A Fish Called Wanda

Some of the jokes in “A Fish Called Wanda” haven't aged well. They’re worth forgiving for the amount of laughs and memorable scenes the film has to offer.

After a successful jewelry heist, four thieves are forced to stall their escape when their ringleader, George (Tom Georgeson), is arrested. While animal lover Ken (Michael Palin) waits for his boss’ instructions, femme fatale Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her lover (who is pretending to be her brother) Otto (Kevin Kline) try and deduce where the jewels are hidden so they can run off with them. They hope George will disclose their location to his barrister, Archie (John Cleese). To get the information out of him, Wanda begins seducing Archie. Jealousies and double-crosses make this already complex situation much messier.

The characters are this film's strength. Michael Palin is hilarious as a man suffering from a horrible stutter who is assigned to take out an old woman who will be the key witness at George’s trial. An obsessive animal lover, his attempts to take out the lady wind up traumatizing him because he keeps screwing them up and killing some of her many dogs instead. What’s that? Are you upset because a beloved pooch might bite the dust instead of a human being? Well, it if makes you feel any better, Ken is upset about it too. The woman though? Nah, she can die. He doesn’t care.

Next, we have to talk about Otto. He’s this wannabe lothario who is crippled by his insecurities and incapable of keeping his jealousy in check. He knows Wanda is only putting the moves on Archie so they can get rich and leave the country but he can’t stop himself from making what should be a simple situation needlessly complicated. He’s so dumb you wonder what Wanda sees in him. Then, you realize she has this uncontrollable fetish for foreign languages. So what if the only Italian Otto knows is pasta and cheese-related? It’s all it takes for her to start tearing off her clothes.

Speaking of Wanda, she’s double-crossing everybody. Despite her excitement for foreign words while in bed, she’s way too good for Otto. She’s too good for George - whom she has fooled into thinking they’re a couple. An expert manipulator, she could have anyone wrapped around her finger… except maybe Archie. Well, no. She can definitely get the barrister’s attention. The question is whether his brick-solid Britishness will get in the way. All of these characters thrown together in this whirling dervish of a heist gone wrong make for big laughs over and over. Sometimes it gets dark, sometimes it gets absurd. It’s constantly making you wonder what’s next and filled with memorable scenes. There is a running gag about Otto pretending to be gay - it's so Ken doesn’t suspect he and Wanda are in cahoots - that feels a little weird and the movie feels a bit like it’s making fun of Ken for his stutter, but the gags still work for the most part.

"A Fish Called Wanda" is a smart film that uses its characters wisely, contains nothing but great performances and never holds back. That may ruffle a few feathers nowadays but it's hard to argue with the results. (On DVD, April 29, 2022)