Line #69 Film/AFishCalledWanda


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fish_called_wanda_3020.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Fish on poster may be deceptively sexy. You have been warned.]]
3
4	->'''Otto:''' You know your problem? You don't like winners.\
5	'''Archie:''' ''Winners?''\
6	'''Otto:''' Yeah. Winners.\
7	'''Archie:''' Winners like... ''North Vietnam?''
8
9	''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 British comedy film starring Creator/KevinKline, Creator/JamieLeeCurtis, Creator/JohnCleese, and Creator/MichaelPalin. The film is the final (and best known) film of legendary British comedy director Charles Crichton, and its screenplay was written by Cleese. Cleese also served as co-director, since studio executives were worried about the advanced age of Crichton, who would retire after this film, his first since 1965.
10
11	LondonGangster George Thomason (Tom Georgeson) and his right-hand man Ken (Palin) have enlisted the services of American criminals Wanda (Curtis) and Otto (Kline) as partners in a jewel heist. Once the jewels are safely hidden, Wanda and Otto, who are lovers but are [[RelativelyFlimsyExcuse pretending to be siblings]], betray George to the police so they can steal the loot for themselves, but they find he has moved the jewels without telling them. Knowing only that they are in a safety deposit box (the key to which George gave to Ken, but which Wanda soon retrieves), Wanda gambles on George having revealed its location to his defence barrister, Archie Leach (Cleese), and tries to seduce the information out of him. Things get complicated when Wanda finds herself falling for the unhappily-married Archie, to Otto's jealous rage; meanwhile, Ken is trying to [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident arrange the death]] of Mrs. Coady (Creator/PatriciaHayes), the only witness against George, but he keeps killing her Yorkshire terriers instead...
12
13	Nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, the film is literally lethally funny (see below). Kline, who plays the eccentric thief Otto in the film, won the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, a rare accomplishment for a comedic performance.
14
15	There are actually two characters called Wanda in the film. One is a fish. The other is Jamie Lee Curtis.
16
17	Later followed by a [[SpiritualSuccessor not-sequel]] with the same cast, ''Film/FierceCreatures''.
18
19	----
20	!!This f-f-film contains e-e-examples of:
21	* AffablyEvil: Wanda is so charming that it is easy to miss just how ruthless she ''really'' is, at least prior to genuinely falling for Archie. Ken also counts; a timid animal lover who has no qualms about trying to bump off a little old lady, and laughs once he's finally done it.
22	* AgeGapRomance: Archie is about two decades older than Wanda. Lampshaded when she says that she's "not into necrophilia".
23	* AllThereInTheManual: According to a booklet that accompanies the DVD release, Ken's last name is Pile and Otto's last name is West.
24	* AmusingInjuries:
25	** Poor Ken. For every dog he took out (trying to kill the old lady), he gets more and more banged up.
26	** And those poor dogs, too.
27	** Otto [[spoiler:coming back from the wrong end of a steam roller]].
28	* AnswerCut: When Wanda and Otto find out George has hidden the diamonds, Wanda says she's going to talk to him. As she walks out, Otto yells, "Talk to who?" Cut to Archie meeting with George.
29	* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Otto, who echoes of the more unsavory types who were caught up in the 1970s martial arts boom in the States. He is a proficient practitioner of Japanese martial arts, including karate, kenjutsu, and even ninjutsu, and follows Buddhism and its influence into the martial arts, but he is an arrogant and obnoxious {{Jerkass}} who only uses his craft to terrorize and throw his weight around, is a jingoistic racist asshole which trait is most prominently highlighted by constantly putting down the British right on their soil, and as Wanda tells, his interpretation of Buddhism is more Social Darwinism and antipathy than anything humanistic or altruistic.
30	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: [[TagLine "A tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood."]]
31	* AssholeVictim:
32	** The dog lady is set up to be a mean-spirited old woman who cares far more about her dogs than other people. That said, Ken cares more about her dogs than her, too.
33	** Otto, for a given value of "victim", when Ken runs him over with the steamroller.
