everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

A Fish Called Wanda caught everybody by surprise. It was a low budget, silly English comedy that just exploded in popularity and has gone down as one of the great comedies of all time. The makers managed to capture literal lightning in a bottle that they have never been able to recreate. Years later when they got the same crew together for "Fierce Creatures" it just wasn't the same. In it we have Michael Palin, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline playing a group of jewel thieves and how they're all backstabbing each other to get the loot to themselves. When the fourth member of their crew gets captured, thanks to an anonymous tip by Kevin Kline, it's John Cleese as the barrister who supposed to defend him in court.What follows is a series of events where the only witness to the crime is targeted for murder only to have her pets doe one by one. John Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis wind up falling for each other. And Kevin Kline winds up stealing the show as the oversexed killer who misinterprets philosophy and thinks that killing is okay. He won the Oscar for best supporting actor for that role and he totally deserved it .It's one of those movies that you really need to see if you haven't already.

The movie is so witty and entertaining I thought it was better than any Monty Python flick I've ever seen, what with three of those players and Jamie Lee Curtis thrown into the mix. No doubt one needs to pay attention because the jewel caper at the center of the story carries with it an entire set of twists and turns before Wanda (Curtis) makes off with the prize. Many of the situations presented are patently absurd, but what the heck, they're made almost credible by a talented cast working with quick wits and a penchant for hilarity. Kevin Kline is particularly entertaining by being an irritating character; when he once again sniffed his armpit while hanging on for dear life outside the bedroom window I just about hit the floor. The trivia section here on IMDb states that John Cleese actually chose the name of Archie Leach as a tribute to Cary Grant because they were born only twenty miles apart and Cleese felt it was the closest he could ever get to being Grant. Personally, I thought the whole film might have been a tribute to Grant considering what a screwball comedy it was. If you're wondering why it's called "A Fish Called Wanda" you'll have to watch the picture. I wonder if Otto swallowed any of those fish by mistake.

I'd forgotten just how funny A FISH CALLED WANDA was. Yes I'd seen it when it was released, watched it on both video and disc but it had been a while. With this new releases I'd thought about the film as being funny but didn't remember how funny it was. I found myself having to pause the film on occasion because I was laughing so hard…and then backing up moments to watch and laugh at them again.The story revolves around a group of thieves who have successfully pulled off one of the biggest armed robberies of all times. Georges Thomason (Tom Georgeson) is the head of the gang, Ken (Michael Palin) his stuttering relative, Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis) his girlfriend and Otto (Kevin Kline) the muscle of the group and Wanda's brother. Except that he isn't really her brothers but her boyfriend who's there to help her steal the entire haul.Setting up Georges to take the fall he is arrested. Unbeknownst to the pair he took precautions and moved the jewels from the safe they were in and passed on the key to its new location to Ken. Ken hides the key but Wanda finds it. The only problem is she has no idea where the safe deposit box is that the key belongs to. To find out she decides to seduce the barrister handling George's case, Archie Leach (John Cleese).While all of this is going on Georges tells Ken he must help by taking out the witness who claims she saw him commit the robbery, an elderly lady who owns three yorkies she holds dear. His attempts and failures at trying to follow through with this leads to some of the funniest moments in the film though the dark comedic nature of what happens will undoubtedly upset some viewers.Wanda's seduction of Archie goes as planned with a few hitches thrown in thanks to Otto. Otto is one of the funniest characters in the film. Not quite a dim witted as some might think but definitely close, Otto considers himself an intellectual because he reads things like Nietzsche and takes high offense to anyone calling him stupid. His jealousy of anything involving Wanda leads to some more hilarious moments.As the movie progresses you begin to wonder just who will end up with the jewels by the final credits. Characters found to be living in situations they're unhappy with (both Wanda and Archie) will find resolution while others will be left to face the consequences of what they do. None of them will come out unscathed in one way or another and along the way all will provide so much laughter you'll find yourself like me, pausing to recover from time to time.Fantastic acting is found by all here with special note to both Kline and Palin who create two memorable characters that will make you laugh when remembering them. Cleese has written a comedy masterpiece here and was even nominated for an Oscar for this work. Curtis displays a flair for not only playing the femme fatale but showing she has the acting chops to pull it off. In all the movie shows that the right combination of wit and slapstick can be combined to make one of the best comedies of all time.Once again Arrow Video has outdone itself offering a 4k restoration of the film for the cleanest look possible. Extras abound here and include a commentary track with writer and star Cleese, an appreciation by Vic Pratt of the BFI National Archive, interviews with composer John Du Prez, production designer Roger Murray-Leach, executive producer Steve Abbott and makeup supervisor Paul Engelen, a 1988 documentary on the making of the film called JOHN CLEESE'S FINAL FAREWELL PERFORMANCE, SOMETHING FISHY a 15th anniversary retrospective documentary featuring numerous interviews, FISH YOU WERE HERE a documentary on the film's locations hosted by Robert Powell, 24 deleted and alternate scenes with introduction by Cleese, A MESSAGE FROM JOHN CLEESE a hilarious short recorded for the film's original release featuring Cleese, a gallery of stills, a trivia tack, the theatrical trailer and for the first pressing only a booklet with writing on the film by Sophie Monks Kaufman.

The fact is, that John Cleese and Michael Palin are incredibly funny even outside their usual Monty Python stupid people roles. What they do here is something completely different. These two actors alone could make this movie work, but we also have the young and wild Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline close to his peak form. Really everything is given for a totally catastrophic movie - yet the clash of the British and American school somehow worked out brilliantly. There are no scenes that would try to give you the experience of an extremely big laugh, but it very smartly convinces you to be interested in the lead of the story and be a bit amazed about every little twist and joke. Luckily, the romantic side was not emphasized too much - it is still more of a comedy than a romantic comedy. A few theatrical motives might show up here and there, but I think that deducts little from the value of the final product - it only means that "A Fish Called Wanda" could work well on stage too.