The Wrong Guys (1988)

Five former cub scouts have a reunion and go camping on the mountain they never conquered. High jinks ensue due to their childhood enemies and a group of escaped convicts who mistake them ... See full summary »

Director:

Danny Bilson

Writers:

Paul De Meo, Danny Bilson

Stars:

Louie Anderson, Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louie Anderson	...	Louie
Richard Lewis	...	Richard
Richard Belzer	...	Belz
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Franklyn
Tim Thomerson	...	Tim
Brion James	...	Glen Grunski
Biff Manard	...	Mark Grunski
John Goodman	...	Duke Earle
Ernie Hudson	...	Dawson
Timothy Van Patten	...	J.T.
Bunny Summers	...	Louie's Mom
Carole White	...	Ginger Grunski (as Carol Ita White)
Garth Winsome	...	Marsha Grunski
Dion Zamora	...	Kid Louie
Joshua Horowitz	...	Kid Richard

Storyline

Five former cub scouts have a reunion and go camping on the mountain they never conquered. High jinks ensue due to their childhood enemies and a group of escaped convicts who mistake them for an FBI unit.

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Plot Keywords:

grand teton national park | reunion | mountain | escaped convict | cub scout | 

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Taglines:

What "Stripes" did to the army, what "Police Academy" did to law enforcement...these guys do to scouting!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A legutolsó cserkész

Filming Locations:

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,152,786

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All five of this film's lead actors (Louie Anderson, Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer, Franklyn Ajaye, and Tim Thomerson) have backgrounds in stand-up comedy, and this film was largely an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of televised stand-up in the mid-to-late 1980s and the relative fame of these comics.

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Goofs

When Franklin is answering a call of nature in the woods, you can see the beam from his flashlight reflect off the screen from his left side.

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Quotes

J.T.: Duke! The Pancake!

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Crazy Credits

After the credits the boys are talking about changing their mascot.

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Connections

References Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)

User Reviews

Decent comedy.

"The Wrong Guys" may never be as funny as one might wish it to be, but truthfully it does get by on the likability of the characters and does generate enough laughs to make it pleasant viewing. It's written by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, the guys who'd written the cult favourite low budget sci-fi item "Trancers", with Bilson also serving as director. A quintet of stand-up comedians play the main characters, Cub Scouts as children who get together as grown men for an outing. However, they will face opposition not only from their long ago bullying nemeses the Grunski brothers, but an escaped criminal psychopath (John Goodman) who mistakenly thinks them to be FBI agents. All of the main characters fit into comfortable roles tailored to their own personalities: top-billed Louie Anderson is the upbeat guy with the can-do attitude who marshals the others when it needs to be done, Tim Thomerson, a.k.a. "Jack Deth" of "Trancers" is still the surfer dude, Richard "Belz" Belzer is the sleazy womanizer, Richard Lewis the insufferable neurotic, and Franklyn Ajaye the touchy-feely radio therapist. With such a cast on hand, it's quite possible some of their best lines were improvised. Lewis's misadventures with a cot provide a highlight, while the Grunskis do battle with a nefarious squirrel and Tim and Belz attempt to hook up with some of the ladies at a nearby retreat. The top notch cast also includes Brion James and Biff Manard as the Grunskis, Ernie Hudson and Timothy Van Patten as Goodman's reluctant companions, Art La Fleur as pancake restaurant boss Woody Winslow (it's therefore noteworthy that this movie reunites him, Manard, and Thomerson as they were ALL in "Trancers"), Rita Rudner as Pam, Carole Ita White as one of the Grunski wives, Josh Saviano and Jonathan Brandis as the young Belz and Tim, Lenny Clarke as the cab driver, and Kathleen Freeman and Alice Ghostley in cameo appearances at the end. Maybe the humour is at times a little childish and silly, but nobody going into this should really expect anything more. It never really gets too unpleasant, and the cast all do a nice job; James and Manard are a hoot as the Grunskis. At least the movie doesn't go on any longer than it needs to. Six out of 10.