A Fish Called Wanda

A Fish Called Wanda

When the UK cinema industry was in the doldrums (again) during the 1980s John Cleese came along with the critical and commercial hit comedy, A Fish Called Wanda, co-starring fellow Python Michael Palin, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline. The film consistently enjoys repeat mentions as the years go by, cropping up in best comedies and best of British lists (how many more times will the famous pants-face scene be repeated?), and though I had enjoyed all the Python films and a few that the Pythons have gone on to feature in singly or in pairs (though Cleese has the tendency of accepting any offer going) I found Wanda lacking in yuckles.
It’s a knockabout comedy in the Ealing tradition, with an ensemble cast getting into skew-whiff situations as they double-cross each other in order to get hold of the diamonds they stole in a heist. Cleese plays a barrister defending one of the crims that got caught, and he is essentially the straight guy whose life gets turned upside down by the flamboyantly played characters that Palin, Curtis and Kline bring to life.
The stars all play well and keep you along with them as the film unfolds and the ridiculous incidents try to outdo each other, obviously having a hoot during shooting which is infectious, but despite enjoying it and generally having fun I just didn’t laugh out loud at all. An awful movie? No, but it’s hard not to feel disappointed when watching a comedy, particularly one hyped up as a jocular high-watermark for the last fourteen years.
Having already seen the ill-advised follow up, Fierce Creatures, I can at least console myself that I agree with the popular opinion of original being the best.