A Fish Called Wanda

2022-09-24T16:50:14Z

2A02:C7E:5054:A800:4D11:F8C3:1356:CA27: Undid revision 1112058761 by 92.9.67.149 (talk) MOS:FILMGENRE

{{Short description|1988 film by Charles Crichton}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox film
| name = A Fish Called Wanda
| image = A Fish Called Wanda poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = US theatrical release poster
| director = [[Charles Crichton]]
| producer = [[Michael Shamberg]]
| screenplay = [[John Cleese]]
| story = {{Unbulleted list|John Cleese|Charles Crichton}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* John Cleese
* [[Jamie Lee Curtis]]
* [[Kevin Kline]]
* [[Michael Palin]]
}}
| music = [[John Du Prez]]
| cinematography = [[Alan Hume]]
| editing = [[John Jympson]]
| studio = {{Unbulleted list|[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]|Prominent Features}}
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* MGM/UA Communications Co. (United States)
* [[United International Pictures]] (international)<ref name=bbfc />
}}
| released = {{Film date|1988|7|7|New York City|1988|7|15|United States|1988|10|14|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 108 minutes<ref name=bbfc>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/fish-called-wanda-1970-3 |title=''A Fish Called Wanda'' (15) |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=June 15, 1988 |access-date=November 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103234823/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/fish-called-wanda-1970-3 |archive-date=November 3, 2016}}</ref>
| country = {{Unbulleted list|United Kingdom|United States<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=55759 |title=A Fish Called Wanda |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118025232/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=55759 |archive-date=January 18, 2012}}</ref>}}
| language = English
| budget = $7.5 million<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2018/04/02/fish-called-wanda-turns-30-oral-history-comedy-classic |title='A Fish Called Wanda' turns 30: an oral history of a comedy classic |publisher=[[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] |date=April 2, 2018 |access-date=February 2, 2019}}</ref>
| gross = $188.6 million
}}
'''''A Fish Called Wanda''''' is a 1988 [[Heist film|heist]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Charles Crichton]] and written by Crichton and [[John Cleese]]. It stars Cleese, [[Jamie Lee Curtis]], [[Kevin Kline]], and [[Michael Palin]]. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to find stolen diamonds hidden by the gang leader. A [[barrister]] becomes a central figure as ''[[femme fatale]]'' Wanda uses him to locate the loot.

''A Fish Called Wanda'' premiered in New York City on July 7, 1988, and in Los Angeles on July 13, 1988, and was released theatrically on July 15, 1988, by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] to critical and commercial success, grossing over $188 million worldwide, becoming the [[1988 in film|seventh-highest-grossing film of 1988]]. The film received three nominations at the [[61st Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]], and, with Kline winning, [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTAFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 |last=McCall |first=Douglas |date=21 July 2014 |title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969-2012 |edition=2nd |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |page=128 |isbn=978-0-78647-811-8 |via=Google Books}}</ref> A [[spiritual sequel]], ''[[Fierce Creatures]],'' was released in 1997. The [[British Film Institute]] ranked ''A Fish Called Wanda'' the [[BFI Top 100 British films|39th-greatest British film of the 20th century]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/top-100-british-films/ |title=British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films |date=1999 |website=Cinemarealm.com |access-date=August 27, 2016}}</ref>

==Plot==
London-based gangster George Thomason plans a [[Gemstone|jewel]] heist with his right-hand man, Ken Pile, an animal lover with a [[Stuttering|stutter]]. They bring in two Americans: [[con artist]] Wanda Gershwitz and weapons expert Otto West, an ignorant and mean-spirited [[Anglophobia|anglophobe]]. Wanda and Otto are lovers, but they hide this from George and Ken, pretending to be siblings, so Wanda can work her charms on them. The heist is successful and the gang escapes with a large sum in [[diamond]]s, which they hide in an old safe. Soon afterwards, Wanda and Otto betray George to the police and he is arrested. They return to collect the diamonds, with Wanda planning to double-cross Otto as well, but find that the safe is empty. In Ken's fish tank, Wanda discovers the key to a [[safe deposit box]] where George has moved the diamonds and hides it in her locket.

