The word uproarious is used loosely when it comes to describing comedies, but in Wanda's case, it barely manages to convey the hysteria. Not just is the film a perfectly and intricately plotted film about a jewel robbery, but armed to the teeth with brilliant dialogue and absurdist humour, it also superbly caricatures the cultural differences on either side of the Atlantic pond.

The humour is often shocking, even bordering on offensive -- but all in a way that just underscores our modern-day overreliance on political-correctness and our inability to comprehend humour arising from different cultures. The film is written and co-directed by John Cleese and stars -- alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and a marvellous Kevin Kline -- his fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, and really is the only film that deserves to be called a fitting follow-up to that loony legacy.

Cleese dons Cary Grant's real name and stars as Archie Leach, a woebegone British barrister utterly besotted by Jamie Lee Curtis' touristy American law student Wanda, who actually happens to be a con-artist trying to seduce him for her own heist-related ends. All this while her feckless partner in crime Otto, played by Kevin Kline, stands by trying vainly to control his jealousy and willing to explode if anyone accidentally calls him stupid. And then there's poor Michael Palin, who hates him but can only probably get as far as saying 'st.'

The crown jewel of the caper-comedy genre, A Fish Called Wanda has everything from subversion to the single funniest torture scene in history, not to mention some of the most quotable lines in British comic history.

And for all of you who wondered why on earth one should learn a foreign language, pray check out just how Curtis responds to them: Click here for video.

Back

|

Next