The Cable Guy (1996)

Directed by Ben Stiller. Starring Matthew Broderick, Jim Carrey, Leslie Mann, Jack Black, George Segal, Diane Baker, Owen Wilson, Bob Odenkirk, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick. [PG-13]

Clever, subversive black comedy showed off the darker side of star Carrey’s manic comic sensibilities, turning off a lot of audiences hoping for another Ace Ventura or Lloyd Christmas. Here, he’s “Chip” Douglas, a weird, lisping cable installer who latches himself onto customer Broderick, giving the guy a free premium upgrade essentially in exchange for friendship; this may sound sad, but when Chip spies on him with hidden cameras, shows up at Broderick’s place for an impromptu karaoke party, or battles his new friend in a knight’s duel at Medieval Times restaurant, it starts becoming clear that the “cable guy” is more than a little nutty, possibly dangerous. Although not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of Carrey’s other starring vehicles, there’s more bite, unpredictability and purpose to this material that were often lacking in those other projects. Broderick is no better than adequate as Chip’s foil/victim, and the final act all but runs out of ideas, but Carrey is in good (if creepy) form, several standout sequences (including the aforementioned duel) hit the funny bone hard, and the pic’s skewering of television’s brain-rotting influence doesn’t rely solely on potshots. Judd Apatow co-produced and did an uncredited script rewrite. In addition to directing, Stiller cameos as twin killers in a sensationalistic murder trial seen periodically on the boob tube; other cameos include Jack Black’s Tenacious D partner Kyle Gass, David Cross, and Eric Roberts as himself in a funny dramatized reenactment bit.

71/100