Il rompiscatole

This review is not coming from someone whose top ten films consist primarily of Farrelly Bros. films, nor do I have a particular liking for anyone involved in the film.

First of all, hats off to Jim Carrey. I read under the trivia section that his role wasn't originally intended for him, but be honest; can you see anyone else playing the cable guy? He was brilliant. He takes the film from what would have been a run-of-the-mill comedy, to levels of greatness, and anyone that thinks I'm being too kind either doesn't like Carrey (it was the film that made me do a complete turn around), or needs to see the film again.

The overall tone of the film is a bit of a mix, it gets darker as the story goes along, but the jokes never mollify. I mean, it's a stalker story with clever film and television references... It's really hard to pin down the identity of this film.

This ranks as Stiller's best directorial performance to date. Reality Bites and Zoolander are good, but not great. This film expresses a lot more of his prowess. I see him as a very capable film maker, he is just yet to make his mark with something more widely appreciated.

The Cable Guy is by no means a classic film, and admittedly, you wont see it on any AFI lists anytime soon, but there is no denying the quality effort that was put into this film by all of it's contributors. And there are many of them -- check out all of those cameos! Chip Douglas' (Carrey) contrived relationship with his customer Steven (Broderick) ranks as one of the most memorable in recent history. It has set a precedent in black comedies that has scarcely been touched since.

I would have seen this film at least 30 times by now and it still seems fresh, and this has lead me to believe that the film probably needs to be viewed more than once for it to completely appreciated. I only wish that there were more people out there that 'get' this gem.

This concludes our broadcast day. Click.

Following a failed marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Robin (Leslie Mann), architect Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick) moves into an apartment to reluctantly setup his single existence. Dealing with movers and waiting for The Cable Guy, he finally arrives in the form of eccentric Ernie "Chip" Douglas (Jim Carrey). On the advice of his best friend Rick (Jack Black), Steven asks Chip about a deal of slipping him $40 in exchange for full cable access which Chip agrees. Chip initiates friendship with Steven, who reluctantly accepts but as Chip ingrains himself more and more in Steven's life Steven gives him an ultimatum to leave him alone which doesn't go over well with Chip.

Written as a spec script by first (and one time) screenwriter Lou Holtz Jr., the project imitated as a What About Bob? Style "annoying friend" comedy inspired by Holtz seeing a cable guy at his mother's apartment building late at night. The script caused a bidding war which was eventually won by Columbia pictures for $750,000 plus an additional $250,000 if the movie got made. After failed attempts to get the script filmed with the likes of Chris Farley and Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey then came on board receiving an unprecedented $20 million salary for the role. Producer Judd Apatow was then hired and soon Ben Stiller as director marking the film as Stiller's sophomore directorial effort having previously 1994 dramedy Reality Bites. When Carrey, Apatow, and Stiller came aboard they liked the setup of someone tech savvy invading someone's life and opted to add more slapstick and darker tones making the film a satire of the various stalker thrillers of the 90s such as Cape Fear and The hand that Rocks the Cradle. When the movie was released in June of 1996, critical and audience reaction was mixed and the movie opened at Number 2 behind Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible. While some critics such as Gene Siskel appreciated the dark edge, others like Roger Ebert hated the film and even included it on the "worst of" year end lists. The movie is often thought to be a bomb and it really wasn't. While the movie didn't reach the heights of The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, or Batman Forever, it still made $102.8 million against its $47 million budget but depending on the marketing budget that could've definitely skewed the numbers. While the film is still as divisive today as it was back then, it has gone on to accumulate appreciation for its dark edge and off kilter sense of humor as well as its service as a "gateway" for Carrey to tackle more edgy material such as in Truman Show or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

What makes The Cable Guy work for me is the fact that its filmmaking style is near indistinguishable from how a 90s stalker thriller would be filmed. From the camera angles, the performances, to the various tropes incorporated, the entire cast and crew are treating this material as you would a contemporary stalker thriller of the time which serves as a counterpoint to the sillier and more outrageous antics that happen in the movie. Carrey is delightfully sinister in the role of "The Cable Guy" as he is this character of isolation whose mind has been poisoned by television and loneliness and now gravitates for any kind of human interaction to a ridiculous degree. Matthew Broderick makes a solid straight man to the antics of the movie as he's a very flawed character who like The Cable Guy also has emotional hang-ups such as his emotional neediness regarding his ex-girlfriend Robin. The fact Steven is flawed and not super likable makes it easier for us to laugh at The Cable Guy's antics that befall him whilst still fitting within the framework you'd expect from a thriller of this type. The movie features some truly inspired set pieces such as a sequence set at the restaurant Medieval Times that is quotable as all get out and features some solid work from Janeane Garofalo as the waitress and we also get a great karaoke sequence with Carrey's rendition of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love" brilliantly coordinated and crosscut with an unnerving seduction sequence that works as both dark comedy and part of the thriller setup.

