The Wrong Guys (1988) Reviews

• Pretty funny!!

  chaplins_charlie2003-01-25

  I saw this movie and thought it was pretty darn funny. The plot is original and the acting is true. Richard Belzer, Richard Louis and John Goodman were great. And Louie Anderson did a great job as the cute-as-a-button momma's boy!! 3 stars!!

• Better than you might think...

  Mr_Mirage2003-08-03

  Hindered by a lack of budget, in that what is really needed is a better hand at editing and cinematography, what remains is a silly, heartfelt romp. Look at the cast: John Goodman, Ernie Hudson, Louie Anderson, Richard Belzer and Richard Lewis. Each of the stand ups are given a chance to show off, most notably Lewis's dealing with a demon wood cot. Far from a perfect film, it has moments that anyone that camps for recreation with find almost unbearably funny, simply because it is true. Watching Lewis fight the cot, while another man is fighting one of those wretched tin tent stakes, trying to put up a Voyager style tent better suited for a MASH unit than an overnight camp, was so close to several of my own Cub Scout, and Boy Scout memories, that I was actually, indeed, laughing out loud. Here is a film that should be remade, with the original cast and script.

• Decent comedy.

  Hey_Sweden2012-01-29

  "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.

• It is what it is...

  nitannyguys2006-02-01

  No, "The Wrong Guys" isn't the funniest movie, and it may not be the most well made of films, but it is a fun movie to watch. It's stupid, good, clean fun made by a bunch of comics who clearly just wanted to do a movie together. Given the state of movies today, this one doesn't seem all that bad by comparison. Just how many sequels to "Scary Movie" can there be anyway? And "White Chicks"??? Give me a break. Give me Richard Belzer tumbling down a mountain-side and landing on a 30 year old pack of "Fizzies" any day of the week. The Gruntski Bros. are hilarious, and John Goodman is so over-the-top BAD that it's good. The scenes when these guys were kids are freaking outstanding: Belz sneaking up on Louie's older sister is classic. Does it get better than "The Wrong Guys"? Sure it does. But it gets a helluva lot worse too.

• I really liked this movie!

  mmm642005-10-30

  I recorded this movie off the TV years ago and it's still one of our favorites. Although I had labeled it Den 7 Reunion, I finally found out it is called The Wrong Guys. I think it's great, fun, entertainment, and John Goodman was great in this movie. This movie was made when movies were still good clean fun. Put yourself in the movie, imagine your old gang getting together after 30 years, going to the places you went to when you were 10 years old. Finding things you had lost back then. Having strange things pop up while being out in the boonies where you can't get any help and having to figure it out for yourselves while trying to run from a crazy mad man trying to kill you! Finding your engine in the tree and finding your old enemies after you at the same time! My kids really love this movie and I sure wish they would make more like it!