A Fish Called Wanda

For the most part, I’m not a major fan of “British” comedies (mostly because I don’t understand some of their sayings, etc…), but this film has always been a pretty big favorite of mine. I rented it again most recently and I have to say that it still delivers, even after all of these years.

First of all, Kevin Kline is friggin’ AMAZING in this movie!! I am so glad that the stuffy Academy decided that it was cool to nominate a comedic performance as Best Supporting, and this one was definitely deserved (he won, too!). Another aspect of this film which was recognized by the Oscar folks, was the screenplay, for which I also hold a soft spot.

It’s a cute story, with twists and turns, some great performances all around, memorable sequences, quirky one-liners, and even some believable romance between Cleese and Curtis. And damn, was Curtis still looking mighty sweet back then or what??

Cleese was also very good as the reserved, older lawyer, who gets caught up in this major diamond heist scenario, and I especially appreciated his ability to have you really caring about his character by the end of the movie (go John, go!!).

I also enjoyed Michael Palin’s stuttering side-kick character, but do admit to being a little bored with the whole “dog” killing thing after a while.

But it’s the humor, the quick pace of the film and the hilarious performance put forth by Kline that ultimately carries this thing, with its tight ending making it all that much better. All in all, you can do much worse than this film if you’re looking for a cutesy comedy with goofy characters, great one-liners (“You are the vulgarian, you fuck!”), some perversion and a jolly ol’ British backdrop.

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian