The Wrong Guy is Dave Foley's first big post-Kids in the Hall project. I think he either produced it shortly before or during his time on NewsRadio. It's about Nelson Hibbert who finds his boss dead and goes on the run thinking that everyone thinks he murdered his boss. But everyone knows the who really murdered his boss and are after the real murderer while poor inept Nelson tries to make his way to Mexico.
I finally got to see it with my wife after wanting to see it for so many years and I don't think either of us have laughed at a movie this much in a while.
The Wrong Guy also proves how out of touch Hollywood can be about what the public wants to see. Which is the reason we have a glut of really lazy computer animated movies on the market with throwaway plots.
But that's a tale for another time.
I remember seeing an interview with Dave Foley on Late Night with Conan O'Brien back in either 1995 or 1996. It was just after the KITH television series ended and I think around the time their movie Brain Candy came out.
In the interview Dave Foley mentioned that he had filmed a movie called The Wrong Guy which had been shelved by Disney. It should be mentioned that Disney has had a history of shelving projects they felt were unsuitable.
Case in point Tim Burton's Frankenweenie.
But at the time Dave Foley in his usual wry wit stated that the reason the film was shelved was that "Disney cherished the movie too much to want to share it". After seeing a clip from the film which Dave's character tries to jump on a train but falls out the other side, I was horrified that they would shelve this project. Because it looked like it could be really funny.
And then fifteen or sixteen years on I'm horrified all the more watching a really funny film and feeling like it never got the audience it deserved in the theaters.
I would imagine the exec's at Disney had never heard of Kids in the Hall and thought they were a rap group or a boy band. Keep in mind this is the same Disney that signed Insane Clown Posse to a recording contract just because they had the word "clown" in their name.
The scene that left me in stitches is when Dave's character Nelson is in the forest ravenously eating poison berries and then comes by this obviously poisonous toadstool which he very nonchalantly eats only to be heaving his guts out behind at tree in the very next scene.
The supporting cast is great too with David Anthony Higgins of Higgins Boys and Gruber and Malcolm in the Middle fame as probably the worst cop ever and Jennifer Tilly as Nelson's narcoleptic love interest. Even KITH alum Kevin MacDonald makes a cameo.
Don't watch this movie expecting something deep or intellectual. Watch this movie expecting something very simple and silly and have a good laugh. Give this movie a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.
1 comment:
Great review. I felt the same way when I saw it. It pains me to think that if this film had been given a shot in theaters Dave Foley would have had a huge film career. He's done plenty of work but he always had/has smaller supporting roles but watching this it becomes very obvious that he was born to be a leading man. Dave always manages to be funny while never dumbing himself down or losing his razor sharp wit. Always clever and if I may say so, sexy as hell!
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