1980s Forgotten Comedy Is Jam-Packed With Stars, Stream Without Netflix
A film with a cast of popular comedic talent should never go unnoticed, but that’s exactly what happened in 1988 with the release of The Wrong Guys. Packed with the likes of Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer, and John Goodman, the movie should have been a decent box office draw even in the early days of the performers’ careers. But this sadly overlooked comedy from nearly four decades ago can now be streamed for free, giving those who missed it in the 80s a chance to experience its zaniness.
Louie Wants To Turn Back The Clock
Middle-aged Louie (Louie Anderson) decides to attempt reliving what he feels are the best years of his life when he tracks down all the men that he led in Cub Scouts Den 7 thirty years ago.
Still living in his childhood home, Louie is the only member that hasn’t moved away and seems stuck in a rut that stems from his former troop’s failure to earn the program’s Arrow of Light badge after a botched attempt to camp overnight on nearby Mount Whitehead.
But he manages to reassemble the old troop and make another crack at earning the badge that eluded them, if only in spirit.
The Cast
The Wrong Guys sees Louie joined by Belz (Richard Belzer), Richard (Richard Lewis), Tim (Tim Thomerson), and Franklin (Franklin Ajaye) gather at Louie’s home where the troop is baffled by how Louie’s home and bedroom look exactly like they did in their childhoods.
Though skeptical about Louie’s proposition, they all agree to climb up on top of the mountain for a trip, not knowing that the notorious criminal Duke Earl (John Goodman) is hiding out in a mountain cabin after a daring break from prison.
Troop 7
Adding comedic elements to Troop 7’s endeavor are the Grunsky brothers (Brion James and Biff Manard), two miscreants who were kicked out of Troop 7 three decades before for their bad behavior.
The Grunsky brothers spotted their former troop members on their way out of town and discovered Louie’s plans to camp on Mount Whitehead. They decide to follow the troop members secretly so that they can exact revenge for their expulsion.
The Wrong Guys takes a serious turn when Louie and Troop 7 arrive on top of Mount Whitehead and a hidden Duke Earl spots them and mistakenly takes them for FBI agents that have come hunting for him.
Louie and his friends face off with a bevy of obstacles that include a suspected ax-murderer, revenge-minded former scouts, and a heavily armed and psychotic Duke Earl. To survive, Troop 7 will have to rely on their Cub Scout training, a long-overdue truce, and some good luck.
Goodman’s Ignored Performance
The Wrong Guys assembles some of the greatest comedic talent from the 1980s and inserts them into a script that is as ridiculous as it is hilarious. Louie Anderson takes his awkward persona to new levels, playing a loveable and pathetic adult loser that sadly peaked at age 11.
John Goodman gives one of his most unsung performances as Duke Earl, playing a gun-wielding psychopath to absolute perfection.
Seeing a young Richard Belzer and Richard Lewis adds even more desirability to rewatch this film. With so much talent involved and a fun script to guide them, it’s a wonder that The Wrong Guys was forgotten almost immediately after it’s release.
With ticket sales that barely brought in a paltry $1 million, interested audiences are lucky the movie managed to have VHS and DVD releases available.
Stream It Now
GFR SCORE
Without cable channels running the movie in the early 1990s, The Wrong Guys might have slipped into film oblivion.
But it has a small cult following and is sure to expand its base as fans of the late Belzer and Lewis have been digging into their early works since the comedians’ deaths.
The Wrong Guys is far from a cinematic masterpiece, but is a film worth watching for sight gags and goofiness. It rustles up 3.0/5.0-stars.
You can stream The Wrong Guys for free with Pluto TV.