34	* AuthorAppeal:
35	** Cleese and Crichton both had scenes they specifically wanted included, whatever form the final film took: a stutterer [[CannotSpitItOut trying to spit out vital information]], and a character [[SquashedFlat being run over by a steamroller]].
36	** Crichton is also a veteran of the Ealing bank heist comedies.
37	* AxCrazy: Otto, but it's more PlayedForLaughs.
38	* AwfulWeddedLife: The Leaches. SleepingSingle and uncaring.
39	* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:As revealed in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, Archie and Wanda founded a leper colony after fleeing to South America and had ''17'' children. Although given Archie's age, it's probable some of these were adopted, if not most, but why spoil the joke?]]
40	* BadLiar: Zigzagged with Otto, who sometimes lies convincingly but also comes up with ridiculous excuses.
41	* BerserkButton:
42	** Don't call Otto stupid.
43	** Don't hurt Wanda (the fish) in front of Ken.
44	** Otto isn't pleased with the prospect of Wanda touching Archie's dick. He isn't pleased with Wanda carousing with George, either.
45	** Reminding Otto that America essentially lost in Vietnam.
46	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Ken does not seem like the sort to be a bank robber and cold-blooded murderer. Then he pulls out the sniper rifle. Also, more straight-forwardly...
47	-->'''Ken:''' "REVENGE!"
48	* BilingualBonus:
49	** Knowing some Italian and/or Russian makes some scenes all the more hilarious, especially since Otto is just prattling off random Italian food items. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick And]] UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini.
50	** The Latin hymn sung by the choir-boys at the dog's funeral translates to "Have mercy, Lord. Have mercy, Lord. The dog is dead."
51	** The Russian Archie uses to arouse Wanda is a poem by Russian [[ByronicHero Romantic poet]] Lermontov, called "The Prayer".
52	** The film's ending title card, "FIN," is a bilingual StealthPun. It's the French equivalent of "TheEnd" as well as the English word for a fish fin.
53	* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Ken repeatedly tries to kill the old woman who is going to testify against George but accidentally kills her dogs one by one instead. This is made funnier by the fact that Ken loves animals and is horrified whenever he accidentally kills one of the dogs.
54	** A deleted subplot shows off Otto's marksman skills with his weird habit of shooting tails off passing cats which he then collects and keeps in a vase.
55	* BlackComedyPetDeath: The animal-loving gangster Ken is ordered to [[HeKnowsTooMuch kill the only witness]] to a robbery, a [[EvilOldFolks horrible old lady]] with three small dogs. To his mounting horror, each of his three assassination attempts backfires and kills a dog instead -- though the third dog's death gives the woman a fatal heart attack.
56	* BloodlessCarnage: the dogs, particularly the one Ken accidentally runs over.
57	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Judging by her few scenes, Archie's daughter Portia appears to be a typical one.
58	* BriefAccentImitation:
59	** Otto does it several times; Kevin Kline is a master of doing convincing foreign accents.
60	** Archie and Otto exchange dueling examples.
61	* BritishStuffiness: This film delightfully exploits and deconstructs this stereotype to the hilt. Archie's wife Wendy plays it pretty straight along with the judge and the old lady with the dogs.
62	** Lampshaded and Invoked by Archie:
63	--->'''Archie:''' Wanda, do you have any idea what it's like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing, of saying to someone "Are you married?" and hearing "My wife left me this morning", or saying, uh, "Do you have children?" and being told they all burnt to death on Wednesday. You see, Wanda, we'll all terrified of embarrassment. That's why we're so... dead.
64	* ButtMonkey[=/=]TheChewToy: Archie undergoes one humiliation after another. [[spoiler:But in the end he becomes a [[DarkHorseVictory winner]]]].
65	** Ken has it worse.
66	* TheCameo:
67	** Creator/StephenFry has a 30-second part towards the climax as a man at the airport Otto mugs for his ticket.
68	** [[Series/AsTimeGoesBy Geoffrey Palmer]] also appears, as the Judge in George's trial.
69	** The film's producer, Michael Shamberg, is the policeman conducting the line-up where the old lady with the Yorkies identifies George.
70	* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Wanda intends to betray everyone to get the jewels -- but actually ''falls'' for Archie.