Wanda decides to seduce George's barrister, Archie Leach, in hopes of learning the location of the diamonds. Archie is in a loveless marriage and quickly falls for Wanda. Otto becomes jealous, and his interference causes Wanda and Archie's liaisons to go disastrously wrong. Wanda accidentally leaves her pendant at Archie's house, and his wife, Wendy, mistakes it for a gift for her, assuming that the ''W'' on it stands for Wendy. Wanda demands that Archie retrieve the pendant, and after failing to convince Wendy to give it up, he ends up faking a robbery at his own home in order to explain its disappearance. Otto arrives at the house to apologize to Archie for earlier insults and interrupts the robbery, knocking the presumed burglar unconscious before he realises that it is Archie who is robbing his own home. Archie returns the pendant to Wanda at their next romantic meeting, but it is interrupted and he subsequently telephones her to call off their affair. Otto arrives at the house again to apologise. Wendy overhears their subsequent conversation and finds out that Archie is cheating on her.

George asks Ken to kill [[the Crown]]'s only eyewitness to the robbery, the elderly Eileen Coady, who owns three small dogs. Ken repeatedly tries to kill her, but each time accidentally kills one of the dogs instead, causing him great distress. The last dog's death gives the woman a fatal heart attack, making Ken successful at last. With no witness, George seems poised to be released. He gives instructions to Ken, revealing the location of the diamonds. When Otto learns that Ken knows the location, he tries to force Ken to reveal it by eating Ken's various pet fish, leaving Ken's favourite, named Wanda, until last. Ken reveals that the diamonds are at the Cathcart Towers Hotel near [[Heathrow Airport]], but doesn't know Wanda already took the key until she informs Otto.

With Otto's knowledge and Wanda's key, the two want George to remain in prison. At his trial, Wanda, as a defense witness, unexpectedly gives evidence against him. Archie is stunned by her statements and flubs his [[direct examination|questioning]],  inadvertently calling her "darling". Wendy, watching from the public gallery, declares their marriage over.

With his career and marriage ruined, Archie resolves to cut his losses, steal the loot himself and flee to [[South America]]. Promising less prison time, Archie asks George about the diamonds and learns of Otto and Wanda's complicity and that Ken knows their location. Archie sees Wanda fleeing the court and they race to Ken's flat together. As they arrive, Otto steals Archie's car, taking Wanda with him. While Ken stutters uncontrollably, Archie painstakingly gets him to reveal the location of the safety deposit box. Ken is never able to fully say the name of the location, but he ultimately writes the location out for a frustrated Archie. They then set out for Heathrow on Ken's moped.

Otto and Wanda recover the diamonds, but Wanda double-crosses Otto and leaves him unconscious in a broom cupboard at Heathrow. She reluctantly boards her flight to [[Rio de Janeiro]] without Archie. Otto recovers, steals a boarding pass, and makes his way to the tarmac, where he is confronted by Archie. Otto is about to kill Archie, but Archie stalls him by taunting Otto about America's defeat in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]. Ken arrives, driving a [[steamroller]], seeking vengeance for his fish. Otto finds he has stepped in wet [[concrete]] and cannot move; he is run over, but survives. Archie and Wanda board the plane while Otto, clinging to the window outside, curses them until he is blown off during takeoff.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[John Cleese]] as Archie Leach
* [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] as Wanda Gershwitz
* [[Kevin Kline]] as Otto West
* [[Michael Palin]] as Ken Pile
* [[Maria Aitken]] as Wendy Leach
* [[Tom Georgeson]] as George Thomason
* [[Patricia Hayes]] as Mrs Eileen Coady
* [[Geoffrey Palmer (actor)|Geoffrey Palmer]] as Judge
* [[John Cleese#Personal life|Cynthia Cleese]] as Portia Leach
* [[Ken Campbell]] as Bartlett
* [[Al Hunter Ashton|Al Ashton]] as Warder
* [[Roger Brierley]] as Davidson
* [[Llewellyn Rees]] as Sir John
* Michael Percival as Percival
* [[Jeremy Child]] as Mr. Johnson
* [[Stephen Fry]] as Hutchison (Cameo)
{{div col end}}

==Production==
Cleese and Crichton had attempted to make a film together in 1969.<ref name=losangeles>{{cite news |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |title=Charles Crichton; British Director of Movie Comedies |date=16 September 1999 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/16/news/mn-10742 |access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref> Although the project never entered development, they promised each other that they would eventually collaborate on a film.<ref name=newspaper>{{cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |title='Fish Called Wanda' a Crichton keeper |date=26 March 1989 |newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19890326&id=RWsaAAAAIBAJ&pg=4378,1028019 |access-date=29 December 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In June 1983, the two began writing the script for ''Wanda'', and, for the next two and half years, they met three times a month to work on the script.<ref name=newspaper/> According to Crichton, "We had a week of rehearsals and then a gap of two weeks in which to incorporate any new ideas which had been thrown up and to polish the script."<ref>{{cite news |last=Vallance |first=Tom |title=Obituary: Charles Crichton |date=15 September 1999 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-charles-crichton-1119361.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124205438/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-charles-crichton-1119361.html |archive-date=2015-11-24 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref> According to Michael Palin, the original title was "A Goldfish Called Wanda."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Halfway to Hollywood: Diaries 1980-1988 |last=Palin |first=Michael |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-312-68202-6 |page=412 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312682026/page/412}}</ref>