The Cable Guy was unfairly maligned by audiences of the time and I'm happy it's gone on to gain some appreciation for the uniquely dark comedy that it is and not for failing to fall in line with the mold people expected of a Carrey film. Carrey would be unaffected by the disappointment of this movie scoring a monster hit the following year with Liar Liar and stretching his dramatic chops with the Peter Weir dramedy The Truman Show. There's a lot to appreciate in The Cable Guy and its undeniably a bold and uncompromising comedy that wasn't afraid to unnerve its audience.

I divide movie fans into two types - those that love The Cable Guy, and those that don't. The latter I try and avoid.

Welcome to the most misunderstood, unjustly dissed movie of the 90s! Even Homer Simpson hates it! I'm not going waste time trying to change anybody's mind on this gem. If you don't see the sheer brilliance of this you're beyond hope. All I can say is that it ROCKS in every way. Jim Carrey has never been better as the creepy, psycho stalker "Chip Douglas", and Matthew Broderick is wonderfully likeable as Chip's unsuspecting customer. Add to that a tremendously cool supporting cast of cult legends including Charles Napier, Janeane Garofolo, Eric Roberts, Mr. Show's Bob and David, Sean Whalen,Owen Wilson, Andy Dick and BOTH members of Tenacious D, among others.

Full of memorable sequences - the Karaoke jam, the Medieval theme restaurant, director Ben Stiller's recurring duel role - The Cable Guy is smart-as-a-whip, black, surreal, FUNNY, FUNNY stuff!

The Cable Guy has now all but been forgotten by the movie world. It was released when Jim Carrey was on his way to being the new A list comedian, and thus, was considered only a slightly funny version of 'Ace Venture'. or The Mask' Or whatever. Personally, I don't consider The Cable Guy a comedy at all. Sure, there are some side splitting moments - Carrey is hilarious alongside Matthew Broderick's by the numbers 'average Joe', but id suggest that anyone who was not taken in by this film to look at it a little differently...

This is a horror film. I swear!

For me, Chip Douglas does not come across to me as a harmless lisping clingy chump - HELL NO! The guy is a maniac. An obsessive, intelligent, controlling, stalking "Fatal Attraction" styled nutter!

Watch it again!

For me, this is Jim Carrey's career launching performance. He has a lisp right? after a while, you don't really notice it do you? Right. This is an incredibly difficult task for an actor - maintaining a speech impediment for an entire film, keeping it level, and not exaggerating it, its really something to take a look at. Carrey's character is sick, and very very creepy. With Broderick et al giving relatively standard performances, Carrey's performance is a stand out, and Ben Stiller should be proud of this film and what it lead to in terms of Jim Carrey's career.

Trust me, if you didn't like this, take another look, and prepare to be freaked out by a very not funny, very creepy Carrey performance...

8/10

When first released, Cable Guy was such an unusual departure for Jim Carrey and his usual slapstick, manic, goofy comedies that people just didn't understand it or like it. When word of Carrey's enormous $20 million paycheck for this film spread, hopes were high that Cable Guy would be smothered in Carrey's slice of hilarious dementia to the extreme.

Carrey certainly brought an air of craziness to Chip Douglas, a lonely, TV-addicted, and creepy cable installer who befriends the unwilling Matthew Broderick (here, looking just nervous and bewildered for the entire film). But something was missing from this Carrey vehicle from the others: he was not all fun and games. In fact, he was downright funny weird, not funny haha.

So here lies one of the major problems people have with this film: it veers from dark comedy into darkness, period. Carrey isn't making an ass of himself in every scene. No. Instead, Carrey's Chip Douglas is an obsessive, extreme, two-faced sociopath. The result? What would be Jim Carrey's best performance to date, surpassed only by his Truman Burbank in The Truman Show.

Sure, it's got a story that's been done to death: normal guy meets psycho and is stalked. But oh, what fun it is to see Jim drag Matthew Broderick into such uncomfortable situations as playing Porno Password with his parents (Carrey whispering "Nipple" into Broderick's ear is absolute brilliance).

Cable Guy is definitely not for fans who want to see Jim Carrey do what created his career; that is, silly, goofy, and flailing comedy. However, avid fans of black comedies will love seeing Carrey's first step in his evolution as a gifted, serious, and undeniably interesting actor.

8 out of 10.