The Cable Guy

Regardless of what people say, this movie has some very funny moments scattered throughout. When I first saw this movie, I will admit I didn't find it that funny. But it's one of those movies that grows on you with time. Even if you don't like it at first, give it some time. You have to accept this movie for what it is. A dark comedy aimed at poking fun of the lighter things in life. Jim Carrey obviously carries the movie with his infamous quirkiness, but Matthew Broderick holds his own as the anal retentive guy which he is great at playing. Whether you are talking about the Midevil Times restaurant scene or the karaoke scene, this movie is a gem. Highly recommended.

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.

Jim Carrey has only been better than this in two movies, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and "Man on the Moon", but both were more or less dramatic roles. Aside from the classic "Dumb and Dumber", none of his comedy roles can even begin to compare to his superb, electric performance here. Most people I know don't really enjoy this, but that's because they can't really relate, or they don't want to. Carrey plays 'Chip Douglas' (which might be his real name, or it might not), a Cable Guy brought up on TV and movies. His performance works so well because he normally goes too far with his antics, making himself seem annoying on occasion, rather than funny. Here, he plays a lunatic, so there are no limits for him to adhere to, and where he would normally seem over the top (the Medieval Times sequence), he is genuinely hilarious.

Now, I might not be a cable guy, but I'd be lying if I said that I don't spew lines from random movies out of nowhere, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an obsession. Maybe it makes fellow fanatics a bit unsettled to see themselves compared to maniacs like Chip (which is probably why the critics assaulted this as well). Although this is by and large Carrey's movie, there is no doubt that Matthew Broderick, Jack Black, and Leslie Mann help elevate this film further with excellent performances. Ben Stiller has directed a few other films, but none of them even come close to matching this. He keeps a perfect balance between the dark and the funny, so "The Cable Guy" doesn't come across as too mean or sadistic. He also shows up in a running gag as a former child star from a cheesy old sitcom who shoots his own brother and goes to court, a trial whose verdict is highly anticipated by pretty much everyone. Owen Wilson has another great cameo as a cocky ass who takes Steven's (Broderick) girlfriend (Mann) on a date and gets assaulted by Chip when he goes to the washroom.

I have never seen a movie like "The Cable Guy", and chances are you haven't either. This is a great movie and one of my personal favorites. It's important you don't watch this expecting a cheery slapstick comedy. If you know what to expect, this will be a fun time.

8/10

Some people really hated the movie. I saw it, I'll note I saw it on video and frankly I loved it. I think this was the start of Carrey really coming out although it has a couple of crude jokes I could have done without. You really feel for Broderick who starts out having a slightly annoying friend and ends up dealing with a stalker! Somehow the stalker goes from being exceedingly annoying to outsiders gaining acceptance from everybody around his victim. He casts a spell having his victim believe that he is in danger of losing everything if he does not co-operate with his tomentor. Anyway, if you like a bit of light dark comedy and order a pizza, I think the movie is worth a watch.

This is the first comment I've ever written, so I thought I'd right it about my favorite movie. This is one of the only two 10's I've ever given, and not just because it's underrated, which it is. This is one of the most hilarious movies I've ever seen, and easily the best dark comedy ever conceived. Ben Stiller is a great director, Jim Carrey is amazing, and Broderick isn't as annoying as everyone says he is. The only possible reason this movie's rating is so low is that many people watched this thinking they were watching another dumb and silly Jim Carrey comedy. This movie is actually very smart. So, if you watch this movie knowing that it is not the usual Jim Carrey fare, you will probably love this movie as much as I did.