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A Fish Called Wanda

6.9

44,447

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Original title

A Fish Called Wanda

Year

1988

Running time

108 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Charles Crichton

Screenwriter

John Cleese. Story: John Cleese, Charles Crichton

Cast

Music

John Du Prez

Cinematography

Alan Hume

Producer

Co-production United Kingdom-United States;

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Prominent Features. Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Genre

Comedy | Crime. Heist Film

Synopsis

Diamond-loving American Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) has come to London with her demented, self-loving, and Nietzsche-quoting boyfriend Otto (Kevin Kline) in hopes of pulling off an armed diamond heist. The couple team up with two Brits, George (Tom Georgeson) and Ken (Michael Palin), a stuttering animal lover who plots to kill his annoying elderly neighbor but keeps knocking off her little dogs, much to his sorrow. After the heist, the four conspirators turn on one another in an attempt to keep the loot for themselves. Wanda and Otto inform on George and get him locked up, little knowing that he has already stashed the diamonds somewhere else. It appears that George's lawyer, prim and straight-laced Archie Leach (John Cleese), may be the only (free) person who knows where the grand haul is hidden, so Wanda sets out to seduce Archie, much to Otto's discomfort.

Awards: 1988: Oscar: Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Kline). 3 Nominations

1988: Golden Globes: 3 nom: Motion Picture, Actor (Cleese), Actress (Curtis) in Comedy

1988: BAFTA: Best Actor (Cleese) and Actor in a Supporting Role (Palin). 9 nominations

1988: Directors Guild of America (DGA): Nominated for Best Director

1988: Writers Guild of America (WGA): Nominated for Best Original Screenplay

1988: David di Donatello Awards: Best Foreign Screenplay

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Critics' reviews

"'A Fish Called Wanda' is the funniest movie I have seen in a long time (...) The film has one hilarious sequence after another (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"One of the best-constructed, funniest, and most clever comedies to grace motion picture screens in recent years. It's outrageous, offensive, and even a little sick -- and all the more enjoyable because of it"

James Berardinelli: ReelViews
"It's guilty fun with the unsettling feel of 'Something Wild' (...) 'Wanda is a Harlequin romance for men, a breakthrough for Britain and a deftly directed and wonderfully acted sex farce"

Rita Kempley: The Washington Post
"Though it is less tasteless, irreverent and satirical than the Python pics, film still is wacky and occasionally outrageous in its own, distinctly British way (...) Curtis steals the show with her keen sense of comic timing"

Variety Staff: Variety
"'A Fish Called Wanda' seems to have turned into a private joke to be enjoyed only by the members of the cast and crew who made it."

Vincent Canby: The New York Times
"Mixing acerbic Pythonesque humour with a sweet rom-com touch and wonderful comic performances, this may be the finest hour for any former Python (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"

Emma Cochrane: Empire
"There's nothing deep, nothing ground-breaking, but it's a never-dull, tightly scripted yarn with some very funny gags."

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A Fish Called Wanda

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