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A Fish Called Wanda (Charles Crichton/John Cleese, 1988)
I'm glad I keep adding more movies to my Top 100. When I get to an appropriate number, I'll rename my thread, but for now, it's OK. This is probably my choice for the funniest film in the last 20 years and probably also the best film involving Python members. I realize that may be sacrilege, but it's really damn good. It has a cohesive structure which Python never really cared about, but it's just as funny, and then to top it off, the darn thing is sexy AND romantic to boot. The credit for this has to go to scripter/"true" director John Cleese. A funny footnote to this film is that Cleese always intended to direct the flick, but the studio wouldn't sign off on the insurance in case he screwed up in his first directorial effort, so Cleese enlisted 77-year-old veteran Charles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob) to "officially" direct his first feature in over 20 years. Crichton received a best director nomination for this film, although all he did was basically sit around and ask Cleese, "Why do you need me here, again?"
A Fish Called Wanda involves a heist which works out for the thieves but eventually goes wrong. It also involves an animal lover (Michael Palin) who is forced to try to murder a witness to the crime, but unfortunately, all he can seem to do is kill sweet, innocent pets. Two other members of the heist team are a fake brother and sister (Jamie Lee Curtis and the hilarious Kevin Kline) who are actually lovers, plus Otto (Kline) thinks he understands Nietzsche, but he's really just an underarm-sniffing idiot ("Don't call me stupid!"). When Wanda (Curtis) starts to fall for barrister Archie Leach (Cleese), who is involved in the case of another member of the gang, that's when the movie transforms from a laughfest to one of the more romantic films ever made.
I don't really want to go into the details of this hilarious film, but I can still remember showing it to my wife's 70-ish parents. There are a few F-words strewn about, and Otto has a few odd sexual proclivities, but to my delight, they smiled and laughed during the entire film... and they're from Bakersfield.
I honestly believe that if you like Judd Apatow comedies, you'll love this. I also believe that a few of our members who don't especially like Apatow will also love this. It's a lovable film; true, it can be a bit cruel to animals, but remember this: NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM. My wife loves dogs, but I have never heard her laugh louder than what happens to some innocent dogs in this movie.
I'm glad I keep adding more movies to my Top 100. When I get to an appropriate number, I'll rename my thread, but for now, it's OK. This is probably my choice for the funniest film in the last 20 years and probably also the best film involving Python members. I realize that may be sacrilege, but it's really damn good. It has a cohesive structure which Python never really cared about, but it's just as funny, and then to top it off, the darn thing is sexy AND romantic to boot. The credit for this has to go to scripter/"true" director John Cleese. A funny footnote to this film is that Cleese always intended to direct the flick, but the studio wouldn't sign off on the insurance in case he screwed up in his first directorial effort, so Cleese enlisted 77-year-old veteran Charles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob) to "officially" direct his first feature in over 20 years. Crichton received a best director nomination for this film, although all he did was basically sit around and ask Cleese, "Why do you need me here, again?"
A Fish Called Wanda involves a heist which works out for the thieves but eventually goes wrong. It also involves an animal lover (Michael Palin) who is forced to try to murder a witness to the crime, but unfortunately, all he can seem to do is kill sweet, innocent pets. Two other members of the heist team are a fake brother and sister (Jamie Lee Curtis and the hilarious Kevin Kline) who are actually lovers, plus Otto (Kline) thinks he understands Nietzsche, but he's really just an underarm-sniffing idiot ("Don't call me stupid!"). When Wanda (Curtis) starts to fall for barrister Archie Leach (Cleese), who is involved in the case of another member of the gang, that's when the movie transforms from a laughfest to one of the more romantic films ever made.
I don't really want to go into the details of this hilarious film, but I can still remember showing it to my wife's 70-ish parents. There are a few F-words strewn about, and Otto has a few odd sexual proclivities, but to my delight, they smiled and laughed during the entire film... and they're from Bakersfield.
I honestly believe that if you like Judd Apatow comedies, you'll love this. I also believe that a few of our members who don't especially like Apatow will also love this. It's a lovable film; true, it can be a bit cruel to animals, but remember this: NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM. My wife loves dogs, but I have never heard her laugh louder than what happens to some innocent dogs in this movie.