Review of The Cable Guy (1996) by Brian P — 02 Mar 2011

Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick give it just the right "twist."(the password is "nipple!") Jim Carrey plunges into the demonic as a cable-TV installer ``who can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

'' Seemingly babysat by the boob tube as a child...the disturbing mixture of psychopath and lonely soul bred from his mother's ignorance lights up the screen with his lispy, yet comedic dialogue.

("would you like some ju-uuice?"..after informing his would-be friend Steven Kovacs(played by Matt Broderick)that he brought and paid for a prostitute, rather than a "chance" meet-and-sleep) Chosen by the cable guy to be his buddy/victim, the earnest Kovacs is also the only character to root for in this movie.

The film, directed by Ben Stiller, takes a promising leap when it suggests that everybody is a slave to the tube...which in this digital age...is not that bad of a suggestion...Steven is shown nursing his broken heart by watching Tony Robbins infomercials and relentlessly channel surfing.

He even uses the TV as an aid in getting his girlfriend back. One of the funniest moments(besides the basketball game, where Carrey's charachter uses a bent-over player's back to sky to the hoop for a slam-dunk the rim and shatter the backboard to the sound of Filter's "Hey Man, Nice Shot").

..was the "battle" scene at the theme restaurant "Medival Times" when the Cable freak re-creates dialogue from the season 2 episode of the original Star Trek series, "Amok Time".

.where Spock appears to kill Kirk in a Vulcan mating ritual-related battle....music and everything! Hilarious! If you like cheese and have extensive TV trivia knowledge...and are entertained by the wackiness of Carrey to the straight-man-type Broderick.

..you'll love this film!