The Cable Guy premiered in the US on June 14, 1996. It stars Jim Carrey as Chip, a cable TV installer who befriends a man named Steven (Matthew Broderick) while working at his house. It’s the perfect setup for a hilarious 90s comedy, and audiences at the time believed The Cable Guy would be just that, especially since it released a year after Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
The Cable Guy is packed with unforgettable, hilarious moments, but it’s quite different from regular lighthearted movies of that era. The movie has far more serious undertones than many audiences expected, and is a strangely tragic story about a man who tries, and fails, to make friends.
With the unusual tone in mind, The Cable Guy is a fascinating 90s movie to revisit. It’s a comedy on the surface, starring one of the highest-profile actors at the time. The film also strays far from the slapstick humor Carrey is known for, even venturing into thriller territory. It’s a combination that has survived the test of time and stands out because there are few other movies quite like it.
The Cable Guy is celebrating its 30th anniversary, so there’s no better time to revisit it, but here are a few harsh realities you will notice if you’ve not watched the movie for several years.
10
The Trailers Paint The Movie In A Very Different Light
The trailer may seem like an odd sticking point, but if you’re watching The Cable Guy on a streaming service or see the 90s trailers, you’ll notice they make the movie look very different from what it actually is.
Many of the clips in the ads showcase Carrey’s slapstick moments without context. In a bubble, those scenes make Chip’s character seem almost like Ace Ventura, playing off even the most serious situations for laughs.
The Cable Guy certainly has comedic moments, but it’s not a laugh-a-minute comedy as the marketing suggests. It’s not a harsh reality of watching the movie per se, but the trailer could still mislead audiences expecting a regular 90s Carrey comedy.
9
The Karaoke Scene Is Very Sad During A Rewatch
A karaoke scene is the ideal scenario for Jim Carrey to unleash some of his trademark comedic acting. He does, to a certain extent, although it’s actually a very sad scene when you observe what is happening.
Chip invites Steven to a house party, where he seems rather popular at first glance. We soon realize that the party-goers aren’t really his friends, and most of them just accept him because he provides them with free cable.
The part that drives the emotional message home during the scene is Chip’s song choice. He sings Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” as if his life depends on it. Like many parts of the movie, Chips’ behavior is certainly entertaining and funny, but the karaoke scene also feels like a cry for help.
8
Steven Had Multiple Chances To Stop Events From Escalating
While The Cable Guy movie focuses primarily on Chip’s behavior and how his actions escalate, Steven must absolutely shoulder some of the blame, as he’s far from a helpless victim.
As a character, Steven is remarkably passive. He ignores countless red flags and gives Chip far too many last chances. He has ample opportunity to distance himself from Chip or even try to help him. By the time Steven comes to his senses, it’s too late, and Chip has already executed some particularly manipulative schemes.
Chip and Steven’s relationship is quite fascinating during a rewatch. If you put yourself in Steven’s shoes, you can identify when you think Chip’s behavior has become too extreme, whether it’s at the Medieval-themed restaurant or earlier.
7
The Movie Was Right About Future Technology
The Cable Guy premiered in 1996, and while internet access was certainly becoming more normalized in the late 90s, the movie makes a few nods to futuristic ideas that are now commonplace.
Chip takes Steven to a large radar dish he calls the “Information Superhighway.” In the movie, that dish broadcasts all the TV signals around the city. It’s a special place for Chip, and he proclaims, “Soon, every American home will integrate their television, phone, and computer.”
He also says, “You can do your shopping at home, or play a game of Mortal Kombat with a friend in Vietnam.” Both activities are commonplace nowadays, with online shopping and gaming a huge part of our lives, making Chips’ statement eerily accurate.
6
The Cable Job In The Movie Is Very Different Nowadays
90s movies are like time capsules in many ways, and one of the most obvious aspects of those films is the lack of mobile phones. One especially unique part of The Cable Guy is that, while similar jobs do exist nowadays, the way Chip’s job is framed in the movie is a relic of the past.
