One of the most darkly-humorous scenes in Hitchcock's oeuvre is the moment in 'North by Northwest (1959)' when Cary Grant witnesses a murder in the United Nations building, and, before hundreds of witnesses, suddenly finds himself with his hands on the murder weapon. The makers of 'The Wrong Guy (1997)' had evidently been watching their Hitchcock. In one hysterical scene, protagonist Nelson Hibbert (played by Dave Foley) inadvertently does everything in his power to give the impression that he murdered his boss. He didn't, of course, and the police have already disregarded him as a suspect, but Nelson nevertheless strikes out for the Mexican border with the belief that he is the most wanted man in America.
'The Wrong Guy' has a style of humour very much in the vein of "The Kids in the Hall," the oddball Canadian comedy troupe of which Foley was a member (he was also the voice of Flik in 'A Bug's Life (1998)'). The screenplay, co-written by Foley, also has a reference to the classic "Citizen Kane" sketch from the TV series. However, despite an extremely funny first half, in which our hero manages to dig himself into a deeper and deeper rut, the film loses some steam in its final act, when Nelson winds up in a stereotypical American town and falls for a small-town girl suffering from unexpected bouts of narcolepsy. Well worth a look, but not the classic it could have been.
'The Wrong Guy' has a style of humour very much in the vein of "The Kids in the Hall," the oddball Canadian comedy troupe of which Foley was a member (he was also the voice of Flik in 'A Bug's Life (1998)'). The screenplay, co-written by Foley, also has a reference to the classic "Citizen Kane" sketch from the TV series. However, despite an extremely funny first half, in which our hero manages to dig himself into a deeper and deeper rut, the film loses some steam in its final act, when Nelson winds up in a stereotypical American town and falls for a small-town girl suffering from unexpected bouts of narcolepsy. Well worth a look, but not the classic it could have been.