The Cable Guy Review

The Cable Guy

Release Date: 20th June 1996 - Australia

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures (presents)

Light/Mueller Film Corp.

Distribution

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 92 minutes

Budget: $47,000,000

Box Office Gross: $102,825,796 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Having been dumped by

his girlfriend recently,

Steven Kovacs thought

he'd have a lot of time to

watch TV ...but that was

before he met Chip

Douglas! 

He's a cable guy with a

few loose wires in his

brain and a talent for

hijacking people's lives.

To make matters worse,

all he wants is a friend,

and he won't take no for

an answer.

Cast

Jim Carrey - Chip Douglas

Matthew Broderick - Steven Kovacs

Leslie Mann - Robin Harris

Jack Black - Rick

George Segal - Mr. Kovacs

Diane Baker - Mrs. Kovacs

Eric Roberts - Himself

Ben Stiller - Sam/Stan Sweet

Owen Wilson - Robin's Date

Janeane Garofalo - Medieval Waitress

Andy Dick - Medieval Host

David Cross - Sales Manager

Harry O'Reilly - Steven's Boss

Amy Stiller - Steven's Secretary

Cameron Starman - Cable Boy

Kathy Griffin - Cable Boy's Mother

Crew

Director - Ben Stiller

Writer - Lou Holtz Jr.

Executive Producers - Brad
Grey, Bernie Brillstein and
Marc Gurvitz

Producers - Judd Apatow,
Andrew Licht and Jeffrey A. Mueller

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - William Beasley

Production Designer - Sharon Seymour

Art Director - Jeff Knipp

Set Decorator - Maggie Martin

Director of Photography - Robert Brinkmann

First Assistant Director - Nilo Otero

Stunt Coordinator - Freddie Hice

Special Effects Coordinator - Matt Sweeney

Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - John Nelson

Art Director: SPI - Martin A. Kline

Visual Effects Director of Photography: SPI -

David Drzewiecki

Film Editors - Steven Weisberg

and Samuel Craven

Supervising Sound Editors - Robert Grieve

and Gregory King

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris David,

Scott Millan and Tom Perry

Foley Artists - Andy Malcolm

and Alicia Stevenson

Music - John Ottman 


Review

With the release of Ben Stiller's latest sequel of Zoolander, I decided to take a trip over and refresh my memory with a classic movie he directed with fellow comedian Jim Carrey. Though the second time I watched it in its original DVD format, the comedy wasn't quite as dark, spine-tingling, or funny as everyone has said recently. THE CABLE GUY was Ben Stiller's first big-budget movie as director, and he did an incredible job with this production. I've only enjoyed some portions of the film, but as I said, I haven't watched it many times. I noticed Jim Carrey was having so much fun acting like a child, and he greatly upstaged his co-star Matthew Broderick and even a few supporting players, such as future lead actor/comedian Jack Black. It's the first movie for Carrey where he plays a more serious character than his usual goofball roles.

This movie has themes that are part comedy and part thriller. THE CABLE GUY didn't compare and rank up to his earlier hits like Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. Even in later years, he would be burgeoning more seriously in his acting career with some of his other features that would dramatically propel his reputation into superstardom.

THE CABLE GUY tells an entertaining, scary, funny and sad story in one basket. If you are in the mood for something easy to follow that will provide instant thrills with a well-paced, engaging plot. Then this would be worth a watch.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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