Many of Chip’s clients only exist because he gives them free cable. Steven even attempts to bribe Chip into giving him extra channels when they first meet. Cable TV was a big part of household entertainment in the 90s, although that landscape is quite different in the 2020s.
Chip’s job in the movie still exists to an extent, but it’s more focused on installing and managing an internet connection. Even cable TV is far less important to many households nowadays, thanks to streaming services.
5
The Bathroom Attack Scene Far More Serious Than It Seems
Steven and Robin (Leslie Mann) are having a relationship break during The Cable Guy. Robin dates another man, played by Owen Wilson, and while we quickly realize he’s full of himself, Chip takes matters into his own hands in an extraordinary way.
Chip masquerades as a clerk in a restaurant bathroom. He waits for Robin’s date to enter and assaults him. The music is jovial, and the encounter is definitely a highlight of the movie. Still, Chip beats up a stranger, throws him against the hand dryer, and even dunks him headfirst into a toilet.
Jim Carrey plays the role like few others could in this scene, but the real-world consequences would be very serious.
4
The Final Scene Is Tonally Jarring
The climactic scene in The Cable Guy occurs on the satellite dish we saw earlier in the movie. Chip has restrained Robin and is waiting for Steven’s response. When he arrives, the pair fight, and Chip even holds Steven’s head underwater while quoting Waterworld.
Moments later, Steven chases Chip up onto a ledge with Robin, prompting Chip to threaten to jump. The scene would be dour and serious in some other movies, but the music is bouncy and playful. We know why Chip acts the way he does, but the soundtrack certainly doesn’t match the on-screen situation.
Chip dives off the edge and tells Steven he feels lonely as he catches him. The cable guy falls and narrowly survives being impaled on a spike in the middle of the satellite dish. It’s a serious moment that’s grounded and relatable, but is arguably a tonal misfit.
3
Chip Is A Tragic Character For A Comedy
The Cable Guy isn’t entirely insensitive to Chip’s feelings and mental state. We see him open up in some scenes, even if the way he does it is wild, unpredictable, and sometimes full of movie and TV references.
Jim Carrey is an especially expressive actor, and many of his reactions in the movie are larger-than-life. He’s genuinely hilarious in several parts of the movie, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Chip is just lonely and doesn’t know how to express it during a rewatch.
In the film’s final moments, Chip tells Stephen, “I just wanted to be your friend, but I screwed it up.” It’s an oddly emotional exchange as a police helicopter circles overhead, and we realize that Chip is aware of what he’s doing but doesn’t really know how to act any other way.
2
The Movie Is More Of A Psychological Thriller Than A Comedy In Hindsight
Jim Carrey was somewhat typecast in the 90s, and audiences knew him best for his comedy roles in titles like Dumb and Dumber and The Mask. The actor played several different roles during that time, including The Truman Show, but that was two years after The Cable Guy.
We’ve already covered the trailers as arguably misleading, but The Cable Guy often straddles psychological thriller territory. There are some genuinely unsettling moments, such as Stevens’ dream sequence when Chip chases him down a corridor with glowing green eyes. Chip also puts Steven in some dreadful situations, including a stint in prison, and turns his own family against him.
The soundtrack plays a major role in lightening the mood throughout the film, but many scenes would arguably feel less comedic without it.
1
The Cable Guy Has An Uncomfortable Message That’s Relatable Today
One of the harshest realities of watching The Cable Guy today is that it has an uncomfortably relatable message. Chip has an outlandish personality, as he was raised by TV and movies rather than his parents. We never see this in the movie, though Chip does mention it several times.
30 years later, we live in a world where people have access to the internet from an early age. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips, with fandoms and communities covering almost everything you can think of. It’s not difficult to see similarities between Chip’s upbringing and how that could happen in the real world today.
The Cable Guy frames Chip’s upbringing as a rare case, but that technology is far more readily available now. It’s still a fantastic movie, and it contains some unforgettable scenes that are oddly comparable to life today.
- Release Date
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June 10, 1996
- Runtime
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96 Minutes
