#189: A Fish Called Wanda

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Directed by Charles Crichton
Written by John Cleese
Starring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin

"Asshole!"

Otto is hilarious. Kevin Kline as sophisticated as he has been and as clean cut as he appears in some of his films, he shines brightest in the absurd, idiotic characters like Otto. He's not the only reason A Fish Called Wanda is a great movie, but without his iconic moron, it might not have made the grade.

The vignettes with Michael Palin as a stuttering buffoon provide nice breaks from the central plot and Cleese and Curtis provide their own share of laughs through their awkward romance, but it is Kline that holds it all together.

A Fish Called Wanda has elements of every style of comedy, whether it's dry, slapstick, witty, etc. I don't want to get hoity toity with my analysis, but it's a different kind of comedy than Caddyshack for instance.

I originally caught it on a Sunday afternoon in high school playing on A&E. Chuckled a few times and never thought much of it. The next time I saw it was without commercials but still on television. It was one day when I either didn't have class or I skipped them. Might have been inebriated in one way shape or form... but I digress.

It was a revelation. It was sharp, funny and entertaining. It was unable to achieve its full effect before due to censorship and commercials, two of the most purely evil inventions of the human race. In it's true form, A Fish Called Wanda is phenomenal. If you catch it on tv, be sure it's on a movie channel and not basic cable where a term like "asshole" will be dubbed into "jerk" by some guy who sounds nothing like Kevin Kline.