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".