Incredibly funny, perfect cast! No slow points, moves along nicely. I wouldn't change a thing!

Starting out with only a rudimentary idea of the story, and Chrichton's request that he wanted "... to see someone steamrolled", the final result was a film that somehow struck a humorous chord all over the world. The film just somehow "worked", and it's been a cherished classic ever sense. What makes the film truly funny all actors, including in the small cameos, created memorable characters because they had wonderfully constructed and written script to work with. John Cleese deserves the first mention for his excellent triple work as the co-writer of the Oscar nominated script/co-director and the star in the role of Archie Leach, the well-mannered English gentleman whose marriage seems to be in crisis, the defender of George, the leader of the diamonds thieves who keeps the "key" to the coveted loot to himself. Cleese's partner Python - Michael Palin is excellent as shy, stuttering hit-man Ken who is secretly in love with Wanda, tenderly loves animals but is ready to help an inconvenient witness to "meet with an accident, even if it is a very old lady with a weak heart. Loud, pushy and sexually liberated Americans are represented in the film by Wanda (always charming and illuminating the screen Jamie Lee Curtis) and her lover Otto, the former CIA operative, the expert in all kinds of weapons (Kevin Kline in the Oscar winning performance) whom she introduces ad her brother. Wanda is as seductive and sexy as she is clever, unscrupulous, conniving and backstabbing. What she wants she sure will get. She is much cleverer than all men around her combined together but seems that in the end she might find the right man. And finally, Otto, "the ape who reads philosophy but does not understand it... the man so stupid that calling him stupid is insult to stupid people" who does not realize how vulgar and intellectually challenged he is. In the movie where there is no bad or boring performance at all, Kline is outstanding. A talented film and stage actor who has performed in many Shakespeare's plays, he would never have the role as brilliant and funny as Otto.Surprisingly, "A Fish Called Wanda" has stood up well over time. It is still one of the films that I continue to return to for dependable belly laughs. The change of genre in the story is what is definitely surprising as it started as a heist movie and later turns out to be more that what it appears to be as it becomes more complex afterwards as we get to see the goofiness of the characters afterwards. It is definitely a vintage classic comedy.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Having enjoyed Cleese's work and been a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis for years, but somehow always missed this, I was looking forward to seeing it at last. What a disappointment. Main drawback was the pathetic Palin and oafish, aggressive, Kevin Kline characters, neither of whom seemed remotely funny. I enjoyed much more Cleese's previous film, CLOCKWISE, a charming and clever comedy which survives repeated viewings, but which he considered too parochial in its appeal.Cleese seems to be obsessed by how he is perceived by Americans, perhaps because he is himself something of a self-conscious stereotype of some Americans' notion of a 'British' male - in reality, a certain type of upper middle-class Englishman. WALDORF SALAD was one of the funniest and superbly written episodes of FAWLTY TOWERS, with the clash between Basil and the brash American highlighting brilliantly Basil's snobbery, chauvinism, idleness, pomposity and incompetence, as well as the general reluctance of the native middle-class to complain, in the face of poor service and lack of value for money. In contrast, the moronic, armpit-sniffing, Kline character signified nothing, being the kind of cretin found on both sides of the pond, whom nowadays would be online, swapping uninformed, pseudonymous, abuse with each other, over the likes of socialism or gun-control. As for Palin's role, I find his notorious political namesake is usually more entertaining. The business with Patricia Hayes and the dogs is often regarded as a highpoint, but would have been scorned had Benny Hill done it. Over all, I thought this a vastly overrated and generally unlikeable film.

In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to double-cross each other for the loot.This film's genesis begins way back in the 1960s, when writer John Cleese and director Charles Crichton met and even (unsuccessfully) proposed a comedy film... the steamroller gag allegedly gestated all that time. By the 1980s, both Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis had helped on early drafts to make it more American (Cleese modestly suggests that 13 different people perfected the dialogue). Kline and Cleese had been acquainted since "Silverado".What bothers me right off the bat is this idea that Jamie Lee Curtis is attractive and can lure people. This was not the first film where she was used in this way, and certainly not the last ("True Lies"). But it is confounding, because she really is just not the sort of person you expect to be the "sexy woman" in Hollywood films. This is not meant as any disrespect to Curtis, but her strong point is not her physicality.That nitpick aside, this was a nice film from some of the Monty Python folks (John Cleese, Michael Palin). Interestingly, neither one of them stole the show -- that honor goes to Kevin Kline as Otto. Maybe I am mistaken, but I always got the impression Kline lingered just below the A-list and just above the B-list, and no one knew what to do with him. A shame. He is a real talent, with an incredible comedic skill. Appropriately, this film landed him an Oscar. According to Cleese, Kline was different on each take, and invented his physicality on the fly (which drove the editor bonkers).For those looking for other Python connections beyond Cleese and Palin, they are there if you dig hard enough. Costume designer Hazel Pethig had been with them since 1969, practically another member. Assistant director David Skynner is the child of Robin Skynner, who co-wrote "Families and How to Survive Them" (1983) with Cleese. And you may recognize actor Andrew MacLachlan from wither "Life of Brian" or "meaning of Life".The film's quasi-sequel, "Fierce Creatures" (1997) also starred Cleese, Kline, Curtis and Palin, but was as big a bomb (both commercially and with audiences and critics) as "Wanda" was successful. On the other hand, some have alleged that the success of "Wanda" opened the door for other British-American films such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral", so perhaps it had other quasi-quasi-sequels that carried the torch.The Arrow Video Blu-ray is a full house, aces high. Beyond the brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative, there is commentary by John Cleese; brand-new appreciation by Vic Pratt of the BFI National Archive; brand-new interviews with composer John DuPrez, production designer Roger Murray-Leach, executive producer Steve Abbott and makeup supervisor Paul Engelen; "John Cleese's Final Farewell Performance", a 1988 documentary on the making of the film; "Something Fishy", a 15th anniversary retrospective documentary; "Fish You Were Here", a documentary on the film's locations hosted by Robert Powell; 24 deleted/alternative scenes with introductions by Cleese; "A Message from John Cleese", a tongue-in-cheek introduction; and more!