in 2016, "empire" magazine ranked "a fish called wanda" 35th on their list of the 100 best british films. they called it "a must-own for any british comedy fan". they said, "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".