A Fish Called Wanda
1988 · Directed by Charles Crichton
Original language: English
- comedy
- crime
The story
While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
What it’s like
Bright, sunlit London in the late 1980s: flat daylight on Thames-side streets, pastel townhouse interiors, and a clean, bouncy sense of a caper unfolding in ordinary middle-class rooms. The camera is mostly unshowy, with tidy two-shot setups and quick cuts that let the performers' timing do the work, and the score is light and bustling, with brass and plucked strings that keep the mood breezy. The vibe is sly, brisk and giddily amoral, a crime comedy where everyone is lying to everyone and the stakes feel more mischievous than dangerous. Pacing is fast and rhythmic, built on escalating misunderstandings and sharp dialogue, and its characters, a fussy barrister, a flamboyant con-woman, a dim but earnest hitman and a stuttering animal lover, spiral through a chain of deceptions toward a grudging, sometimes absurd camaraderie. Intensity is moderate: there are guns, a few brief scuffles and a shooting-adjacent farce, plus frequent sexual innuendo and an infidelity thread, but the violence is cartoonish and nearly bloodless, and an animal-harm subplot is played for laughs with no graphic cruelty. Recommended for people who want a smart, mood-lifting comedy for a lazy weekend or a rewatch with friends, and for fans of witty British farce.
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