71	* CloseUpOnHead: When Archie is apologising to Otto, his head is first seen the right way up, then the camera turns upside down and zooms out, revealing him being dangled out a window by his ankles.
72	* ConsummateLiar: ''Everyone'', but extra credit can be given to Archie, a law-abiding citizen who gets mixed overnight with a pack of criminals and is more than able to keep up with their game, lying and weaseling his way out on the spot, until his house of cards inevitably falls down.
73	* ContrastMontage: Otto and Wanda engaging in over-the-top sex; meanwhile the Leaches are getting ready to sleep, in separate beds, in the most boring and unsexy way imaginable.
74	* ContrivedClumsiness: Otto, angry with Wanda, picks up a framed photo of her and smashes it with his fist. He then hands it to Ken, and flatly says "Oh, sorry".
75	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment:
76	** Otto forcing Ken to watch him eat his beloved fish.
77	** Ken getting back at him by running him over with a steamroller.
78	* CoversAlwaysLie: There are absolutely no human-sized fish in the film as shown in the "lineup" poster. The main characters don't face an identity parade; only George, who is not featured on the poster, does.
79	* CrazyJealousGuy: Otto over Wanda.
80	* CulturalPosturing: Otto is supremely contemptuous of the British. Archie uses this as a distraction technique at the climax.
81	* DeadpanSnarker: Trademark dry delivery of humorous lines by John Cleese.
82	** Wendy also gets a few in during her encounter with Otto.
83	--->'''Otto:''' [[BerserkButton Don't call me stupid.]]\
84	'''Wendy:''' Why on earth not?
85	* DistractedByTheSexy: Barrister Archie Leach is so smitten by Wanda that he leaves his briefcase on top of his car as he drives off.
86	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Otto once again. Naturally, he doesn't even bother to use a right-hand-drive car and makes every turn incorrectly.
87	-->'''Otto:''' [[NeverMyFault Asshole!]]
88	* DumbMuscle: Otto is really good with violence but he's challenged by almost every other task. Did he ever work for the CIA or is he lying?
89	-->'''Wanda:''' He thought that the Gettysburg Address was where [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Lincoln]] lived.
90	* DutchAngle: During the jewel heist, emphasizing the crooked motives of the robbers.
91	* {{Eagleland}}: Otto is every American stereotype rolled into one.
92	* EmotionallyTongueTied: Otto and the word "sorry".
93	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played for laughs:
94	** Apparently, Ken thinks killing little old ladies is better than buggering people. Also, Ken feels absolutely heartbroken about killing those poor Yorkies, but [[LaughingMad can't keep from laughing]] when he realises the little old lady is dead.
95	** Otto feigns disgust at killing in cold blood.
96	* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: In this case GratuitousItalian. Or GratuitousRussian. In Archie's case, he's fluent in Russian. Otto just spits out random Italian words.
97	* FaceHeelTurn: Archie goes from respectable lawyer and husband to adulterous aider and abettor of criminals. [[spoiler:He finally absconds with the loot of the robbery in full complicity with Wanda]].
98	* FakeShemp: Tellingly, only Wanda's legs are shown during the sex scene with Otto.
99	** According to the DVD commentary, this is because Jamie Lee Curtis held a pillow over her face the whole time, as [[{{Corpsing}} she couldn't stop laughing.]]
100	* FanDisservice: Otto and Wanda's sex scene, particularly with Otto's [[TheGruntingOrgasm ridiculous orgasm face.]]
101	* FauxYay: Otto pulls this on Ken to distract him from Wanda's activities.
102	-->'''Otto:''' I love watching your ass when you walk! Is that beautiful or what? '''[[LargeHam Don't go near him, he's MINE!]]'''
103	* FawltyTowersPlot: The movie (written by and starring [[Creator/JohnCleese Basil Fawlty]], appropriately enough) is built upon hilariously convoluted lies.
104	** When Ken realizes there's something fishy between Otto and Wanda (who are posing as brother and sister), Otto gets out of trouble by pretending to be gay and infatuated with Ken.
105	** When Archie's wife Wendy is about to discover his infidelity with Wanda, Otto saves the day by emerging from behind a door and inventing a cockamamie story about being a CIA agent looking for Russian spies.
