A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

06/27/23 • 18 min

Thirty-five years ago, this raunchy comedy directed by Charles Crichton took the world by storm featuring a melding of British and American comedic talent at the peak of their powers - it even got some Oscar love including Kevin Kline winning the rare Best Supporting Actor for a full-on comedic role. Kline co-stars as former CIA assassin Otto who has been brought aboard the crew of a diamond heist in London recruited by his "sister" Wanda played by Jamie Lee Curtis who is also in on the heist. The heist apparently goes off without a hitch....until one key assailant George (Tom Georgeson) gets arrested and ONLY he knows where the diamonds have been hidden? Or DOES he?
Throw in Monty Python vets John Cleese playing his attorney and Michael Palin playing his animal-loving co-conspirator and what you have is one nutty British/American farce featuring loads of inappropriate gags involving stuttering, animal murder, and other nasty subjects! And of course, at the center of this story is.....A Fish Called Wanda. (A goldfish actually.)

Host: Geoff Gershon
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Host: Geoff Gershon
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Host: Geoff Gershon
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Living for the Cinema - A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Transcript

A FISH CALLED WANDA - 1988

Directed by Charles Crichton

Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken, Tom Georgeson, Cynthia Cleese, and Patricia Hayes

Genre: Raunchy Heist Comedy (Audio clip)

'88 was just a fun year for movies and you could get a sense of that just from the Oscar nominees - for a change, there was actually an appreciation for over-the-top villains in full-comedies including nods for Sigourne