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A Fish Called Wanda Details

1988

70
from 24,165 members

Starring	John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director	Charles Crichton
Genres	Comedy

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A Fish Called Wanda

In A FISH CALLED WANDA, veteran director Charles Crichton and scriptwriter-star John Cleese create a dazzling quilt from various strands of English and American comedy. The plot, in which four disparate characters attempt a daring heist, comes from Ealing caper comedies, such as Crichton's own THE LAVENDER HILL MOB. Cleese and Michael Palin, as the hit man with a stutter and a love of animals, come from the anarchic tradition of Monty Python. The movie pays savage tribute to another Ealing comedy, THE LADYKILLERS, as Palin attempts to kill a witness to the gang's getaway. The glamorous con woman (Jamie Lee Curtis) is from Preston Sturges's great comedy THE LADY EVE, while Kevin Kline provides his own unique feverish comic intensity.
But, in the midst of this breathless comedy, something else happens. The barrister, Archie Leach (Cleese), who is defending one of the gang, is jolted out of his tight-laced British existence by Curtis's life force. And Curtis--like Barbara Stanwyck in THE LADY EVE--falls into her own trap: falling in love with the man she's conning. The 78-year-old Crichton never before had such rich material. He times everything in this brilliant comedy with the precision of a Swiss watch.

Starring	John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director	Charles Crichton
Studio	MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time	DVD: 1 hr 43 mins
Certificate
Collections	100 Rom-Coms, Full English
Genres	Comedy
Language	DVD: English
Dubbed	German
Hearing-impaired	English, German
Subtitles	DVD: Croatian, Danish, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish
Released	Production year: 1988 To Rent: DVD: 10 Feb 2003

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

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Critic's review of A Fish Called Wanda
View all critics' reviews (2)
- Deft, blackish comedy with a little romance thrown in; its humour relied too much on Cleese's familiar, if expert, performance as an overbearing, uptight buffoon.
- 32133
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:42
Most helpful member's review of A Fish Called Wanda
View all members' reviews (41)
- - 11
  - 1
  An 80s classic
  
  A bit dated, but do watch this, as it's a great ensemble cast that will really make you laugh. Don't bother with the 'sequel', Fierce Creatures... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 103
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - Notting Hill, London
  - 17 Sep 2003 at 03:25
Most recent members' reviews of A Fish Called Wanda
View all members' reviews (41)
- - 0
  - 0
  Still worth it!
  
  A little dated, but still very funny...had forgotten how well cast worked together. Favorite bit is Wanda correcting Otto on some of his ideas...Good laugh.
  
  Report this review
- 1031807
- - a customer
  - 21 Aug 2011 at 08:23
- - 1
  - 0
  forever great
  
  Never fails to disappoint and have lost count of the number of times we've watched it. Always good for a laugh .... if a bit odd at times!
  
  Report this review
- 921019
- - a customer
  - devon
  - 05 Sep 2010 at 21:07
- - 1
  - 0
  Wacky comedy
  
  We relived our younger days by watching this with our children and still laughed out loud. Our youngest is only 7 and it was probably a bit racy for her and the... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 862048
- - MaryC
  - 23 reviews
  - Oxford
  - 15 Feb 2010 at 20:20
View all members' reviews (41)
News and features
View all
Palin turned down move to Hollywood
- 27 Nov 2009
Monty Python star Michael Palin refused to take his career to Hollywood - because he prefers the comfort of his British home. The actor starred in a string of successful films in the 1980s, but declined offers to move to Tinseltown as he was put off by the hectic lifestyle. And he feared the only movie parts available to him in Los Angeles would be stereotypical English roles. He says, "I'm not sure that failure's quite the right word. What happened was that, all these films that I made, like... Read more
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Rating breakdown

24,165 Member ratings

100	2,126
90	2,316
80	5,273
70	5,142
60	4,526
50	2,284
40	1,270
30	631
20	392
10	205

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by: sukie chapman/ Gary Dennis from Carmarthen, Wales

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- A Fish Called Wanda
  
  In A FISH CALLED WANDA, veteran director Charles Crichton and scriptwriter-star John Cleese create a dazzling quilt from various strands of English and American comedy. The plot, in which four disparate characters attempt a daring heist, comes from Ealing caper comedies, such as Crichton's own THE ...