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Anytime I watch the movie "A Fish Called
Wanda", I am reminded of a night back
in 1989 when I was watching the Academy
Awards. As bloated of an affair as it often
is, I still watch it every year and have
even started my annual Academy Awards Party
back up. That particular night I was interested
in seeing who would win for Best Supporting
Actor. The longshot, and my personal choice,
was Kevin Kline for his role as Otto, the
extremely stupid ("Don't call me stupid!!")
ex-CIA turned criminal.
The night wore on and when it got to that
category I wasn't even in suspense…
I knew he wouldn’t win. It was a comedy
after all. Then the envelope was opened
and the name was read… Kevin Kline.
I immediately called one of my friends (this
was back before we started having parties)
and all we could say for a full ten minutes
was, "KEVIN KLINE!!! KEVIN KLINE!!!"
Yes, we were geeks.
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Anyhow, "A Fish Called Wanda" is, even
after 18 years, still one of the funniest movies
ever made. The cast, made up of Kline, John Cleese,
Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palin, proved to
be one of the best cast combinations in the history
of comedies. This though was a fact they would
later kill when they tried to re-team for "Fierce
Creatures" which even their great comedic
talents could save. But with that movie forgotten,
"A Fish Called Wanda" is absolutely
hysterical. Kline takes the role of stupid (Don’t
call me stupid!!) to new heights unlike I have
ever seen. As is pointed out by Curtis' character,
calling Otto stupid is an insult to stupid people.
And if you aren’t already on the floor laughing
by the time that Palin tries to speak the name
of the Cathcart Hotel through his character's
stutter, you will be.
For those of you who might not have ever seen
"A Fish Called Wanda" (what's wrong
with you?), the basic gist of the plot involves
a ring of thieves (Curtis, Kline, Palin and Tom
Georgeson) who team up to for a huge diamond heist
in England. Proving that there is no honor amongst
thieves, the film plays out as a revolving door
of backstabbing and double-crosses as each of
them try to find a way to keep all the diamonds
for themselves. When one of the members is caught
and arrested, British Barrister Archie Leach (Cleese)
is conned into getting involved in order to find
out where the diamonds are hidden. Sound simple?
It's anything but.
The film has been released a couple of times on
DVD, but not quite with as many features as you'll
find on MGM's new 2-disc Collector's Edition.
While it might be a case of the studio multiple-dipping,
fans of the movie will get more than money's worth.
The transfer of the film appears to be the same
one used for the previous Deluxe Edition release,
which is great. The studio even carried over some
of the features from that disc, as well as adding
quite a few more.
Finding a return engagement in this new set are
a commentary by Cleese, about 30 minutes worth
of deleted scenes (all introduced by Cleese),
a behind the scenes featurette on Cleese's style
of working, and a half hour documentary on the
film. The commentary is great, though if you're
not used to Cleese's dry wit, you might get a
bit lost. The documentary featurette is pretty
good as well as it talks about the film from its
early stages all the way through the aftermath
of its release.
The newer additions to this set include a pop-up
style Trivia Track that fills you in on little
facts about the movie (I love these), another
behind the scenes look at Cleese at work, a look
at some of the locations used in the film, a photo
gallery, and an old (but short) message from Cleese.
If you already have the movie in your collection,
you might not have a reason to do more than rent
this one so that you can see the new features.
However, if you don’t have a copy yet (again,
what's wrong with you?), this is the one to own.
Don’t be like Otto (Don't call me stupid!),
be sure to grab this DVD… even if you have
to double-cross your friends to get it.
Directed by: Charles Crichton
Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin
Kline, Michael Palin
Extras: Commentary by Actor/Writer John Cleese,
Deleted / Alternate Scenes, Something Fishy Documentary,
Kulture Vulture Featurette, john Cleese's Farewell
Performance, A Message from John Cleese, Trivia
Track, Mug Shots - Photo Gallery
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound, Mono
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 11/21/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website
We'll give A Fish Called Wanda an A.
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