A Fish Called Wanda

Charles Crichton, UK, 1988, 108 minutes

Directed by Charles Crichton (he of The Lavender Hill Mob), A Fish Called Wanda is a wonderful example of a modern film made in true Ealing spirit.

Following a jewel robbery, the search is on for the key to a safety deposit box in which the leader of the gang, fearing that he might be double-crossed (which he is), has hidden the goodies. Only Ken, the animal lover with the speech defect, knows where the key is...

Blessed with inspired casting and a great collection of characters with their own personal hang-ups - Jamie Lee Curtis's Wanda who likes to be talked to in Italian; Kevin Kline's crazy Otto (with a passion for Nietzsche) who thinks that the London Underground is a political movement; Michael Palin's stuttering Ken, the only animal lover who keeps murdering dogs; and John Cleese's severly repressed lawyer Archie Leach who discovers sex when he falls for Wanda, A Fish Called Wanda is a delightful comedy which has some truly wonderful moments. The acting is great, the writing is excellent, and the whole film is superbly entertaining. Hilarious set-pieces - Cleese hanging out of a window, Kline discovering that the loot is not where he thought it would be, and all three of Palin's dog murders (ok, I know it's cruel) - all add to the film. One of the best British comedies of recent years.

Review by Malcolm Maclaren
Taken from EUFS Programme 1992-93