AmateurMovieReviews.com

You do it, I do it...anyone who wants any type of service in their home, apartment or office does it. We let complete, total strangers enter our domain so we can watch what we want on TV or talk on the phone or surf the internet. How in the hell do we know that we can TRUST these people? Wouldn't they have to be a little odd from the get go in order to do this sort of job, spending every day entering the home of another stranger? The Cable Guy, brilliantly directed by Ben Stiller, addresses these very questions and more in this VERY black comedy from 1996.

Matthew Broderick is Steven Kovacs, a fellow who has just parted ways with longtime live-in girlfriend Robin Harris (Leslie Mann). He's forced to move out and find his own place, and when it comes time to get his cable connected, The Cable Guy (Jim Carrey) makes his initial appearance. Though we don't know it yet, he's lonely and in search of a buddy...and essentially raised by television while his single mother was out with an endless parade of men. He tells Steven his name is Chip Douglas, but since Steven isn't really paying attention to much of anything since his breakup with Robin he doesn't comment on the My Three Sons connection. Chip is a common enough name, as is Douglas. Sure.

Chip offers Steven an illegal cable hookup for fifty bucks, and, like most of us would (well, me anyway), he jumps at the deal. After treating Chip with more kindness than most, Steven quickly becomes the object of his intensely friendly affections...a follow up call to ensure that the cable is working fine turns into a request for a get together...and suddenly Chip has wormed his way into Steven's life as the annoying, overzealous best bud we've all dealt with at some time or another.

When Steven receives message after message on his answering machine, it occurs to him that perhaps Chip may be a little odd...and then Chip 'lets himself in' to Steven's apartment and surprises him with a room full of state of the art electronics, a big screen TV and a thumping stereo system that would make any neighbor call the cops. He throws Steven a party to help him forget about Robin and move on with his life...complete with one of the best Karaoke scenes ever filmed. Chip gets his grove on to Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit...good lord, it may be one of the funniest things I've ever borne witness to. Seriously. Steven hooks up with a lovely girl at the shindig, and it looks as though he may be ready for someone new...until Chip and Steven sit down to breakfast the next day. When Steven tells Chip how much he enjoyed the gal, Chip tosses back that 'this time it's on me'...turns out Steven's new love interest is a hooker. And a hooker that Chip has bought for himself before, to test out. EEEEEEKKKKKKKK!

This puts Steven over the top and he tries to break off things with Chip...and of course, it's just not that easy and Chip turns into a complete Psycho Stalker and tries to ruin his life.

Steven's friend Rick (Jack Black...how can you go wrong there?) does some researching and discovers that no one by the name of Chip Douglas works for the cable company, and makes the connection between Chip's aliases and TV characters and we gain insight into his lonely past.

This particular film was panned by critics and disliked by many a Jim Carrey fan...it's my opinion that they all were expecting another Ace Ventura and the typical Jim fare. Instead, they caught a glimpse of Jim Carrey...Genuine Actor and didn't much care for it. He brings Chip to life with so many nuances that he stops being Jim and is completely in character, though his look isn't much changed. There's a dark, creepy, misery brought to the role via his talents...and he also makes us take pity on the character. The clincher is the lisp...hilarious and awkward all at once, it starts making you cringe with sympathy midway through.

Ben Stiller also appears in a subplot, as twin child actors Sam and Stan Sweet, one on trial for murdering the other. I think Stiller is a genius, and this film is a testament to his ability to not only act but direct as well. See for yourself...add this to your list!