A Fish Called Wanda (Charles Crichton, 1988)

A Fish Called Wanda is certainly a very funny movie, but why?  Well, I've never been a big fan of dissecting comedies, but if I'm going to keep this blog going at such a high rate, then it seems like I'd better get used to it.  So here are just a few reasons why this movie really does it for me:

1)  It has a surprisingly strong plot for a farce.  In fact, as a heist movie, it's not really all that different in spirit than Reservoir Dogs or even Fargo.  Why does this matter?  Well, a cogent narrative gives all of the ludicrous characters some sort of motive.  I love Monty Python sketches as much as the next person, but by the end of Wanda I was laughing much harder than I was in Holy Grail, which feels less than the sum of its parts.

2)  It has excellent one-on-one dynamics.  If you look at the movie scene-by-scene, all of the best moments occur with exactly two of the four main characters, and the developing relationships give the movie quite a bit of character.  The fact that John Cleese gets to behave very differently around Kevin Kline than around Jamie Lee Curtis is a great part of the fun of the movie.  (And as good as Kline is in the movie, I do think that Cleese makes the whole thing work.  In fact, I think this is Cleese's only great role outside of Monty Python).  The only pairing that isn't really explored (outside of one very funny scene) is Cleese and Michael Palin - ironic, considering their history.

3)  It's grounded (see part 1), yet much of the humor feels particularly unsafe for a movie of its era.  Of course I'm referring to the various pet murdering, but also the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis gets to play such a wonderfully unrepentant seductress.  I suppose she does settle down with Cleese in the end, but the ludicrous final title cards take the edge off of that a little bit by making fun of our desire for a happy ending.