A Fish Called Wanda (1988 film)

Why did it take me so long to do a review of A Fish Called Wanda you might wonder? It is a good movie so that's a good question. The reason is there are a few good reasons I didn't like this as much as other people do namely Roger Ebert. He gave this film 4 stars (the highest rating on his scale) and yet he didn't get The Meaning Of Life or Fierce Creatures giving them the thumbs down equivalent of 2.5 thumbs. Hell Life Of Brian only barely got a thumbs up with 3 stars along with And Now For Something Completely Different. In this respect I think A Fish Called Wanda is really overhyped. Secondly of all the "vulgar" sexual humor critics hate (i.e. the sex education scene to The Meaning Of Life) critics are far from offended if one derives humor or drama from adultery. Somehow self-proclaimed artsy folk find it "romantic" not that I don't like Woody Allen films but in films like Manhattan, Hannah And Her Sisters, Crimes And Misdemeanors, Husbands And Wives etc you at least get a realistically dramatic look at what disloyalty does and gives the characters broader depth giving reality to the situation. Third and lastly only one scene with John Cleese and Michael Palin what a rip off (granted Time Bandits didn't even have that). Anyway they both had hysterical scenes in the film all the same but the Dead Parrot pair are always a treat together. Kevin Kline did wonderful as comic fonder to Cleese and Curtis as Kline was a jealous but manipulated lover of Curtis. The plot revolves around Curtis, Kline, Palin and Georgeson robbing a bank and a lawyer defending Georgeson naively thinking he's innocent and Curtis is trying to make sure Georgeson is out to get them for ratting him out in an anonymous call to the police. While Curtis is taking care of Cleese and Kline is spying on Curtis, Palin is off on facial based physical absurd comedy trying to knock the only witness to the bank robbing. It's hysterical so I won't ruin it as well as to say Michael Palin does a great stutter playing a man with what appears to be a social situated based stutter rather than a just a physical tic as it heightens in uncomfortable confrontation to nearly disappearing altogether when people leave. But for the most part his only face to face interaction with dialog comes in two scenes when Kline is trying to intimidate him into saying where the money is hidden (how effective) and when Cleese comes running in wondering where Kline went ending up in charades (classic). And here's where the spoiler alert comes in Curtis leaves her manipulated but jealous jerk of a boyfriend (Kline) and Cleese leaves his overbearing unsympathetic wife who portrayed far too two-dimensional for a realistic dramatic comedy.