| Product: |
The Cable Guy (DVD) |
| Date: |
14/08/00 (32 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: good cast, nice ideas, definitely interesting
Disadvantages: iffy story and writing
"The Cable Guy" got a very rude reception when it came out due mainly to two things 1). The amount of money Jim Carrey got for doing this film (20 million!) and 2). The fact that Carrey wasn't doing his usual schtick.
While I don't see why Carrey got paid $20 million for this, I also can't see why people are so down on Carrey in this. I for one actually liked the fact that he got past the Ace Ventura/Dumb and Dumber persona and became, in essence, a really disturbed Cable Guy.
This isn't Jim Carrey's worst movie (that honor goes to "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls") but it isn't his funniest("Dumb and Dumber" folks) or best("The Truman Show") either. It casts Carrey against type as a Cable Guy who gets a bit of a stalking mentality a customer played by Matthew Broderick. Broderick's ok in the role but nothing special. Carrey's character( we'll just call him Chip)meanwhile viciously stalks Broderick's character trying to be his friend which leads to a weird karaoke party(Carrey's version of "Somebody to Love" is a hoot), a strange yet funny dinner at "Medieval Times" (wherein Carrey and Broderick do battle to music from "Star Trek"), and other things. Finally, Carrey decides that he knows the perfect way to be friends with Broderick: He'll get Broderick and his girlfriend (played by the lovely Leslie Mann) back together. One thing leads to another and we realize that Chip is a total wacko. Or is he? The reality of the situation seems to be that Chip just wants to be Broderick's friend. At the beginning we see that Chip only has one friend as a child: the television. He practically grows up in front of it. This film seems to suggest that television can ruin us if we take it and make it our reality. A nice lesson sure although it's a little heavy handed and part of the ending is too sappy to be taken seriously.
This isn'
t really a comedy as it's a little too dark for that and maybe that's why Carrey's fans didn't embrace it. It's funny in its own way but also mixes this comedy with a little tension and some uncomfortable scenes(including a scene where Chip goes to see Broderick in jail). For all it's critical derision, it's not a bad movie...just a misunderstood one. Is it great? NO. It's too all over the map for that. There's only so much the cast can do with this movie and they can't even hope to elevate it to greatness as its a bit heavy-handed and preachy sometimes and at other times it's just frighteningly bad. Yet in the mess there is a decent movie lurking out. It is nice to see Carrey play against type and it is nice for someone to take stabs at Television even if they're obvious stabs.
"The Cable Guy" is worth a rental if you're extremely bored and want to see Carrey as you never have been before. Here he's playing both comedian and serious actor and doing a decent job of it. Not the greatest movie of his but still it isn't as bad as everyone says.
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