A Fish Called Wanda | | Cast : | John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis | | Director : | John Cleese, Charles Crichton | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen | | Released Date : | July 15, 1988 | | DVD Released Date : | May 01, 2001 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 01, 2005 | | Summary | *amused* | Content
 | I bought "Fierce Creatures" ages ago which I highly enjoyed, but after watching it I stumbled across some really negative reviews on the web, saying that compared to its predecessor, "A Fish Called Wanda" it was really not very funny. I personally thought "Fierce Creatures" was really good and made me laugh a lot, so I thought "A Fish Called Wanda" must be amazing. I have to admit it didn't make me split my sides, but there were some memorable and funny bits, such as Michael Palin [what a guy!]who plays ken, an animal lover with a stutter, trying to assassinate and old lady and killing her 3 dogs instead by accident, also Kevin Kline rugby tackling John Cleese, shouting "I just want to apologise" and then aiming a gun up his nose when he won't shut up, unknowingly watched by Cleese's character's wife, who doesn't care. Another comical bit was Kline screaming at Cleese's character's wife about her englishness.
John Cleese has written a brilliant film, and the casting is superb, and even if you dont find it as hilarious as some did, it is certainly enjoyable. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 24, 2005 | | Summary | A Great Anglo-American Comedy | Content
| This film is just another example why that small island off the coast of Europe is one of the top producers of some great understated humor! Top marks around for all hands! |
| Rating | | | Date | May 07, 2005 | | Summary | Comedy at it's Best | Content
| A wonderful film to watch. The movie, which I first saw on TBS, was an instant hit in our household. The DVD was no different then when it was on TBS, but it had much more *language* than I first thought. And parts that were deleted when I was watching it on TV made the movie really come alive.
A few (actually a lot) of good things:
Amazing actors
Funny plot line
Great twists
The fish was beautiful (just kidding)
The booklet of funny stories
Then comes the bad:
Bad language
But other than that one thing, it was an oscar-worthy film. Many thanks to the film producers, directors, actors, and MGM for a masterpeice. A SUPERB film.
In other words, you must have this DVD for a movie collection to remeber an aged yet great film that will have you laughing for years to come. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 19, 2005 | | Summary | Floppy bit of a fish... | Content
| Well, after Python, John Cleese and Michael Palin decided to go more into 'serious' comedy with this film, A Fish Named Wanda. The story is about a group of four who successfully steal some diamonds, but then, as all good burglars do, turn against each other only to fall into complication upon complication.
The film has a decent amount of big names, such as Kevin Kline, John Cleese, and Jamie Lee Curtis. However, I just never really got into this. The plot is well twisted so that is not the problem; however, I just lack the interest in the characters.
First of all, Michael Palin is just going off of the stuttering bit he did in Life of Brian. Moreover, and I never understood how anyone could be, every male character is heads over heels for Curtis, which just seems so unrealistic to me even in a plot. Really though, the 'comedy' just was not that funny, except for a bit of semi-absurdity near the end.
Thus, I would advise a different movie. I do not really know which one, but particularly something different. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 08, 2005 | | Summary | A Comedy Classic | Content
| This is an absolutely wonderful wacky movie, one of the funniest movies of the 1980s. It all has to do with a jewell heist and then some double crossings among the thieves, with a barrister (John Cleese)(it takes place in London) getting involved. The characters are what make the movie:
Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) - feisty, the brains of the outfit, she can talk herself around anything; she's turned on sexually by foreign languages.
Otto (Kevin Kline) - the dumbbell of the group who reads philosophy and practices martial arts; reads Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil" as if it were a CIA manual; so dumb he thought "The Gettysburgh Address" was where Lincoln lived.
Ken (Michael Palin) - has a terrible stutter and loves animals; spends the whole picture trying to kill an old woman who is a key witness only to wipe out her pet poodles one by one.
After all kinds of incredible and improbable twists and turns, the barrister wins Wanda and off they fly to Rio with the loot. Everything is perfect here - the dialogue, the subtle sight gags which are perfectly timed, and the held shots used to highlight the most humorous aspects. The movie's pacing is excellent. A total joy. Definitely worth a watch - and more. |
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