and I guess I just tucked it away in my ‘iconically classic movies that I want to see but I’ll never check out unless I make myself do an insane movie-a-day project of the movies I’ve never seen but probably should’ file. This is a large file, which you soon shall see.

Trivia: Otto says, “Don’t call me stupid.” 5 times during the course of the film.

1 hour, 38 minutes later… The rule of thumb is, when there’s hype that surrounds a film, you believe the hype. It was a great film that didn’t leave me bored, between the love triangle between Wanda, Otto, and Archie; the hit animal lover Ken had out on the old lady who could break the case wide open, and the overarching “where are the jewels?” plot. It was like a feature-length sitcom with an A, B, and C story line. Unlike Super Troopers, the humor respected the intelligence of the audience: “He thought the London Underground was a political movement!” But that’s a big reason why Python was so popular: it was all kinds of absurd and yet didn’t insult its audience. And one more thing: Jamie Lee has America pooping again, John Cleese and Michael Palin are in the middle of a possible Monty Python reunion, but where the heck is Kevin Kline nowadays? Isn’t he due for a comeback?

Final Thoughts: Snappy dialogue, rich, flawed characters and distinctly British humor make this a caper movie I’m definitely going to watch over and over again. This movie gets 5.5 slices of pizza. I have to take that last half-slice away for the slightly Wile E. Coyote ending. If you haven’t yet, stream or rent this movie!