The movie A Fish Called Wanda was made in 1988. The movie is a heist- comedy and was written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton. Charles Critchon directed the movie. The movie stars actors such as Jamie Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. John Cleese wrote the script for the movie. The story of the movie stems from the heistand and its aftermath. It must be understood that the movie was not inspired by any literary piece of work. A Fish Called Wanda is a romantic comedy. Jamie Curtis plays an over ambitious conman who uses his sexual prowess to steal f fortune from Jewels owned by lover Tom Georgeson. Tom Geargeson is a highly feared gangster.
The disability character in the movie is named Ken. He is one the criminals who conglomerate. Ken, is made fun for his stammering by the over controlling Otto. We get to know that Ken is a stammers when he is busy feeding fish in the tank. He get’s shocked with Otto’s action of throwing a knife to destroy the picture of a baby seal. Ken’s discontent with Otto’s behavior enables us to understand that he is a lover of animals. Otto, being a bully, zooms into Ken with a talk. He says, “I had a good friend in the CIA who was a stutter. Cost him his life, damn it”. After this highly sarcastic statement and a brief exchange later on, Ken stammers the words, “ you can trust them and they won’t shove off”
In the movie “A Fish called Wanda”, Ken, the animal loving stammer is tested with a more big challenge of killing a little old lady. This role provides the excellent comic required for a rather dark comedy. On one hand, Ken is a lover of animals, small animals such as fish, but on the other, he has a test of killing a lady, a member of the more than equals in the family of animals. Similarly, we get to see Ken in different lenses. Because of his disability, he gets subjected to crash crashes, dog bites, and complicated approaches from Otto that make his life a general opera of anguish.
Perhaps one the most gruesome scenes of the moves with a direct jab at Ken’s disability happen when Otto pretends that he is gay so that he can confuse Ken. In one instance, Otto ties Ken on chair and forces him to watch he eats his fishes. Ken accepts this weird life of torture until towards the end of the film when he comes out to yell through the body language, “we are not going to take it anymore allowing him to vanquish his oppressor. That Ken fails so miserably at assassinating Mrs. Coady. Because he is an animal lover, he attends the funeral of one of these dogs. At the funeral there is singing in Latin: “miserere dominus. canis mortuus est”. This means: God is sad, dog is dead”.
The film’s main message is showing the dominance of people by others in the societies who feel slightly more important than the rest. Perhaps one of the scenes that illustrate this point is found in the scene when Otto says to Wanda “don’t call me stupid!” Wanda replies by reinforcing Otto’s stupidity when she says “Oh right! Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!” Conlin (2013) argued that “ A fish called Wanda” has some of the “ most memorable physical gags in the film history”.
Davis (2012) writes that the most important aspect that makes the movie and triple A is how the director explores and questions the morality of the people in the society. The director is quick to use Kevin as a prototype of how the society views people who have disability. Because of Kevin’s speech delinquency, he is mistreated by people around him. He mocks both the morally upright people and the immoral as well, creating a more humorous story in situations which are sad. As for the good people, their weakness is using their fine feelings as the excuse for any misdeeds, and their despite for characters without such feelings. Clearly, the essence of the movie is to mock at the society the society against negativity in thoughts and actions and to explore the relationship of people in the society in terms of friendship and love. The movie has done a good job in painting a picture of folly, fate, misfortunes, and the value of friendship and love.
References
Conlin, W. (2007). “Don’t Call Me Stupid” A Critical Analysis of A Fish Called Wanda,” an entry on SBCC Film Reviews. Retrieved September 13, 2013, from SBCC Film Reviews website: http://sbccfilmreviews.org/?p=14940
Davis, C. (n.d.). 20 facts About A fish called Wada that Might cause you to Stutter. Retrieved from http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/mindhole-blowers-20-facts-about-a-fish-called-wanda-that-might-cause-you-to-stutter.php
IMDb. (2013). A fish called Wanda. Retrieved 2013, from IMDb website: http://m.imdb.com/
Rushton, P. (1997). A 2 Part Review: A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997). Retrieved September 13, 2013, from Spilz website: http://my.spill.hollywood.com/profiles/blogs/a-2-part-review-a-fish-called
Unsung Films. (2013). A Fish Called Wanda. Retrieved September 13, 2013, from Unsung Films website: http://www.unsungfilms.com/12994/a-fish-called-wa