106	** Archie tries to recover Wanda's locket by robbing his own house...
107	** ...A locket that Wanda needs because it has a key inside it. She passes it off as an item of great sentimental value and manipulates Archie by denying him her affections until it's recovered.
108	* FemmeFatale: Wanda, who is planning on stabbing in the back every guy she gets involved with (even Otto -- when they think the loot is secured in the safe at the lock-up, she's seconds away from coshing Otto and running off with it before they realise it's empty). Then she ends up falling in love with Archie for real.
109	* FreudianSlip: "They're so fucking lawyer -- uh, superior", as well as Archie's "Wanda" and "Darling!" in the courtroom scene.
110	-->'''Judge:''' Mr. Leach... ''Darling?''\
111	'''Archie:''' Yes dear?
112	** Not to mention:
113	--->'''Wendy:''' Good night, Archie. ''(beat)'' Good ''night'', Archie!\
114	'''Archie:''' Good night, Wanda.\
115	'''Wendy:''' Good night ''who?''
116	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Zigzagged with Ken. He deeply loves all animals (like his fish), weeps whenever a dog dies, and cries and attends all of their respective funerals. All of these deaths occur whilst he's trying to kill their owner whom he has no problems with assassinating. [[spoiler:He cheers when he succeeds in offing her.]]
117	* FryingPanOfDoom: How Otto subdues the robber who turns out to be Archie.
118	* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
119	** Otto unsuccessfully eavesdropping on Archie and Wanda from behind a window of their love nest.
120	** The small crowd of people off in the distance silently watching Otto dangle Archie out of a window.
121	* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:Otto somehow survives being run over by a steamroller, gets his entire body out the cement just his feet had been stuck in, gets on the wing of an airplane taking off, manages to survive falling off (or flying all the way to Rio!), and becomes Minister of Justice of South Africa? Plus a then-30-year-old Creator/JamieLeeCurtis going on to have seventeen children? [[note]]In the DVDCommentary, Cleese refers to the onscreen text at the end as "jokes" so they're probably not meant to be taken seriously.[[/note]]]]
122	* GambitPileup: The robbers' conflicting plans to [[OutGambitted outgambit each other]].
123	* GeekyTurnOn: Languages for Wanda. Any man speaking a foreign language (or faking it) gets her excited.
124	* GilliganCut: "Alright, alright, I apologise."
125	* GoldDigger: Wanda asks Archie if he's rich.
126	* GoodOldFisticuffs: Subverted when Archie holds Otto at gunpoint and gets talked into a [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen gentlemen bout]].
127	-->'''Archie:''' ''(leaves the gun)'' I used to box for Oxford.\
128	'''Otto:''' Oh, yeah? ''([[CombatPragmatist grabs the gun]])'' Well, I used to kill for the CIA.
129	* HandOrObjectUnderwear: Archie covers his genitals with a photograph when the new tenants of a flat [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSK3BpSfULo arrive unexpectedly]]. It turns out to be [[DiggingYourselfDeeper a portrait of the woman of the house]].
130	* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason Ken is tasked to kill the old lady: she's the witness who can identify George.
131	* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: At least to Ken.
132	-->'''Wanda:''' I'm sorry about my brother, Ken. I know he's insensitive. He's had a hard life. Dad used to beat him up.\
133	'''Ken:''' ''(beat, smirking to himself)'' Good.
134	* HollywoodSilencer:
135	** Otto's pistol has the classic "pyoot!" noise.
136	** Ken later fires a silenced Ruger Mini-14 (to shoot the wedge holding the rope suspending the giant stone block, which misses the old lady and smashes the final Yorkie), which makes an identical noise.
137	* {{Homage}}: To Crichton's own Ealing Studios caper comedies.
138	* HypocriticalHumor: After betraying George, Otto gets mad when he discovers that George moved the loot to another location.
139	-->'''Otto:''' Ok... Ok... DISAPPOINTED! Son of a bitch! What do you have to do in this life to make people trust you!?!
140	* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Ken, glorying in winning his bet against Otto, accidentally blurts out that he knows where the diamonds are stashed. [[OhCrap Big mistake]].
