A diamond robbery, double-crossing and lust make up the plot of the highly acclaimed A Fish Called Wanda.
The film was a British-American co-production between MGM and Prominent Features based off a screenplay from John Cleese, and directed by veteran Charles Crichton in what was his last film. As a result it manages to mix British and American humour with such ease, and the cast, script and production reach a high level of quality.
Speaking of the cast, they really make this film stand out. The main four players are all superb with Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis having great comedic timing, and Michael Palin's neurotic and stuttering animal rights activist demonstrating his great acting ability. However, Kevin Kline as Otto is the clear standout to me. He's delightfully unhinged here and steals every scene he's in with his energetic buffoonery. He ended up winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, which is one of the very few comedic performances the Academy have actually awarded.
The story is also entertaining as the diamond robbers double-cross each other in an attempt to find the loot hidden by their gang leader George. It sees some great situational comedy evolve from schemes developed by the criminals to work out where it is, which then leads to Cleese's Archie Leech becoming involved, as a barrister defending George in court.
Whist I thought the story was fine for the first act, it really comes alive about halfway through and the comedy really clicks for me from that point on. The main angle of Curtis' Wanda attempting to seduce Archie to see if George has told him where the diamonds are is investing, and a sub-plot of Palin's Ken attempting to kill an eye-witness in the case is wonderfully absurd to compliment it. To top it all off it builds to a fairly thrilling climax where the main characters all rush to an airport.
Cleese and Crichton spent around two and half years writing the story and script, and I'm glad they put in the hours they did as they managed to deliver what is probably one of the best comedies of the 1980s.
Final Verdict
I had a great time with this. It manages to mix British and American sensibilities so well along with delivering a decent story that it rightly deserves all the acclaim its received. If a straight-up comedy gets Oscar attention like this did, you know it's doing something special.
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