The Wrong Guys
1988 film by Danny Bilson

The Wrong Guys is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Danny Bilson.
Plot
Thirty years ago Louie Anderson was the leader of a group of Cub Scouts, Den 7: "The Owl Patrol", consisting of himself, neurotic Richard, ladies' man Belz, smooth talking Franklin and surfer dude Tim. Although an accomplished troop, they fail in their attempt to earn the coveted "Arrow of Light" badge by camping on Mount Whitehead, getting lost and having to call their mothers for help. They also face daily harassment from Glen and Mark Grunsky, two bullies that were kicked out of the den.
Decades later they have all gone their separate ways, except for Louie who lives in the same house and reminisces about his glory days as a Cub Scout. He decides to track down all his old friends and have a reunion. Belz is a famous fashion designer, Richard is a dentist, Tim teaches surfing and Franklin is a therapist with a radio show. When they gather at Louie's house they are shocked to see how little it has changed and even more shocked when he proposes that they go on a camping trip to finally conquer Mount Whitehead.
Meanwhile, a dangerous criminal named Duke Earle has escaped prison with two accomplices. After shooting up a restaurant he decides they should lie low in a cabin on Whitehead, where his uncle used to live.
The public source identifies “The Wrong Guys” as 1988 film by Danny Bilson. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wrong, Guys and film.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4421648. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Wrong Guys” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.