141	* InflationaryDialogue: The one-sided, increasingly desperate negotiation between [[spoiler:a steamroller-driving]] Ken and Otto, [[spoiler:whose feet are stuck in drying cement]].
142	* InsultToRocks:
143	-->'''Otto:''' Don't call me stupid!\
144	'''Wanda:''' Oh, right! To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!
145	* InterrogationByVandalism: Otto torments Ken by eating his fish... alive. Counts as extremely cruel, as any pet owner would know...
146	* IResembleThatRemark:
147	-->'''Archie:''' You are a true vulgarian, aren't you?\
148	'''Otto:''' ''You're'' the vulgarian, you fuck!
149	* {{Jerkass}}:
150	** Otto turns obnoxiousness into a form of art.
151	** Archie's family [[EstablishingCharacterMoment is presented]] as callous, superficial, and emotionally distant.
152	** The old lady is overly-[[GrumpyOldMan grumpy]] and self-centered.
153	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Otto.
154	-->'''Wanda:''' Now let me correct you on a couple of things, okay? Creator/{{Aristotle}} was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every man for himself". And UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground is not a political movement! Those are all mistakes, Otto! I looked them up.
155	* LargeHam: Kevin Kline gleefully chews the scenery in the movie, winning an Oscar in the process.
156	* LaughablyEvil: Again, Otto.
157	* LookBehindYou: Archie tells Otto to look behind him. Otto reluctantly complies, and sees Ken bearing down on him with a steamroller.
158	* MadeOfIron: Otto survives being run over by a steamroller ''and'' being flung off the wing of a passenger jet airplane taking off.
159	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Wanda appears out of the blue and snaps Archie of his stuffiness until he wises up.
160	%%* MsFanservice: Wanda.
161	* MurderByMistake: Animal-loving assassin Ken is tasked with killing an old woman who owns three dogs. Much to his horror, his every attempt on her life instead results in the death of one of her dogs. She eventually dies of a heart attack triggered by the shock of losing all three dogs.
162	* MutilationInterrogation: Otto eats Ken's fish to get him to reveal where George hid the diamonds.
163	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Ken's response each time his murder attempt on the old lady ends up killing one of her dogs instead.
164	* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Well, Creator/JohnCleese didn't drop his trousers just so we could admire his physique...
165	** John Cleese originally meant for Jamie Lee Curtis to have the nude scene, but she pointed out that Naked People Are Funny, but Naked MsFanservice less so. So he did it instead.
166	* NervousWreck: Ken is very clearly nervous and has a stutter throughout almost all of the movie, with it only dropping occasionally. [[spoiler:It finally drops for good after he runs Otto over with a steamroller]].
167	* NeverMyFault: Another one of Otto's habits.
168	* NietzscheWannabe: Otto models himself on a Nietzschean übermensch and is constantly talking and reading about Nietzsche's philosophy. Despite being a consummate KnowNothingKnowItAll, Nietzsche appears to be the one subject he actually knows something about.
169	* NoHonorAmongThieves: Wanda was about to cosh Otto in order to take his share of the loot, and only stops on finding that George had moved the loot somewhere else. This is just after they have betrayed George by grassing on him to the police.
170	-->'''Wanda:''' ''(on witness stand)'' I looked at the clock because I was saying to myself, "It's five to seven. Where could he be going with that sawed off shotgun?"\
171	'''George:''' ''({{beat}})'' YOU BITCH!! YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!
172	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Ken running Otto over by a steamroller. [[spoiler:Fortunately for Otto, it's ''deep'' cement and there's enough room for him to manage to not get flattened -- but he's most likely in a great deal of pain.]]
173	* NoYou:
174	-->'''Archie:''' You're a true vulgarian, aren't you?\
175	'''Otto:''' ''You're'' the vulgarian, [[IResembleThatRemark you fuck!]]
176	* OhCrap: Otto is greatly amused to see that Ken is bearing down on him in a steamroller... until he discovers that he's become stuck in the cement right in the steamroller's path.
177	* OminousLatinChanting: "Miserere Dominus, canis mortuus est" during the funerals, Latin for "Have mercy, O Lord, the dog is dead".
