I enjoy comedies when they are well done. Unfortunately, a lot of them end up being not so good for one reason or another. A Fish Called Wanda, a comedy from 1988, was very funny and I think it has held up well though it isn't a movie for everyone.

Wanda, Otto, Ken, and George had worked together to pull of a jewel heist. Once they had the jewels tucked away in a safe place, they started turning on each other. None of them really fully trusted the others and they all wanted to get the jewels to themselves. George believed that Wanda loved him, but she was secretly involved with Otto. They managed to get George arrested for the theft, but not before he took the jewels and hid them somewhere else, only telling Ken what was going on. Wanda decided that it would be a good idea for her to get close to Archie Leach, George's attorney. Otto didn't care for that plan and got extremely jealous. Ken was trying to do something that would clear George while also dealing with being tormented by Otto.

The plot for A Fish Called Wanda wasn’t overly complicated but it wasn’t simple either. There was a lot going on throughout the movie, so people need to pay attention to keep up with everything that was happening. There were some twists added in and a couple of surprises. I did think that the plot was very interesting and entertaining. There was a little bit of mystery added in without there really being any suspense. I was wondering exactly what would happen next more than once. There was a little bit of violence that wasn’t graphic or too extreme in a few scenes.

I thought that A Fish Called Wanda was a very funny movie. It was written by John Cleese and did include a lot of British humor which some people in the United States may not get or appreciate. There were some things done to add laughs that were in bad taste. Ken had a stuttering problem and Otto frequently made fun of him for that. Otto got downright mean about it at times and had a ball doing it. It was funny, but it could bother or upset some viewers. A few dogs and some fish were supposed to be hurt. Otto did something horrible to Ken’s fish at one point. Some viewers could find those things upsetting even though the way it was done was funny. The humor in this movie isn’t for everyone. It was a bit dark and even twisted at times. The relationships also added some humor, especially when Archie was discovered naked in someone else’s apartment.

Wanda had no problem using her sexuality against every man involved to get her way. She was very devious and manipulative, using sex to get Otto to do what she wanted while she was plotting something else. There was a sex scene between her and Otto that didn’t show very much. She got extremely turned on when men spoke in foreign languages, so Otto was babbling away in Italian during the sex scene. There were other sexual situations between Wanda and different men. Otto also hit on someone else at one point. Archie had been married several years but he didn’t seem that happy in his marriage and he was quickly dazzled by Wanda. When Archie was discovered naked in the apartment, he bare backside was shown. Wanda was shown wearing very little a few times without actually being shown naked. Otto also showed a little bit of skin. That was it for nudity. There was a lot of swearing done throughout the movie by most of the characters. That included frequent uses of the word that rhymes with luck and variations of that word. Otto came up with some very creative combinations in a few scenes. The movie was rated R, so this isn’t a movie for children.

George ended up with not much to do since he was arrested early in the movie. He had managed to do something that set in motion other major events for the movie. He was involved with Wanda, but he didn’t fully trust her. Tom Georgeson was fine in the part. Ken seemed to know George better than the others. Ken loved animals, something else that Otto teased him about. Michael Palin was great in the part.

Otto was the macho, not so smart man that Wanda was having sex with. They kept their relationship a secret from the other two, saying they were brother and sister. Otto got very jealous when any other men showed interest in Wanda. Otto was tough and liked to act much smarter than he really was. He had several issues and would flip out if someone suggested that he was stupid. Otto loved picking on and even tormenting Ken about a wide variety of things. I loved Kevin Kline as Otto and think it is one of his best performances. He definitely deserved the Oscar he won.

Wanda spent most of the movie scheming and trying to figure out how to double cross the men she’d been working with so she could have all the jewels to herself. She could be very manipulative and used her sexuality to try to get what she wanted. She was very sneaky and kept secrets from someone she was supposed to be close to which did cause more complications. Jamie Lee Curtis handled the part well. Archie was a proper British attorney who was defending George. He was dazzled by Wanda when they met and started acting way out of character. He had been married to Wendy for many years, but their marriage didn’t seem that happy. John Cleese was wonderful in the part and made Archie a believable character. His real daughter Cynthia appeared in a few scenes as Archie and Wendy’s daughter Portia.

Main Cast

Maria Aitken - Wendy Leach
Cynthia Caylor - Portia Leach
John Cleese - Archie Leach
Jamie Lee Curtis - Wanda
Tom Georgeson - George
Kevin Kline - Otto
Michael Palin - Ken

Charles Crichton - Director

DVD Information

I picked up A Fish Called Wanda on DVD for under $10. The disc has the widescreen version on one side and the full screen version on the other side. The only special features were the original theatrical trailer and a booklet that shared a little bit of information about the movie. Some of the information included was interesting, but there wasn’t very much. It would have been nice if there had been some interviews with the cast or outtakes or something.

A Fish Called Wanda was a very funny, entertaining movie that is worth seeing at least once, especially for fans of the cast. Certain things that happened were a bit twisted, so this isn’t a movie that everyone will like.

John Cleese Movie Reviews
Around the World in 80 Days ~ Die Another Day ~ The Great Muppet Caper ~ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Looney Tunes: Back in Action ~ Shrek 2 ~ Shrek the Third ~ Valiant ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD