The Wrong Guy (1997)

Name: The Wrong Guy
Genre: Comedy, Thriller
Released: 1997-08-01
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 6.8
Cast: Dave Foley, David Anthony Higgins, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Flaherty, Dan Redican

The Wrong Guy (1997), directed by David Steinberg, starring Dave Foley and David Anthony Higgins.

08/01/1997 BR Comedy and Thriller 1h 32m

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Quiz about this movie

A fugitive in his own mind.

Synopsis

Nelson Hibbert expects to become the new president of Nagel Industries, but Mr. Nagel gives the promotion to another employee. When Nelson barges into Nagel's office to confront him, he finds Nagel's been murdered. Fearing that he will be implicated, Nelson decides to run from the law...despite the fact that the police already know the killer's identity.

David A. MakinCinematography
David SteinbergDirector
Christopher CooperEditing
Jon SlanProducer

About the film

The Wrong Guy is a 1997 Canadian black comedy film directed by David Steinberg, and starring Dave Foley, along with David Anthony Higgins, Jennifer Tilly, Colm Feore and Joe Flaherty. It was written by Foley, Higgins and Jay Kogen.

The script was inspired by a sketch Foley wrote during his days with The Kids in the Hall.

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The script was inspired by a sketch Foley wrote during his days with The Kids in the Hall.

Synopsis

Dorky executive Nelson Hibbert gets passed over for a promotion after spending years angling for the job, including engagement to one of his boss's daughters. He reacts angrily, swearing to kill the boss as security drags him away. When he later discovers his boss – already murdered – he assumes that he will be blamed. He flees, unaware that security cameras have already identified the true killer.

Chaotic events transpire and what follows is a bizarre series of misadventures marked with slapstick routines and constant one-liners. Nelson tries to escape to Mexico, but along the way he frequently encounters both the real killer and the police, causing the killer to mistake him for a government agent and make frequent attacks on his life. Nelson meets a narcoleptic farm girl named Lynn and falls in love with her, only for them both to end up as the killer's hostages. It turns out that Ken Daly, who got the promotion, had the company president killed in order to gain the spot quickly. Detective Arlen finally catches up with the killer and hostages, having halfheartedly pursued them while using the investigation as an excuse to spend police money on fancy dinners and broadway shows. The police capture the killer and Hibbert resolves to marry Lynn, having realized he must leave the rat race and live a simpler life, but he is instantly convinced by Lynn to return to Cleveland with her instead.

Cast

The members of Barenaked Ladies made cameos as singing policemen.

Response

Awards

Film Discovery Jury Award (U.S. Comedy Arts Festival) - Best Screenplay Dave Foley, David Anthony Higgins, Jay Kogen

Critical reception

The film holds an 84% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5000+ audience reviews.

In 2023, Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail named the film as one of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.

References

External links

The Wrong Guy at IMDb

The Wrong Guy at Rotten Tomatoes

Text from The Wrong Guy on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrong_Guy

Trivia

It premiered on August 1, 1997, a Friday.
It runs 1h32 — a typical feature length.
This film's quiz has 13 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosHandmade Films, Paragon Entertainment Corporation
CountriesCanada, United Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

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Cast

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Crew

David A. Makin Cinematography
David Steinberg Director
Christopher Cooper Editing
Jon Slan Producer
Lawrence Shragge Original music
Dave Foley Writer
David Anthony Higgins Writer
Jay Kogen Writer

Questions about this film

What is The Wrong Guy about?

The Wrong Guy: Nelson Hibbert expects to become the new president of Nagel Industries, but Mr. Nagel gives the promotion to another employee. When Nelson barges into Nagel's office to confront him, he finds Nagel's been murdered. Fearing that he will be implicated, Nelson decides to run from the law...despite the fact that the polic…

Who directed The Wrong Guy?

The Wrong Guy was directed by David Steinberg in 1997.

Who stars in The Wrong Guy?

The cast of The Wrong Guy includes Dave Foley, David Anthony Higgins, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Flaherty and Dan Redican.

How long is The Wrong Guy?

The Wrong Guy runs for 92 minutes, or 1h32.