The Wrong Guy



A 1997 comedy film starring Dave Foley, Jennifer Tilly, David Anthony Higgins and Colm Feore.

Nelson Hibbert (Foley) is a slightly obnoxious executive who will do anything he can to get to the top. His boss is just about to announce the new president of the company, and Nelson thinks it's going be himself. Of course, it's not, and Nelson ends up yelling death threats at his boss while being dragged away by security. And, to make matters worse, a few minutes later Nelson's boss is murdered, and Nelson is the first one to discover the body. The police already know who the real killer is, and it's not Nelson. However, the extremely paranoid Nelson does not know this, and, fearing that he will be framed, goes on the run. Hilarity Ensues as Nelson frequently crosses paths with both the cops and the real killer at the worst times possible.

Unfortunately, the film only received a theatrical release in Canada, and it was only released direct-to-video in the U.S. Thus, not many people have seen it. However, it's well worth tracking down, as it Needs More Love, big time.

This film contains examples of:
"Cop: [The killer] did this somersault thing onto my squad car.
 * Actor Allusion: Nelson is constantly mistaken for a woman, a role David Foley played frequently (and convincingly) on The Kids in The Hall.
 * Air Vent Passageway: How the killer escapes the scene of Nelson's boss's murder. His escape is caught on security cameras, and Detective Arlen makes a point to mention how impressive his escape was to other people.

Detective Arlen: Yeah, he's good alright. I've seen him pull himself up into an air duct."


 * The Cameo: Dave Foley's fellow Kids in the Hall cast member Kevin McDonald shows up as a motel clerk.
 * It May Help You on Your Quest: Parodied. Nelson believes that two teabags and a sheet of wax paper will help him later, but when the right time comes, he has no idea what to do with them
 * Line-of-Sight Name: Nelson wakes up in a hospital; believing he's a wanted man, he needs a fake name. So he tries "Enemabag Jones". When the doctor isn't convinced he tries again, reading his fake name off her nametag.
 * Noodle Implements: Nelson is told its possible to kill someone with only two teabags and some wax paper. When attacked by the villain he waves these items around in the air since he has no idea how it's supposed to work.
 * Overly Long Gag: Nelson discovering his boss's dead body is essentially 3 minutes of Dave Foley screaming and trying wipe his boss's blood off himself. Another Overly-Long Gag: Nelson trying to check into the motel.
 * Running Gag: A lot of people think that Nelson is a woman. Also, Detective Arlen wants nothing to do with catching the killer, and is constantly using the police's funding of his case to his advantage.
 * Who Shot JFK?: The insane man who picks up the hitchhiking Nelson believes that "Kennedy's head just did that". He calls it "The No-Bullet Theory".