80s Movie Review - A Fish Called Wanda

Director: Charles Crichton
Genre: Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 1988
Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin

Description: In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot.

Review: John Cleese managed to write a British comedy that was even in the US a great success. “A Fish Called Wanda” is a fun crime comedy, with both British and American actors.
John Cleese plays lawyer Archie Leach, who is in a rut. He wants to live a more eventful life and Wanda is the one to make that happen. Wanda, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is the central character of the film. Not only Archie falls for her charms, also Ken, Otto and George. Ken (Michael Palin) is a stuttering animal lover and even named one of his fish after Wanda. Otto, played by Kevin Kline who won an Oscar for this role, is a strange man. He hates everything and everyone, especially when they call him stupid. Michael Palin and Kevin Kline are the funniest actors in “A Fish Called Wanda”.
The story is pretty simple and not very original, but executed exceptionally well. The jokes are both in the dialogue and the situations. “A Fish Called Wanda” is an entertaining comedy, a joy to watch every time.

Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movies from 1988

Back to the 80’s. Let’s see what great movies were made that year. Turns out that 1988 was a fantastic movie year! Here are my five favorites of that year.

5. A Fish Called Wanda
John Cleese and Michael Palin, both Monty Python member, are a great duo. And how amazing was Jamie Lee Curtis. And don’t get me started on Kevin Kline as Otto, what a ridiculous bad guy. This is one hilarious movie.

4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
This was a big deal, a real life action movie mixed with cartoons. When I was younger, this movie came on television at least once a year. Now…. I don’t remember when I last saw this. It’s funny, so ppppplease…. I want to see it again.

3. Big
Tom Hanks who acts like a child, if that isn’t great I don’t know what is. One of my favorites of Tom, top ten material. It’s so much fun how he and Robert Loggia are jumping on that giant floor piano.

2. Gorilla’s in the Mist
I love this movie even more now that I’ve been there myself. I’ve seen gorilla’s in the wild and I really respect Dian Fossey. This is also a very sad movie…

1. Die Hard
The number one action movie! It’s still great, even after watching it so many times. And Bruce Willis is awesome. Did you know that Richard Gere was considered to play McClane? As much as I love Richard, Bruce is the perfect man for the job.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Rain Man