While most of the films I will cover in this series are ones I haven’t watched this century (or close to it), there will be some I have seen more recently, and The Cable Guy is one of them. I know some people don’t like Ben Stiller as an actor (I think he’s great more often than not). He’s a top tier comedy director as far as I’m concerned. The Cable Guy isn’t a perfect film, but it’s a good film beyond being a mere comedy movie. It was widely panned upon release because comedies were fairly light-hearted fare at the time and Jim Carrey was too beloved at the time for audiences to want to see him as a creepy, psychotic stalker. Roger Ebert started his 1996 review by saying, “We want to like Jim Carrey. A movie that makes us dislike him is a strategic mistake”. At the time, I understand the sentiment. However, it doesn’t apply 25 years later.
To me, that’s always been the genius of this film. It takes a likeable actor who is liked for being zany and silly who breaks out into histrionics yet there’s something wholesome about his characters, an undeniable charm that makes us like his characters because we see the innocence there. As Chip Douglas, Carrey uses that affability to lure in Steven (Matthew Broderick) who is lonely after breaking up with Robin (Leslie Mann, the second film she happened to be in a row for me) and eventually he really plays it up to turn Robin and Steven’s family against Steven. In effect, the film does trick the audience in the same way by showing us a man who at first appears to be a wacky yet overbearing, socially awkward cable guy trying too hard to make a friend quickly and slowly revealing that he is an obsessed, deranged stalker who would be quite frightening if they truly existed…and it’s already too late to get away clean.
And in terms of Carrey’s performance, you don’t have to look much further than the Porno Password scene or the Medieval Times scene to see why his work was so unfairly maligned back in 1996. What we see in this film is his dramatic chops waiting to be freed. And we do get that trademark Carrey innocence at the end where Chip kind of manages to become likeable by revealing his trauma. He’s still emotionally a child who was raised by abuse and neglect, now trapped in a cycle of loneliness and a fear of abandonment that impels him to aggressively insert himself into people’s lives and then punish them when they try to cut him loose because he’s suffocating and insane. Despite his obviously dangerous tendencies towards others, he’s a tragic character, the sort that no doubt exist in great numbers today, woefully neglected as a child, longing for the human connection entertainment and the internet seems to provide yet doesn’t. Before the credits we’re left with Steven and Robin seemingly happy to be with each other and hopeful that Chip might finally get the help he needs. The viewer, however, sees the truth in Chip’s smile when the medic makes the tragic mistake of calling him “buddy”.
The film works to me as a character study and as one big troll to lure in an unsuspecting audience and unnerve them during a comedy. Is it funny? Sure. Is it hilarious like Tropic Thunder or Zoolander? No. But what this film has over them is a good story, strong characters backed by solid performances, and the humour comes from the situations and characters rather than jokes or sight gags. The humour works because it’s at the service of something dark, such as the “OH BILLY!” scene where it’s implied Chip Douglas’s behavior is going get Steven raped by the prisoner who winks and blows a kiss to him: this is not played to be funny, but disturbing, which makes it funny. I think The Cable Guy is definitely a film where you need a dark sense of humour to enjoy it. Not because it deals with horrible, over the top material like Very Bad Things so much as the film is daring you to laugh at a veritable psycho ruining someone’s life one step at a time for pretty much no reason. Come on, the hair plugs scene that causes Steven to lose his job! That’s classic stuff.
There is some pretty pointed satire in the film too, manly revolving around the world’s fascination with the Hollywood Twin murder trial (Ben Stiller plays the twins) that is a clear riff on the fixation everyone had on the OJ Simpson Murder trial. Some of the best laughs involve this side plot, like the made for TV movie starring Eric Roberts or the 9-1-1 call at the trial. And this is where the film’s main theme comes in, the dangers of mass media mostly in terms of affecting the mental health of people, with the central idea of being addicted to it, and the need for information that is usually irrelevant or superficial.
With Chip Douglas talking about the information super highway and taking virtual tours and playing Mortal Kombat with a friend in Vietnam, essentially the advent of the internet, it’s a prescient message. While the film’s focus is on television, if you expand the theme to TV/streaming with binge watching, online games or social media and constantly communicating, it’s pretty telling of where we’ve kind of ended up as a society. And I love how one of the people anxiously waiting the verdict before all the cable goes out notices a book beside him, starts reading it, and a smile goes over his face like he’s discovered something magical. It’s so cheesy and corny and it’s clearly supposed to be. So gloriously hammy! I like a film that can have a message and also mock films with messages in one fell swoop.
Think of all the hair plugs you can fit in this baby.
While I talked up Jim Carrey’s work, Broderick also deserves a major shutout. He plays this difficult role so well. He has to seem sad and lonely while also letting us know his breakup with Robin was probably his fault, but he’s also not a bad guy. He has to be good at his job yet be bitter he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He has to be both nice to and affronted by Chip, and seem like a dick in blowing off Chip while making us understand why he’s doing it. We have to believe how horrible his life is once Chip starts destroying it and he has to react in a way that makes sense under the stress and pressure to us yet also seems incredibly mean and prickish to the other characters (that’s what makes the Porno Password scene so great). He’s constantly walking a tightrope in this performance. Sometimes he says/does something the reasonable or understandable way, and other times he says/does something in a way that kind of makes him deserve to be taught a lesson, just not to the extent Chip teaches him. He's the ideal actor to play someone so easily victimized by Chip.
Jack Black telling Jim Carrey he'll be way more successful in 20 years.
Leslie Mann is also very good in her role. It would be really easy for the film to make Robin seem like a real bitch for breaking up with Steven. Yet coupled with the solid writing and performance, we mostly understand what a solid woman Steven lost because she’s pretty, sweet and understanding. The Cable Guy is also an early Jack Black supporting role, of which he had plenty during the 90s. As Steven’s friend who sees through Chip’s act, he’s does his job well. He’s like Broderick but to a lesser extent since at time he seems like an asshole who’s threatened by Steven having a new friend, but at other times we understand his anger and distrust of Chip. There’s also great small early role by Owen Wilson as a douche Robin goes on a date with. He’s just smarmy enough that when Chip assaults him in the bathroom we think he deserves it when it’s really a felony being committed! When you add up all the smaller roles in this movie, it’s got a solid supporting cast of characters and performances.
Say wow again! I dare you, I double dare you to say wow one more goddamn time!
I’d be pretty remiss if I didn’t take a moment to discuss the nightmare Steven has near the end that perfectly manages to ride the line between being quite funny and quite creepy at once. It’s really well shot and edited. The green contacts straight out of Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight were a nice touch, as is the feverish keyboard music. In terms of narrative it also shows the mental toll Chip has taken on Steven after most of the movie has played so all around it’s an A+ dream scene in presentation and function. And dreams tend to be pretty cringe worthy.
Actually what Jim Carrey looks like when he sees Emma Stone
If this hasn’t been clear enough so far, I really like The Cable Guy and I think it’s the rare film that aged to become even better than it was when it existed originally in 1996. It’s a perfect example of a film that came out before its time. So if you haven’t seen The Cable Guy since the 90s or you remember watching it when it released out and you hated it, watch it again with fresh eyes. You may find you really like this unfairly maligned film.