For some context, I want to pause for a minute and allow you, the reader, to accompany me back in time to the year 1996. This was the year that Al Gore was doing the Macarena, Alanis Morissette had the #1 album in the country, and “E.R.”, “Seinfeld”, and “Friends” were the top shows on TV. Also, of course, the biggest box office star on the planet (indeed the universe) was funnyman Jim Carrey. Carrey previously had starred in an impressive succession of blockbusters with “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”, “The Mask”, “Dumb and Dumber”, “Batman Forever”, and “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.” Because of his proven track record, Carrey became the first actor to be paid $20 million when he signed on to star in Ben Stiller’s “The Cable Guy.” Yes, I said, BEN STILLER. Yes, THE Ben Still from “There’s Something About Mary”, “Zoolander”, and “Tropic Thunder.” Many of you may not know that Stiller directed “The Cable Guy” (also produced and co-written by Judd Apatow who would later direct the “40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”), but he did. Anyway, the film was released in the summer of 1996 and was the subject of a lot of hype and publicity (mostly surrounding Carrey’s record making salary which set a precedent in Hollywood's deal structuring with future stars.) It was a summer that also touted blockbusters like “Twister”, “Mission Impossible”, and “Independence Day.” Carrey even hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in his career, and to highly rated success. Yes, “The Cable Guy” was being positioned as the motion picture comedy event of the summer. Why, just look at this trailer:
Some of you are probably thinking, “It looks pretty wacky; like a Jim Carrey movie usually does.” Yes, the Columbia Pictures marketing team did their best to sell this movie as another slapstick comedy (in the vein of Carrey’s other hits.) However, “The Cable Guy” was not really in the vein of those films at all, instead adopting a much darker tone (with Carrey playing less a loveable goofball and more a creepy stalker); instead, it was something much more unique. It was a dark satirical attack on how watching too much television could lead to violent anti-social behavior. Yes, the above trailer does not suggest even a HINT of that message, but it is pretty clear by the end of the movie. Carrey’s Chip Douglas is revealed to have been a person for whom the TV was always a babysitter. We see him as a child asking his mother when he will get a brother to play with. She responds (while dousing her hair with hairspray), “That is why Mommy is going to Happy Hour!” Not being adjusted to a normal family life (or even socializing with other kids) leads Chip down a dark path of social alienation, so troubling that…his real name isn’t even Chip Douglas! He makes up names for himself (based, no doubt, on the TV programs he consumed as a child) whenever he meets a potential new friend.
The new friend that he wants so desperately to possess is Steven, a man whose girlfriend has just dumped him and who also finds himself watching a lot of TV. At first, Steven can sense that Chip is a little odd (on their first “Date”, he takes him to see how the giant cable satellite works.) Over the course of their several adventures (including jousting at a Medieval Times themed restaurant and having a karaoke party where Chip covers “Somebody to Love”, by Jefferson Airplane) Steven realizes that Chip is far too clingy and may be causing more trouble than he is worth (especially in the scene where he finds out that the woman at the party that Chip sets him up with…was a prostitute. “You think a girl like that would hang out with us if we weren’t paying?” Chip asks matter of factly.) Chip desperately tries anything to keep from losing Steven, even violently assaulting another man interested in dating Steven’s ex-girlfriend (played by a hilariously smarmy Owen Wilson.) Eventually, Steven tells Chip “I just don’t have any room in my life for a new friend.” Steven parts ways, leaving Chip alone in the middle of the pouring rain (rain always being a visual metaphor for somber feelings in the movies.)
Soon, Steven’s life is turned completely upside down as Chip orchestrates a series of schemes that successfully get Steven fired from his job, thrown in jail, and even made to look like a complete jackass in front of everyone who cares about him most (including his best friend played by Jack Black, in a very straight role.) Finally, Steven must confront Chip once and for all (in an action climax comically inspired by “Goldeneye”) if he is ever going to get his life back to what it once was. One of the most interesting aspects of “The Cable Guy” is that the plot could be something out of any number of obsessed-stalker thrillers which were very popular in the 90’s ("Cape Fear", “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”, “Single White Female”, “Unlawful Entry”, ect.) Yet, this film is still able to successfully incorporate dark comedy, and some darker thematic elements, into it's thriller plot. The whole film seems as if Carrey, Stiller, and Apatow were intentionally, and courageously, trying to go against everything we, as the audience, had come to expect in a Jim Carrey movie (at that time.) Carrey brilliantly plays a character that couldn't be more different than any he had played before (Even Ace Ventura would find Chip Douglas to be an obnoxious pest.) Carrey’s performance paints a sad portrait of a man so lonely and consumed by television media that he is almost pathologically incapable of grasping what is considered acceptable human behavior. That he does this while also keeping the character funny, albeit darkly, is a testament to his brilliance as an actor. This performance would later pave the way for his best performances: Truman Burbank, Andy Kaufman, and his character in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
It’s really unfortunate that the initial reception of this movie was so bad. Maybe it was the expectations most people had for what they expected from a Jim Carrey movie; maybe some thought it was just too soon to make the biggest star on the planet play such a deeply troubled & unpleasant character (is this what they pay stars $20 million to do, some asked?) It was a minor box office success (but still coming no where near the numbers of Carrey’s previous hits) but was met with mostly negative critical reviews (Roger Ebert called it one of the years 10 worst movies! Although his partner, Gene Siskel did like it.) I’ve always concluded that “The Cable Guy” was a vastly underrated film; a film with a great cast (in addition to Broderick, Black, and Wilson, there is also Leslie Mann, Eric Roberts, Janeane Garofalo, and even Still himself) accompanied by a wildly courageous performance from Jim Carrey and a strong offbeat visual style in Stiller’s wonderful direction. Yes, It’s dark; its thematic undercurrent, satirizing the evils of watching too much TV, is troubling. But it is also a sharp, edgy, manically funny, & wickedly subversive comedy whose satirical targets also include the media's seemingly never-ending coverage of celebrity scandals, popular TV shows & movies, and finally, the wisdom of turning off the TV once in awhile, and reading something.
Blu Ray Details:
"The Cable Guy" looks and sounds terrific on Blu-Ray! Yes, there's going to be a little graininess (it was made in 1996!), but it is not distracting. There are some very interesting special features including:
-Deleted Scenes
-HBO First Look
-Gag Reel
-Rehearsal Footage
-A Jerry Cantrell Music Video
But the best special feature is an audio commentary recorded by Judd Apatow, Ben Stiller, & Jim Carrey. These three guys need to do more commentary's because they are equally hilarious and informative. Not only do they talk about the movie, but they also talk quite openly about the notorious backlash that came afterwards. Needless to say, they remain proud of their work. This is an excellent commentary and worth the price of the Blu Ray, especially if you are a fan of this movie!
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