Cleese told an interviewer that he called his character Archie Leach, the late actor [[Cary Grant]]'s real name, because "I feel this film is as near as I'll ever get to being Cary Grant."<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://people.com/archive/his-love-life-may-be-fawlty-but-john-cleese-is-reeling-in-cash-and-kudos-with-a-fish-called-wanda-vol-30-no-7/ |last=Alexander |first=Michael |date=August 15, 1988 |title=His Love Life May Be Fawlty, but John Cleese Is Reeling in Cash and Kudos with a Fish Called Wanda |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref> While in character as Archie Leach, Cleese recited a longer passage from [[Mikhail Lermontov]]'s poem ''Молитва'' ("Prayer").

Cleese, admitting in press interviews that he had no knowledge of how to direct a film, served as co-director, since the studio executives at MGM were worried about Crichton's age—he was 78 years old at the time.<ref name=losangeles/><ref name=newspaper/><ref name=guardian>{{cite web |last=Bergan |first=Ronald |title=Charles Crichton |date=14 September 1999 |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/sep/15/guardianobituaries3 |access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref> On the set, Crichton wore a T-shirt presented to him by Cleese and inscribed "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill".<ref name=guardian/>

Filming began in England on July 13, 1987, and wrapped on September 21, 1987, after 70 days.<ref name=newspaper/>

==Reception==
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a 96% approval rating, based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smartly written, smoothly directed, and solidly cast, ''A Fish Called Wanda'' offers a classic example of a brainy comedy with widespread appeal."<ref>{{Rotten Tomatoes |fish_called_wanda|A Fish Called Wanda}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film holds a score of 80 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."<ref>{{Metacritic film|title=A Fish Called Wanda}}</ref> According to CriticsTop10, "A Fish Called Wanda" appeared on over 60 critics' top ten lists, making it the fifth most acclaimed film of 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://criticstop10.com/best-movies-of-1988/ |title=Best Movies of 1988 |website=CriticsTop10.com}}</ref> Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title=Movie Title Search |website=Cinemascore |access-date=2020-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref>

After six weeks of wide release in the United States, it reached number one at the box office.<ref name=Mojo>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fishcalledwanda.htm |title=A Fish Called Wanda (1988) |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> It eventually grossed $62.5 million in the United States and Canada.<ref name=Mojo/> It was the [[List of highest-grossing films in the United Kingdom|highest-grossing British film of all time]] with a gross of £12 million.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=UK Box Office's Weekend Record-Breaker|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=16 August 1996|page=23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Top Films of All Time at the UK Box Office |date=June 2017 |page=9 |website=[[British Film Institute]] |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-top-films-of-all-time-2016-2017-06.pdf |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820175630/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-top-films-of-all-time-2016-2017-06.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Outside of the US (including the UK), it grossed $126.1 million,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 11, 1995|page=92|title=UIP's $25M-Plus Club}}</ref> for a worldwide total of $188.6 million. It was the number one rental video in the US in 1989.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |title=Vid biz often outsmarts b.o. |date=December 27, 1989 |page=1}}</ref>

Kline won an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his performance.<ref name = "61st Academy Awards">{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |title=The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners |website=Oscars.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1980-1989/61nominees.html |title=Nominees & Winners for the 61st Academy Awards |website=Oscars.org |date=August 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308171837/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1980-1989/61nominees.html |archive-date=March 8, 2012}}</ref> Cleese and Crichton received an Academy Award nomination for [[Best Original Screenplay]].<ref name = "61st Academy Awards" /> Crichton was also nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]],<ref name = "61st Academy Awards" /> Cleese won a BAFTA for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] and Curtis received nominations for [[Best Actress|Best Actress in a Leading Role]] at the Golden Globes<ref name="Golden Globe">{{cite web |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/23480 |title=Fish Called Wanda, A |website=Goldenglobes.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414221538/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/23480 |archive-date=April 14, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/year/1988 |title=The 46th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1989) |website=Goldenglobes.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124174445/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/year/1988 |archive-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref> and BAFTA awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/29158 |title=Jamie Lee Curtis |website=Goldenglobes.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414201442/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/29158 |archive-date=April 14, 2013}}</ref> [[Michael Palin]] won a [[BAFTA]] for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bafta.org/awards-database.html?year=1988&pageNo=2 |title=Awards Database (1988) |website=Bafta.org}}</ref> and [[Maria Aitken]] received a BAFTA nomination for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1989/film/actress-in-a-supporting-role |title=1989 Film Actress in a Supporting Role |website=BAFTA.org |access-date=2016-08-12}}</ref>

