Written by John Cleese of Monty Python fame, this caper comedy is filled with colorful characters and slapstick situations which work. Two Americans and two Englishmen pull off a twenty million dollar jewelry robbery in London. George (Tom Georgeson) is the gang's leader. He lands in prison. His friend Ken (Michael Palin) is a socially inept klutz whose only love is his goldfish. Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a seductress who is willing to use her ample sexual charms to get her hands on all the loot. Otto (Kevin Kline) is an ex-CIA agent who can't stand Englishmen. When George's lawyer, Archie (John Cleese) falls in love with Wanda, the plot thickens and she must make her move.

Director Charles Crichton keeps this convoluted storyline humming along at a nice clip. One of the unexpected delights of A Fish Called Wanda is its satire on the cultural clash between the stuffy and officious Englishmen and their wild and uncouth American counterparts. At one point, Archie says to Wanda: "Do you have any idea what it's like to be English? We're all terrified by embarrassment. That's why we're all dead!" With this terrific comedy, John Cleese proves that there's still plenty of life in his English bones. Everything about this film is outrageously funny!