Review of The Cable Guy (1996) by Mikhail B — 05 Aug 2011

I really like this movie. Since it's widely hated (even Homer Simpson thinks it wrecked Jim Carey's career), I guess I have some splainin' to do. It's an Apatow/Stiller stable film but doesn't feel like one - the incestuous casting works well, and the film feels well-made. No 'Frat Pack' staple is there just to be there and 'act funny' (Ben Stiller actually seems better in cameos than in leading roles; Happy Gilmore is another example); the same can't be said for most Apatow movies. It's also quite funny. I think the problem most people have with it is that it's also quite disturbing, in the manner of a thriller. That it's so hard to pigeon-hole in a particular genre may be why some have such a visceral hatred of TGC. But I find the genre-mashing works really well. To make an ambitious comparison, this film does for Jim Carey what Punch Drunk Love did for Adam Sandler. It takes his customary light-weight comedic character and adds dark elements. Just as PDL showed the wellspring of rage behind Sandler's dumb comedies, TCG says: if you met that guy from Liar, Liar on the street, you'd be scared of him.

Maybe the movie doesn't really deserve four stars, but I feel very strongly about it. It hasn't been treated fairly at all by critics or viewers.