178	* OrderedApology: Otto holds Archie out a window, by his ankles, while Archie gives a formal apology [[TheComicallySerious in the manner expected]] of Creator/JohnCleese playing a lawyer.
179	** Later, Wanda orders Otto to apologize to Archie for the dangling incident.
180	* OverlyLongGag: Ken's slow, slow approach on his steamroller, [[FunnyBackgroundEvent chugging through the background behind Otto.]]
181	* PetTheDog: Ken's love of animals.
182	* PlethoraOfMistakes: The robbery goes off without a hitch. After that...
183	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Otto is not fond of English people or homosexuals.
184	* PushyGunTotingVillain: Outside of the robbery itself, Otto is the only one who regularly carries a gun, and he's an arrogant hothead who uses any excuse to threaten or beat up people.
185	* RecklessGunUsage: Otto. For example, shooting a metal safe is ''not a good idea'' (as evidenced by the ricocheting sound.)
186	* RefugeInAudacity: When a family walks in on his nude prancing-about in their apartment (unknown to him), Archie feigns indignation that they ''dare'' walk in on him.
187	-->"Will you leave ''immediately'', please?"
188	* RingRingCrunch: Otto is introduced this way in the opening credits, shooting an alarm clock when it goes off.
189	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: With a steamroller.
190	-->'''Ken:''' ''(roaring)'' [[InvokedTrope REVENGE!]]
191	* RuleOfThree:
192	** Otto is repeatedly involved in car crashes or near crashes, the first two times running the same dark red car off the road, and the third time having a minor collision with a light blue car -- at the same time alerting Archie that Otto is escaping with his car. In each occasion he calls the other driver an asshole, followed -- or preceded in the actual crash -- by a metallic crunching noise (being an American, he keeps forgetting to drive on the left).
193	** Then there's those three poor doggies.
194	* RunningGag: Courtesy of Otto:
195	** ''"ASS-HOLE!"''
196	** "What was the middle part?"
197	** Otto sniffing his own armpit doubles as CharacterTic.
198	* ShoutOut: John Cleese's character is called Archie Leach, which was Creator/CaryGrant's real name. A scene with Otto and Wanda borrows one [[WouldHitAGirl iconic moment from a fight]] between Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'', in which the man shoves the woman on the face with his hand.
199	* ShownTheirWork: As mentioned below, Palin researched stuttering, and tried to portray it as realistically as possible. For example, as nervousness and stress makes a person's stutter worse, Ken accordingly speaks better in the company of Wanda, who is genuinely kind to him, and worse with Otto, who mocks and threatens him frequently.
200	* SleepingSingle: Archie and his wife Wendy sleeping in separate beds is contrasted to the passionate love making of Wanda and Otto.
201	* SophisticatedAsHell:
202	-->'''George:''' Tell those pigs to fuck off.\
203	'''Archie:''' ''(to court bailiffs, calmly)'' Fuck off, pigs. ''({{beat}})'' I said fuck off!
204	* SpeechImpediment: Ken's, much mocked by Otto.
205	-->"Look, it's K-k-k-Ken, c-c-c-c-coming to k-k-k-k-kill me! How are you gonna c-c-c-c-catch me, K-k-k-k-ken??"
206	** Creator/MichaelPalin researched stuttering extensively so as to not needlessly offend stutterers in the name of comedy. Palin's father had a stammer, and Palin himself helped set up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in London. He is Vice President of the charity Action for Stammering Children.
207	* SquashedFlat: One of Yorkies Ken accidentally kills suffers this fate.
208	* StealthPun: Most movies have "The End". This one has "Fin".
209	** "Fucking Limey cement!"
210	* StrawNihilist: Otto. Ironically, he seems to be more knowledgeable about the subject than most other examples, and it seems to be the one thing he ''isn't'' a SmallNameBigEgo about.
211	* SympatheticAdulterer: Archie. When he first returns triumphant from a case, his wife is presented as joy-sucking, cold, nagging, and uncaring, so we are supposed to root for him. See Alternate Character Interpretation on the YMMV for details that make the whole situation more nuanced.
