Review of The Cable Guy (1996) by Blake B — 14 Jul 2009

I like "The Cable Guy" a little more than a lot of people do because of its satire. If you look at the movie simply as a vehicle for Jim Carrey (who I also don't hate as much as a lot of people do), yeah, it's a bit of a disappointment. I liked his performance but I could have done without the superfluous lisp. The movie really shines as a black comedy and effective, if not perfect, satire of American TV-zombies (and theme restaurants). Sometimes when talking about "The Cable Guy" with other people, I wonder how so many people missed the point(s) of it all.

There are a lot of outstanding, tiny performances by Ben Stiller, Janeane Garafolo, Owen Wilson, Charles Napier, Eric Roberts, and David Cross. As in most of his early movies, though, Jack Black is a little jarring to see as a thinner, less manic character.

I recommend that people watch this movie for what it has to say, and to not focus so much on Carrey and Broderick. Carrey is essential to the story, but a little overactive at some points when he's not part of the satire (at which point he's perfect). Broderick isn't there so much as to take up space in the screenplay that's more focused on the message rather than the overall story of his relationship problems.