In 2016, ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked ''A Fish Called Wanda'' 35th on their list of the 100 best British films, with their entry calling it "a must-own for any British comedy fan", adding, "it made possible [[Richard Curtis]]'s later Brit-com oeuvre by establishing that British eccentricism can sell, revived the world's interest in [[Ealing comedies]], and allowed a character with Cary Grant's real name – Cleese's bumbling lawyer Archie Leach – to live again on the big screen."<ref>{{cite news |title=The 100 best British films |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/ |access-date=4 September 2019 |work=Empire}}</ref>

===Death===
During the initial run of the film, a Danish [[audiologist]] named Ole Bentzen died while laughing during a screening, which led newspapers to report that he had [[death from laughter|died from laughter]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2015/03/10-people-who-literally-died-from-laughter/ |title=10 People Who Literally Died From Laughter |first=Jim |last=Goad |date=17 March 2015 |website=Thoughtcatalog.com}}</ref><ref name="vanityfair.com_2018-07-12">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/the-oral-history-of-a-fish-called-wanda |title="Just a Concoction of Nonsense": The Oral History of A Fish Called Wanda |first=Darryn |last=King |date=July 12, 2018 |magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/93vAiAOAEgI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180724080217/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93vAiAOAEgI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93vAiAOAEgI |title=John Cleese Says Trump Reminds Him Of A Pro Wrestler |author=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |date=24 July 2018 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The official cause of death was [[fibrillation|heart fibrillation]], which may have been caused by an increased heart rate due to extended laughter.<ref name="information.dk_2013-04-10">{{cite news |title=Manden, der døde af grin |trans-title=The man who died from laughter |work=[[Dagbladet Information]] |last=Bjørnkjær |first=Kristen |date=2013-04-10 |language=da |url=https://www.information.dk/kultur/2013/04/manden-doede-grin |quote=Videnskaben anerkender ikke, at man kan dø af grin, men i praksis dør man nogle gange under et latteranfald. Pulsen kan ryge drastisk i vejret. Den officielle dødsårsag for Ole Bentzen var hjerteflimmer.}}</ref> Cleese considered using the event for publicity, but ultimately decided it was in too bad taste.<ref name="vanityfair.com_2018-07-12"/>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[61st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]<ref name="Oscars1989">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |title=The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners |access-date=July 31, 2011 |work=Oscars.org |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502001817/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Charles Crichton]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Kevin Kline]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| [[John Cleese]] and Charles Crichton
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[American Comedy Awards#1989 awards|American Comedy Awards]]
| rowspan="2"| Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
| John Cleese
| {{nom}}
|-
| Kevin Kline
| {{nom}}
|-
| Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
| [[Jamie Lee Curtis]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards]]
| Top Box Office Films
| [[John Du Prez]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="9"| [[42nd British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1989/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1989 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1989 |access-date=16 September 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1989}}}}</ref>
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| [[Michael Shamberg]] and Charles Crichton
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| Charles Crichton
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| John Cleese
| {{won}}
|-
| Kevin Kline
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| Jamie Lee Curtis
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
| [[Michael Palin]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
| [[Maria Aitken]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| John Cleese
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| [[John Jympson]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]]
| Best Foreign Screenplay
| John Cleese
| {{won}}
|-
| [[41st Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1988.aspx?value=1988 |title=41st DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref>
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Charles Crichton
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Edgar Awards|Edgar Allan Poe Awards]]
| [[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Best Motion Picture Screenplay]]
| John Cleese
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Evening Standard British Film Awards#1988 Winners|Evening Standard British Film Awards]]
| Best Film
| rowspan="2"| Charles Crichton
| {{won}}
|-
| Peter Sellers Award for Comedy
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[46th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/fish-called-wanda |title=A Fish Called Wanda – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 10, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1989}}}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| John Cleese
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| Jamie Lee Curtis
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Goldene Kamera]]
| colspan="2"| Golden Screen
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| European Silver Ribbon
| John Cleese
| {{won}}
|-
| [[41st Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |work=Writers Guild of America |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref>
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| John Cleese and Charles Crichton
| {{nom}}
|}