212	* TakeThat: The epilogue has one against apartheid South Africa, saying Otto immigrated there to become the Minister of Justice. This is all the more ironic as Kevin Kline played the South African dissident Donald Woods a year earlier in ''Film/CryFreedom''. Then again, that might have inspired the joke.
213	* TallPoppySyndrome: The film portrays the worst aspects of British versus American culture this way. According to Archie, Brits are terrified of embarrassment and awkwardness, so they avoid putting themselves in precarious situations. Americans, by contrast, are bull-headedly obsessed with being "winners."
214	* TapOnTheHead:
215	** Wanda ''was'' going to give one to Otto, but the diamonds weren't where they were supposed to be.
216	** "Ciao, stupidissimo!"
217	** Otto does the same thing later to Creator/StephenFry.
218	* TestosteronePoisoning: Otto, and he ''revels'' in it, such as ''snorting his own armpits''.
219	* TortureForFunAndInformation: Otto stuffs food up Ken's nose while holding him prisoner. He then speaks at length about philosophy, and then starts to eat Ken's pet fish ''alive'' so he'll tell him what he wants. Hilarious.
220	* TrivialTitle: It's named after Ken's pet fish, which has very little do do with the plot. Certainly less than the human Wanda.
221	* TheUnfairSex: Subverted with Archie and his wife.
222	* UnpronounceableAlias: Otto makes up the name "Mr. Manfrenjensen...den". It's made more hilarious when the person it's being given to goes on to pronounce it perfectly.
223	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: During the character introductions, the film cuts back to George's flat just as he's finished explaining his plan, so we only get to hear about "the middle bit... about the police". The rest of the plan goes off almost without a hitch.
224	* UpperClassTwit: Otto sees Archie as this, Archie even seems to see himself as this a little bit.
225	* VideoCredits: Over the opening credits, to introduce the main players.
226	* VillainProtagonist: Three quarters of the main characters (Wanda, Otto, and Ken) are thieves looking to keep their loot (and at least in the case of the first two planning to betray their leader over it), and Archie [[FaceHeelTurn breaks bad]] during the film.
227	* VillainousRescue: When Archie's family comes home early during his affair with Wanda, [[CrazyJealousGuy Otto, who was there the whole time]] and is hiding behind a door, runs interference long enough to allow Wanda to slip away.
228	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Archie & Wanda (and Ken) get their happily ever afters, while Otto goes to work for the South African government... but they just left George sitting in jail. They didn't explicitly reveal what happened to him, but Archie told George that Wanda's statements in court meant that he was now certain to be jailed for a long time, and that only implicating Wanda, Ken, and Otto in the robbery could reduce the sentence. Since Archie never brought them to account, we can assume that George got the original, very long sentence. On the other hand, since it was quite apparent that his barrister was having a "relationship" with the key witness, it's possible that a mistrial could've been declared. And with basically no evidence left against George (Wanda having left for South America, and the key witness [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident bumped off]]) he certainly would have got off.
229	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Parodied: [[spoiler:Archie & Wanda move to Rio, have 17 kids, and fund a leper colony; Ken becomes Master of Ceremonies at London Sea World; Otto emigrates to South Africa ([[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra in the late 80s]]) and becomes Minister of Justice.]]
230	* WickedPretentious: Otto is a violent thug who thinks reading Nietzsche makes him much more intelligent and cultured than he really is.
231	-->'''Wanda:''' But you think you're an intellectual, don't you, ape?\
232	'''Otto:''' Apes don't read philosophy.\
233	'''Wanda:''' Yes they do, Otto. They just don't understand it.
234	* WilliamTelling: In the beginning, as the four thieves are about to get away with their bank heist, Otto pulls an apple out of his sack and places it on a bystander's head. He readies his crossbow, scaring the bystander, but he's stopped by Wanda before he can pull the trigger.
235	* XanatosSpeedChess: When Archie realizes what's going on and his wife threatens divorce, he quickly makes plans for himself -- and Wanda.
236	----
237	''My stutter! It's gone! How many tropes would a troper trope if a troper would trope tropes?''

Context Film / AFishCalledWanda