"Don't Call Me Stupid!"
As the credits for A Fish Called
Wanda begin and we realize that John Cleese and Charles Crichton co-wrote
and directed what we are about to see, what follows should be a guaranteed
comedic masterpiece. A glorious melding of minds that gave us Monty Python
and what is probably the masterpiece from the Ealing Studios, The Lavender
Hill Mob. With these two geniuses at the helm, what could go wrong? The
answer of course (and in the most British manner) is everything!
The story fools us right away,
posing as a typical heist film. We quickly meet all the characters as they
prepare to steal a large stash of jewels. The actual heist lasts a few minutes
at most, as it quickly becomes apparent that the film is far more interested in
the absurd idiosyncrasies of its irresistibly naughty characters as they
constantly try to rip off and one up each other.
I will reveal very little plot,
because this perfectly oiled machine offers up rapid paced hilarity that will
keep you giggling and guffawing throughout its breezy runtime. Pay close
attention to the smaller side characters throughout the film as they deliver
some of the best lines.
A Fish Called Wanda is the
ultimate refresher for those tired of typical American comedy. It’s no surprise
coming from John Cleese that the characters, on paper, would read as simple
stereotypes. But, in the hands of these gifted actors, they become living,
breathing train wrecks that we simply cannot take our eyes off. Cleese himself
plays the pompous, uppity barrister who is simply hopeless if a pretty girl
with cleavage bats her eyes. Said girl is played pitch perfectly by Jamie Lee
Curtis (in what I would argue is her finest role). She plays Wanda, the gorgeous
American girl duping Englishmen left and right and doing whatever she pleases,
all with a beautiful smile and a healthy dose of glee. Michael Palin plays the fish obsessed (he
gets to deliver the titular line), stuttering man who is terrified of the
foolhardy American man's sexual advances (Kevin Kline giving his career best).
Kline's character is my personal favorite, a wonderful over-exaggeration of the
insecure American man. When he needs to "think" he fires a gun, when
he needs to relax he stares at himself in the mirror as he plays with
delightfully phallic swords (an hysterical pre cursor to the opening of American
Psycho, which offers up skewering satire about half as well) and an
absolute obsession with not being called stupid under any circumstances.
A Fish Called Wanda is
break-neck paced comedy unlike any I've seen before or since. Unlike the
typical comedy we see nowadays (formulaic crap like The Hangover or Date
Night), nearly every moment is jam packed with substance, subtext, creativity,
ingenuity, expert comedic timing, Buster Keaton-esque slapstick and vicious,
biting satire. This film fears no one and gives us some delectably disgusting
humans to cozy up to. Certainly an influence (whether conscious or not) on It's
Always Sunny in Philadelphia and any comedy that attempts fast paced, witty
dialogue. If you like your comedy a little amoral and a good amount dark, look
no further than this 1988 masterpiece.
- Will
Morris, House Manager, Sie Film Center
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