#14 - A FISH CALLED WANDA
You're a very attractive man, Ken. You're smart, you've got wonderful bones, great eyes, and you dress really interestingly. ~Otto, as he tries to seduce Ken
A Fish Called Wanda
1988
Director: Charles Crichton
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
The comedy crime caper to end all comedy crime capers, it's hard for me to describe just how much I adore this movie. Jewel thieves pull off a heist of several million dollars worth of diamonds seamlessly, but complications arise as soon as the loot is stashed. Double crosses run rampant as Wanda (Curtis) and Otto (Kline) frame the ringleader, George, who hires Archie Leach (Cleese) as his barrister. Ken (Palin) is on George's side, protecting the secret of where George REALLY stashed the loot. The basic crime story has been done before, but never with four colorful and hilarious characters like this.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Wanda is really the ringleader here, using her feminine wiles to get exactly what she wants out of men. A far cry from her scream queen Halloween days, Curtis is amazingly self-assured as she plays the puppetmaster, the person pulling all the strings. It's amazing watching her play each man off the other, alternately playing the virgin or the tramp. She's a femme fatale for the 80's, even more cunning and sexy than her 40's counterparts. Of course, though, the film isn't content with that, and turn the femme fatale on her ear by giving her an utterly ridiculous erotic weakness for foreign languages. Of course, there are several scenes of Otto seducing her with such phrases as "osso buco primavera" and "Benito Mussolini." It's absolutely ludicrous, but that's why it's absolutely hilarious.
Then there's Otto, her boyfriend posing as her brother. Kevin Kline is wildly out of control as the incredibly dimwitted yet headstrong weapons specialist. John Cleese, who penned the script, pours all of America's worst stereotypes into Otto, and, as Otto would say, it's fucking hilarious. He's vulgar, he's crude, he's uneducated, he's pompous, he's aggressive, and he hates the British with an unbridled and unexplained passion. He's got several screws loose and he's a loose cannon, which makes him a dangerous character in the film - you don't know what he's going to do or say. Of course, this also makes him incredibly funny, because you never know what he's going to do or say. The funniest Otto moments for me are when he's fake-seducing Ken in order to throw him off the track. Kline won an Oscar for this role, and it's more than well deserved.
S-s-s-s-speaking of K-k-k-Ken, Michael Palin plays the bumbling sidekick, believing in the good in people - and animals - as he continually tries to rub out the only eyewitness to the jewel heist. Ken is a well-meaning criminal, but can't quite manage to kill the old lady. He can, however, manage to kill her dogs, one at a time, much to his grief and despair. Central to the film is Ken's stutter - poor Ken, he can barely get out a complete sentence. Of COURSE, by the end of the movie, it is imperative that Ken communicate. A fair-minded criminal with a crippling lisp who loves animals. Of course.
The straight man for all this hilarity is Archie Leach, George's barrister, played by John Cleese. Ironic, of course, that Cleese named his character after Cary Grant's real name, and plays not Grant's typical debonair sophisticate, but a stuffy, boring lawyer who is consistently bullied by his snobby wife and daughter. Archie is pulled into the criminal world of the other three, mostly by Wanda, who seduces him, despite jealous Otto trying to stop them at every turn. We see in Archie a gradual shaking of the dust from 'neath his feet. Archie is waking from a deep slumber, discovering a passionate side that he had thought long dead. The love affair that slowly blossoms for real between Archie and Wanda is actually very sweet, not least of all because it's not a predictable movie love story. Cleese understands all too well the paralyzing fear of most of British society to embarrass themselves publicly, and OF COURSE, Archie runs into situation after situation where exactly that happens - funniest of all may be where he undresses completely in someone else's apartment, only to be caught. Archie is really the hero of the movie, and he is kind, funny, smart, and passionate.
A caper comedy that sets itself apart with its absolutely ridiculous characters that all come together to form a well-oiled machine. This is a funny, funny, funny movie. I love it more and more each time I watch it.
A Fish Called Wanda
1988
Director: Charles Crichton
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
The comedy crime caper to end all comedy crime capers, it's hard for me to describe just how much I adore this movie. Jewel thieves pull off a heist of several million dollars worth of diamonds seamlessly, but complications arise as soon as the loot is stashed. Double crosses run rampant as Wanda (Curtis) and Otto (Kline) frame the ringleader, George, who hires Archie Leach (Cleese) as his barrister. Ken (Palin) is on George's side, protecting the secret of where George REALLY stashed the loot. The basic crime story has been done before, but never with four colorful and hilarious characters like this.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Wanda is really the ringleader here, using her feminine wiles to get exactly what she wants out of men. A far cry from her scream queen Halloween days, Curtis is amazingly self-assured as she plays the puppetmaster, the person pulling all the strings. It's amazing watching her play each man off the other, alternately playing the virgin or the tramp. She's a femme fatale for the 80's, even more cunning and sexy than her 40's counterparts. Of course, though, the film isn't content with that, and turn the femme fatale on her ear by giving her an utterly ridiculous erotic weakness for foreign languages. Of course, there are several scenes of Otto seducing her with such phrases as "osso buco primavera" and "Benito Mussolini." It's absolutely ludicrous, but that's why it's absolutely hilarious.
Then there's Otto, her boyfriend posing as her brother. Kevin Kline is wildly out of control as the incredibly dimwitted yet headstrong weapons specialist. John Cleese, who penned the script, pours all of America's worst stereotypes into Otto, and, as Otto would say, it's fucking hilarious. He's vulgar, he's crude, he's uneducated, he's pompous, he's aggressive, and he hates the British with an unbridled and unexplained passion. He's got several screws loose and he's a loose cannon, which makes him a dangerous character in the film - you don't know what he's going to do or say. Of course, this also makes him incredibly funny, because you never know what he's going to do or say. The funniest Otto moments for me are when he's fake-seducing Ken in order to throw him off the track. Kline won an Oscar for this role, and it's more than well deserved.
S-s-s-s-speaking of K-k-k-Ken, Michael Palin plays the bumbling sidekick, believing in the good in people - and animals - as he continually tries to rub out the only eyewitness to the jewel heist. Ken is a well-meaning criminal, but can't quite manage to kill the old lady. He can, however, manage to kill her dogs, one at a time, much to his grief and despair. Central to the film is Ken's stutter - poor Ken, he can barely get out a complete sentence. Of COURSE, by the end of the movie, it is imperative that Ken communicate. A fair-minded criminal with a crippling lisp who loves animals. Of course.
The straight man for all this hilarity is Archie Leach, George's barrister, played by John Cleese. Ironic, of course, that Cleese named his character after Cary Grant's real name, and plays not Grant's typical debonair sophisticate, but a stuffy, boring lawyer who is consistently bullied by his snobby wife and daughter. Archie is pulled into the criminal world of the other three, mostly by Wanda, who seduces him, despite jealous Otto trying to stop them at every turn. We see in Archie a gradual shaking of the dust from 'neath his feet. Archie is waking from a deep slumber, discovering a passionate side that he had thought long dead. The love affair that slowly blossoms for real between Archie and Wanda is actually very sweet, not least of all because it's not a predictable movie love story. Cleese understands all too well the paralyzing fear of most of British society to embarrass themselves publicly, and OF COURSE, Archie runs into situation after situation where exactly that happens - funniest of all may be where he undresses completely in someone else's apartment, only to be caught. Archie is really the hero of the movie, and he is kind, funny, smart, and passionate.
A caper comedy that sets itself apart with its absolutely ridiculous characters that all come together to form a well-oiled machine. This is a funny, funny, funny movie. I love it more and more each time I watch it.