A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 48
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 161,761
My Rating
Movie Info
In A Fish Called Wanda, Jamie Lee Curtis plays an ambitious con artist who uses every ounce of her sexual wiles to obtain a fortune in jewels stolen by her gangster lover Tom Georgeson. First, she romances Georgeson's dimwitted but deadly henchman Kevin Kline (who won an Academy Award for his performance). Then, to clear the path for her getaway with Kline, Jamie woos Georgeson's starched-shirt attorney, John Cleese -- and it's Cleese whom she genuinely falls in love with. Michael Palin,
Jul 15, 1988 Wide
Jan 1, 1998
MGM
Watch It Now
Cast
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John Cleese
Archie Leach -
Jamie Lee Curtis
Wanda Gerschwitz -
Kevin Kline
Otto West -
Michael Palin
Ken -
Tom Georgeson
George -
Maria Aitken
Wendy Leach -
Patricia Hayes
Mrs. Coady -
Al Ashton
Warder -
Kim Barclay
Nanny -
Cynthia Caylor
Portia -
Jeremy Child
Mr. Johnson -
Charu Bala Chokshi
Indian Cleaner -
Mark Elwes
Shop Customer -
Stephen Fry
Hutchison -
Roger Hume
Locksmith -
Peter Jonfield
Inspector Marvin -
Andrew MacLachlan
Eebedee -
Robert McBain
Hotel Clerk -
Pamela Miles
Mrs. Johnson -
Patrick Newman
Defense Counsel -
Geoffrey Palmer
Judge -
Michael Percival
Percival -
Neville Phillips
Shop Manager -
Llewellyn Rees
Sir Jake -
John Dixon
Prison Officer -
Imogen Bickford-Smith
Stenographer -
Roger Brierley
Davidson -
Robert Cavendish
Copper -
Waydon Croft
Prison Officer -
Katherine John
Johnson Child 10 -
Sophie Johnstone
Johnson Child -
Kate Lansbury
Magistrate -
Tia Lee
Junior Barrister Prosec... -
Roland MacLeod
Vicar -
Clare McIntyre
Airline Employee -
Anthony Pedley
Irate Driver -
Robert Putt
Police Officer -
David Simeon
Court Clerk -
Tom Piggot-Smith
Johnson Child 13 -
Sharon Twomey
Defense Counsel -
Ken Hudson Campbell
Bartlett
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All Critics (48) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (2) | DVD (26)
Wanda defies gravity, in both senses of the word, and redefines a great comic tradition.
Top CriticLike many of the best English comedies, much of the humor here is based on character, good-natured high spirits, and fairly uninhibited vulgarity.
Though it is less tasteless, irreverent and satirical than the Python pics, film still is wacky and occasionally outrageous in its own, distinctly British way.
There's nothing deep, nothing ground-breaking, but it's a never-dull, tightly scripted yarn with some very funny gags.
It's not easy to describe the movie's accumulating dimness or to understand what went wrong.
It'll keep you amused enough to sit still and even remember it fondly. But it seems a light day's fishing for Messers Cleese and Palin.
Kevin Kline won the Supporting Actor Oscar for this funny and enjoyable farce, based on original script by John Cleese and Charles Crichton
Crime caper with a wicked edge. Not for kids.
Wacky farcical entertainment.
It's a comedy classic.
Although filled with clever twists and double-crosses, the film's storyline is less important than the opportunities it gives the actors to exploit their goofy characterizations.
If there's one thing that never gets old, it's the love/hate relationship we share with our neighbors over the pond, and Cleese's perfect comic concoction plays this out with side-splitting results.
This fish is swimming with laugh-out-loud moments.
No pun intended, but all the stars aligned for this film. It was the perfect blend of British and American humor.
a black comedy with a heart, and I can tell you from experience that it just keeps getting better and better with each viewing.
it's the right time to watch A Fish Called Wanda, so it can finally get the quotable legacy it so richly deserves
If you haven't seen it yet, then this is the DVD to get (2006 Collector's Edition)
It's the humor, the quick pace of the film and the hilarious performance put forth by Kline that ultimately carries this thing, with its tight ending making it all that much better.
One of the funniest movies of the decade.
Audience Reviews for A Fish Called Wanda
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Wanda Gerschwitz: Let me correct you on a couple of things, okay? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not every man for himself.
- Otto West: You read...
- Wanda Gerschwitz: The London Underground is not a political movement. Those are mistakes. I Iooked 'em up.
-
- Otto West: Don't call me stupid.
- Wanda Gerschwitz: Right because calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!
-
- Otto West: Asshole!
-
- Otto West: What was the Middle part?
-
- Wanda Gerschwitz: You think you're an intellectual don't you ape?
- Otto West: Apes don't read philosophy!
- Wanda Gerschwitz: Yes they do, they just don't understand it!
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- Wanda Gerschwitz: Aristotle was NOT Belgian!
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| This was a good film but certainly not better than the holy grail and life of brian | 2 months ago | 1 |
Latest News on A Fish Called Wanda
January 19, 2009:
John Cleese Preps Fish Called Wanda MusicalHe's talked about doing it before, but it appears that John Cleese has finally gotten around to...
October 1, 2008:
EW Looks Back on 30 Unforgettable Nude ScenesThe MPAA doesn't like it, but America has never been able to get enough of naked people on the big...
June 17, 2008:
A Fish Called Wanda: The Musical?John Cleese has announced plans to put together a musical version of his classic film A Fish Called...
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Foreign Titles
- Ein Fisch namens Wanda (DE)
- Un poisson nommé Wanda (FR)
