Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

A Fish Called Wanda Blu-ray Movie Review

Ealing groovy.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 11, 2011

There are only a few studios in the history of the film business which are inordinately linked with any certain genre. While it might be defensible to link Warner Brothers with the 1930’s gangster film or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with the glossy Technicolor musical, even those connections are only part of the story, as those studios obviously released a wealth of other kinds of product through the years. Strangely, it’s the British houses which are more definitively linked with genre films, for example Hammer and horror. Also in the English mix is the delightful Ealing Studios, actually the oldest continually working film studio in the world. While Ealing, like virtually any major studio, released its share of other kinds of films, it’s best remembered today for its groundbreaking comedies released in the post-World War II era, films that include such legendary laffers as Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers and The Lavender Hill Mob. One of Ealing’s most accomplished directors was Charles Crichton, helmer of The Lavender Hill Mob as well as a couple of handfuls of other very well remembered comedies. It’s absolutely no wonder, then, that John Cleese coaxed Crichton out of retirement to co-author and directorially take on what was supposed to be just a simple “little” British comedy, A Fish Called Wanda, a film which has certain similarities to The Lavender Hill Mob, but which at its core is like a neo-modern reworking of classic Ealing tropes. A disparate band of misfits is thrown together into a series of increasingly absurd situations, and their desperation increases until a number of breaking points is reached, all leading to ever increasing hilarity. Cleese co- wrote A Fish Called Wanda, bringing his brilliantly dry wit to bear on a basic caper comedy which quickly becomes a farce of role playing, shifting alliances and allegiances, and, yes, a slammed door or two. A Fish Called Wanda was a surprise international sensation when it was released, eventually garnering Kevin Kline a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and his co-star Michael Palin its English counterpart, a BAFTA Award. The film is filled to the brim with brilliant performances, but most of all, it’s a very smart comedy, as befits its iconic author and star.

Cleese and Crichton throw caution to the wind almost right off the bat and defy expectations by actually having a successful jewel heist take place within the opening few moments of the film. Typically caper comedies build up to the actual caper, establishing character and then showing a series of mishaps during the caper that creates some of the comedic momentum. But in Cleese and Crichton's shorthand version, we get incredibly quick (and surprisingly precise) character summations within just a few seconds that let us know pretty much everything we need to know about this motley crew of putative thieves. Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a seductive vamp who is playing just about everyone she sees, including the heist’s Big Kahuna, George (Tom Georgeson), as well as her ostensible boyfriend Otto (Kevin Kline), whom she is attempting to pass off as her brother. Also along for the ride is the stutter afflicted animal rights activist Ken (Michael Palin), a sweet, good natured soul who takes an immediate dislike to Otto. After getting a surprisingly brisk introduction to these crazy characters, we witness a more or less perfectly accomplished heist of some priceless diamonds. And that’s when Cleese and Crichton's true comedic genius kicks in, for the rest of the film is a farce worthy of Feydeau, as a series of backstabbings, role playing and misperceptions adds up to one of the giddiest film experiences of the past quarter century or so.

For those who haven’t yet seen A Fish Called Wanda, it’s really not fair to spoil the fun, other than to also state that John Cleese plays uptight barrister Archie Leach (Cleese thought no one would get the Cary Grant reference), appointed to defend George once he’s (rather quickly) taken into custody, but whom Wanda quickly sets her sights on, leading to a whole cascading series of marital misunderstandings with Archie’s equally uptight wife, Wendy (Maria Aitken). Aside from Wanda and Otto desperately attempting to find where George had secreted the diamonds prior to being arrested, there’s also an absolutely hilarious subplot of poor hapless Ken attempting to murder a neighborhood elderly woman who witnessed George making his getaway after the heist. Suffice it to say that Ken’s assassination attempts go horribly (as in horribly) awry, causing a special sort of anguish for this devoted animal lover.

This is about as pitch perfect a farce as has made it to the screen, certainly equal in its own way to the Ealing classics of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. This is comedy almost completely based in character, albeit characters who find themselves in one hilarious predicament after another. Cleese and Crichton brilliantly ping pong back and forth between simultaneously unfolding storylines, adding punchline to punchline until most viewers will be a hopeless puddle of laughter (there’s a perhaps apocryphal story that one poor viewer actually died from laughter while watching A Fish Called Wanda). But sprinkled throughout this laugh out loud tour de force are impeccable little character bits for all of the main players, with Kline’s incredible athleticism and Palin’s hopeless stuttering at the head of the pack. Cleese and Curtis are really rather restrained, at least by comparison to Kline and Palin, but the four together are arguably the funniest quartet from 1980’s film comedy, and perhaps even well beyond that timeframe.