The film is number 27 on [[Bravo (US TV network)|Bravo]]'s "100 Funniest Movies".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.projectbravo.com/?p=132 |title=Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies List is Laughable |website=Projectbravo.com |date=June 2, 2006}}</ref> It is also included in the ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' "100 Funniest Films" list.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/the-top-100-funniest-movies-of-all-time/article13866.html |title=The Top 100+ Funniest Movies of All Time |first=Stefan |last=Kanfer |work=Reader's Digest |access-date=December 16, 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007090030/http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/the-top-100-funniest-movies-of-all-time/article13866.html |archive-date=October 7, 2010}}</ref>

In 1999, it was voted 39th on the [[BFI Top 100 British films]] list compiled by the [[British Film Institute]]

Also in 2000, the [[American Film Institute]] placed the film on its [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|100 Years...100 Laughs]] list, where it was ranked number 21.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |website=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-18 |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052741/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Then in 2003, AFI nominated Otto West as a villain from this film for [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/handv400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains Nominees |website=American Film Institute |access-date=2016-08-18 |archive-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104022712/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100years/handv400.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[James Berardinelli]] of ''[[ReelViews]]'' awarded the film four out of four stars in his review;<ref>{{cite web |first=James |last=Berardinelli |url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/f/fish.html |title=A Fish Called Wanda |website=[[ReelViews]] |access-date=2017-10-25}}</ref> it is also number 10 on his "Top 100" list.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://preview.reelviews.net/top100/toc.html |title=Berardinelli's All-Time Top 100 |website=ReelViews |access-date=2017-10-25}}</ref>

==Sequels and adaptations==
The principal cast reunited in 1997 for ''[[Fierce Creatures]]'' (dubbed an "[[spiritual successor|equal]]" rather than a [[sequel]] or [[prequel]], by Kline), playing different roles. ''Fierce Creatures'' was not as well received by critics or audiences as ''A Fish Called Wanda''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fierce_creatures/ |title=Fierce Creatures |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=21 July 2014}}</ref>

The [[novelization]] of ''Fierce Creatures'', written by [[Iain Johnstone]], who co-wrote the film, begins with a letter from Archie ([[John Cleese]]'s character in the first film) to his brother Rollo. According to the letter:
*Archie and Wanda are still living happily in Rio, and Wanda enjoys having a new child (or multiple children) each year;
*Otto visited them once, having left South Africa after [[Nelson Mandela]]'s election and the end of the [[apartheid]] regime; he is looking for like-minded individuals to form a similar group of [[National Socialists]], and Archie and Wanda are both heartily glad when he is gone;
*Ken is still master of ceremonies at the London Sea World; before visiting Rio, Otto "looked him up" as if they were old friends, but did not even get close before Ken had security guards throw Otto out of the park.

A loose Indian adaptation, ''[[Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav]]'', was released in 2005.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT4kDQAAQBAJ&q=padmashree%20laloo%20prasad%20yadav%20a%20fish%20called%20wanda&pg=PA218 |title=Bollywood and Postmodernism |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] |first=Neelam Sidhar |last=Wright |year=2015 |pages=218 |isbn=978-0-74869-635-2}}</ref>

In 2008, it was reported that John Cleese and his daughter, Cynthia (who played his screen daughter, Portia), had started to work on a stage musical version of the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2130261/Memories-of-Jamie-Lee-Curtis-make-John-Cleese-sing-again.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617134902/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2130261/Memories-of-Jamie-Lee-Curtis-make-John-Cleese-sing-again.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 17, 2008 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Memories of Jamie Lee Curtis make John Cleese sing again |first=Richard |last=Eden |date=June 14, 2008 |access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]
* [[Michael Palin Centre for Stammering]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0095159}}
* {{Amg title|17540}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|fish_called_wanda}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* {{Mojo title|fishcalledwanda}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1988/0FCLW.php |title=A Fish Called Wanda |website=The Numbers}}

{{Charles Crichton}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish Called Wanda, A}}
[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:1988 comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s heist films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American heist films]]
[[Category:British crime comedy films]]
[[Category:British heist films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about con artists]]
[[Category:Films about fish]]
[[Category:Films directed by Charles Crichton]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award-winning performance]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Du Prez]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Cleese]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s British films]]

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A Fish Called Wanda