A Fish Called Wanda

A Fish Called Wanda Movie Poster

"A new comedy about sex, murder, and seafood."  A Fish Called Wanda was a heist-comedy released in 1988, and is still considered today to be one of the funniest movies ever released.  The movie starred John Cleese as Archie Leach, Kevin Kline as Otto West, and Jamie Lee Curtis as Wanda Gershwitz.  The movie was a huge success at the box office, and critics loved it.  Kline even netted an Academy Award for his portrayal of Otto.  There was a sequel released in 1997 called Fierce Creatures, but it did not do nearly as well as the original.

In this movie, Wanda and Otto are hired by jewel thieves George and Ken to help steal some jewels.  Wanda and Otto are lovers, but pretend to be brother and sister to fool the gangsters and steal the loot.  After the duo betrays George, they realize that the jewels have been moved, and they must go about the business of finding out where they were hidden.  Unbeknownst to Otto, Wanda plans on double-crossing him as well, and she seduces the gangster's lawyer, Archie Leach, in order to do whatever it takes to get her hands on the jewels.

During George's trial, the drama unfolds in grand style, with all parties involved trying to double-cross the other.  At one point, Otto eats the fish in Ken's aquarium to try to get Ken to reveal the location of the jewels, eventually eating all the fish but one, a fish called Wanda.  In the end, Wanda does manage to double-cross them all, and she and Archie fly off to South America together.