His barrister becomes a central figure – and jealousies rage – as femme fatale Wanda seduces him to locate the loot.

It received three nominations at the 61st Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Kline, which he would go on to win.

[5] London-based gangster George Thomason plans a jewel heist with his right-hand man, Ken Pile, an animal lover with a stutter.

They bring in two Americans: con artist Wanda Gershwitz and weapons expert Otto West, a volatile anglophobe.

They return to collect the loot, with Wanda planning to double-cross Otto as well, but it is gone: suspecting duplicity, George had moved it to a safe deposit box and given Ken the key.

He is in a loveless marriage and quickly falls for her, but Otto's jealous interference causes their liaisons to go disastrously wrong.

When Wanda accidentally leaves her locket at Archie's house his wife, Wendy, finds it and delightedly assumes it was a gift for her.

Promising less prison time, Archie asks George about the diamonds and learns of Otto and Wanda's complicity and that Ken knows their location.

With his career and marriage ruined, Archie resolves to cut his losses, throw in with her, steal the loot, and flee to South America together.

Archie painstakingly draws out from an uncontrollably stuttering Ken that the safe deposit box is at an airport hotel.

"[10] Cleese, admitting in press interviews that he had no knowledge of how to direct a film, served as co-director, since the studio executives at MGM were worried about Crichton's age—he was 78 at the time.

[6][7][11] On the set, Crichton wore a T-shirt presented to him by Cleese and inscribed "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill".

[22] In 2016, Empire magazine ranked A Fish Called Wanda 35th on their list of the 100 best British films, with their entry calling it "a must-own for any British comedy fan", adding, "it made possible Richard Curtis's later Brit-com oeuvre by establishing that British eccentricism can sell, revived the world's interest in Ealing comedies, and allowed a character with Cary Grant's real name – Cleese's bumbling lawyer Archie Leach – to live again on the big screen.

[27] James Berardinelli of ReelViews awarded the film four out of four stars in his review;[28] it is also number 10 on his "Top 100" list.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Smartly written, smoothly directed, and solidly cast, A Fish Called Wanda offers a classic example of a brainy comedy with widespread appeal.

"[30] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 80 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[31] According to CriticsTop10, "A Fish Called Wanda" appeared on over 60 critics' top ten lists, making it the fifth most acclaimed film of 1988.

[41] The principal cast reunited in 1997 for Fierce Creatures (dubbed an "equal" rather than a sequel or prequel, by Kline), playing different roles.