In 1996, Jim Carrey was riding a high wave of success. Of the 3 films he appeared in 1994 (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber), 2 were among the top 10 highest grossing films of the year, the third was in the top 20. Both of his 1995 releases (Batman Forever and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) were in the top 5 box office earners of the year. Carrey would parlay that success into a then-record payday of $20 million for The Cable Guy. The high price tag for its star would bring extra scrutiny to the Ben Stiller helmed black comedy. And while The Cable Guy didn’t perform to expectations at the box office, it was nowhere near the disaster that its reputation suggests.
The Cable Guy started out as a script by Lou Holtz, Jr., no relation to the football coach, an LA County prosecutor who used his connections within the industry to sell the script. Initially thought as a vehicle for Chris Farley, The Cable Guy was initially written as a buddy comedy in the vein of What About Bob?. Once Carrey and his massive paycheck came on board, the project’s tone changed dramatically. Carrey, Stiller, and veteran comedy writer Judd Apatow extensively rewrote the project. Due to WGA rules, Apatow was unable to get a writing credit since he was also listed as a producer. These rewrites made The Cable Guy a much more challenging picture, not for its lead actor but for audiences expecting a certain kind of Jim Carrey movie.
Gone were the loveable loudmouthed losers or eccentrics with elastic faces, The Cable Guy would find Carrey playing a role in the model of Rupert Pupkin from Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy. Where Pupkin’s questionable actions are derived from delusional good intentions, Carrey’s Cable Guy is much more malicious and manipulative in his actions. Everything that he arranges is just a means with which to gain leverage over Matthew Broderick’s Steven. There are no good intentions here. Though the film does try to add a sympathetic veneer on the Cable Guy, he never crosses over into the realm of a sympathetic character. He’s merely pathetic.
One can’t help but wonder if The Cable Guy were just a few years later if it’d have been much better received. Within the film is a unique understand of where technology was going to take us in just a few short years. The Cable Guy himself waxes about how phone, internet, and television would soon by handled by one telecommunications provider, and the Cable Guy himself ends up standing in the place of where the cable companies would soon find themselves – poor customer service, customer surveillance, and making backroom deals to ensure that he gets what he wants. Almost all of the Cable Guy’s actions wind up being eerily close to what these very companies do today.
The cast of the film is full of players from the mid-‘90s comedy renaissance. Directing his 2nd feature after 1994’s Reality Bites, Ben Stiller filled the supporting roles with comedic actors who would in due time become household names. David Cross and Bob Odenkirk of Mr. Show have minor supporting roles. Jack Black and Owen Wilson appear in supporting roles as well. And Stiller rounded out a few other supporting cast members, Janeane Garofalo and Andy Dick, from his short-lived sketch show, The Ben Stiller Show. With the exception of Andy Dick, almost every one of these supporting players would leave a major impact on the comedy landscape of the 21st Century.
Casting isn’t the only aspect of directing in which Stiller excels. For his second feature, Stiller is bold and assured in his directorial decisions. With camera movements that accentuate the action and split diopter shots, Stiller makes a pitch black comedy that has wears the influence of Scorsese and Brian De Palma on its sleeve. Of all of Carrey’s early comedies, The Cable Guy stands out as the best looking of the bunch.
The Cable Guy will endure as a divisive film because it should be divisive. It’s a dark comedy that satirizes entertainment and how we consume entertainment. In actuality, The Cable Guy should be hailed as a landmark where a unique piece of art somehow slipped through the studio system and maintained its dark edge. It doesn’t always hit its marks, but it’s always trying to do something different. It’s the first step in establishing Jim Carrey as the anti-Adam Sandler. With rare exception, Sandler is content making comedies that reek of a cynical cash grab and lazy writing. On the other hand, Carrey, while himself making some questionable films, has shown time and time again that he isn’t afraid to challenge audiences with roles in unique films like The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I Love You Phillip Morris. Perhaps as we approach the 20th anniversary of this demented film there will finally be a critical reassessment of The Cable Guy. This concludes our broadcast day.