It’s rather fascinating to hear Cleese’s excellent commentary, where he goes into some detail about which jokes “landed” differently for British and American audiences. While there is something indisputably veddy, veddy British about A Fish Called Wanda, especially with its drier than dry humor, there’s also an incredibly universal allure to the laughs, simply because all of these types are so recognizable, no matter what their nationality. Years ago when this film was originally released, I was somewhat shocked to find out my Mother absolutely loved the film. I had thought (mistakenly it turned out) that the film’s frequent profanities and especially the ubiquitous use of the “F-bomb” would have turned off someone of my Mother’s general temperament, but she not only told me how much she adored the film, she started laughing uncontrollably as she remembered the subplot featuring the elderly woman and her three little dogs. That is a testament to fine comedy writing, something that, while, yes, a bit on the “blue” side, can appeal to people of vastly different backgrounds and tolerances for naughty language and even behavior.

A Fish Called Wanda also benefits from an incredibly complex yet relatively easy to follow plot, one which is so twisty and turny that revisiting the film becomes a joy rather than a trial. My wife holds A Fish Called Wanda as one of her two or three most favorite films, and so we watch it quite regularly, but the wonderful thing is, with comedy this brilliantly written and executed, the laughs keep coming whether it’s your first or a hundred and first time “fishing” with this goofy group of would be thieves.

A Fish Called Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Just to prove there's no logic in the world, day and date release (and Wal-mart exclusive) A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World boasts one of the most incredible image qualities of a catalog Blu-ray to come down the pike in years. A Fish Called Wanda. . .doesn't. Now to be fair, there is some logic in the huge disparity on display. First of all, Mad, Mad World was a big budget epic filmed in a wide format, and a 65mm source element recently underwent a high-res scan, providing a brilliant baseline for its BD release. A Fish Called Wanda, on the other hand, was a small budgeted film (at least relative to World), filmed in a smaller format to begin with, and it frankly has never been a "beautiful" film by any stretch from its first theatrical exhibition. That said, this is a pretty shoddy looking transfer of a less than stellar print. Encoded via AVC, in 1080p and 1.85:1, A Fish Called Wanda looks tired and drab at least some of the time, with a really appalling number of dots, splotches, scratches and other blemishes cropping up with fair regularity. Occasionally things improve slightly to the point where we at least exceed the typical look of an upconverted DVD, but this is easily the most lackluster catalog title we've had recently courtesy of Fox and MGM.

A Fish Called Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Fish Called Wanda boasts an okay sounding lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is fine as far as it goes—which frankly isn't very far. Resolutely anchored in the front three channels, and featuring only occasional fits and starts of anything approaching surround activity or LFE, A Fish Called Wanda sounds, well, okay. There's no damage to speak of, certainly nothing analogous to the scratches and dings on the print vis a vis image quality. The track has excellent fidelity throughout all fidelity ranges, though the overall track has a just very slightly boxy sound, no doubt endemic to the original stems. The mix between dialogue, effects and score is fine. There's nothing exciting here, but there's nothing to be concerned about, either. Sometimes no news is good news.

A Fish Called Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Something Fishy (SD; 30:32) is an above-average retrospective featuring the principal cast reminiscing about this surprise hit.
• John Cleese's First Farewell Performance (SD; 18:12) is a vintage featurette centered around the hilarious finale set in the airport.
• Farewell Featurette: John Cleese (SD; 29:53). What, you couldn't think of another title? This similarly labeled piece is built around the equally hilarious subplot of the old lady and her dogs.
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (SD; 29:38). There's some fun stuff in here, but the best part for filmophiles might be the John Cleese introductions and explications as to why these scenes were jettisoned for the final cut.
• Jamie Lee Curtis' Halloween Memento (SD; 1:43) is a brief outtake from Jamie Lee's interview segment due to a ringing cell phone.
• The Key To Wanda's Heart (SD; 1:29) is a brief outtake featuring Wanda and Ken.
• John Cleese's Thoughts on the U.S.A. (SD; 00:27) are outtakes from Archie's anti-American rant in the film's closing scenes.
• Feature Commentary by John Cleese. This unusually excellent, thoughtful and, yes, entertaining piece isn't necessarily an exemplar of Cleese's incredible wit, but it's full of his keen intelligence and insight into the filmmaking process.
• A Message from John Cleese (SD; 4:56) makes it more or less clear that Mr. Cleese is not Meryl Streep.
• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:28)

A Fish Called Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've seen A Fish Called Wanda countless times, and while I may not have been guffawing uncontrollably this time 'round, it's a testament to this film's staying power that I still had several good, hearty laughs along the way. If you've never seen one of the classic Ealing comedies from the post-World War II era, you can get a sense of what made them so magical with this film, one which ably reinvents the genre of farce with a nicely modern twist. The star quartet has never been better, the film is brilliantly structured and impeccably well written, and it's not hard to see why this became such an immense worldwide hit. This Blu-ray isn't much of an upgrade from the previously released Special Edition DVD, but it at least has all of that edition's supplements and is offered at a budget price. It's unlikely we'll ever see a major restoration of this title, so while the film itself is Highly Recommended, this BD, warts and all, is (at least for those who don't own previous SD-DVD versions of the title) Recommended.