

The Cable Guy (1996)
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Listed by
John Wilson
Updated
October 21, 2024
Movie Overview | The Cable Guy (1996)
Oddball cable installer Chip Douglas (Jim Carrey) attempts to strike up a friendship with customer Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick) by offering him premium channels at no cost. When Steven rebuffs Chip's frequent need for companionship, Chip goes from a mildly eccentric acquaintance to a full-fledged psycho stalker. Though it's increasingly apparent to Steven that the cable guy is dangerous, convincing his friends, family and the authorities of that is another matter entirely.
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User reviews
a misunderstood movie
(Updated: January 04, 2025)
Overall rating
2.8
Entertainment Factor
3.0
Story
3.0
Actors Performance
4.0
Cinematography
2.0
Sound Track
2.0
The plot centers around a character named Steven who has just been turned down for marriage by his girlfriend Robin. He moves into a bachelor pad and calls for cable service, and Chip Douglas (Carrey) comes pounding on his door (making sure, of course, to arrive very late and while Steven is in the shower).
The cable guy is a manic nerd with a lisp and an under slung jaw. He wants to be Steven’s friend. He has a lot of trouble pronouncing certain words. “My brother is a speech therapist,” Steven says helpfully. The cable guy says, “Tho?” Soon the cable guy has insinuated himself into Steven’s life and is offering detailed advice about life. His strategy for getting Robin to come back: Watch “Sleepless in Seattle” with her. Women are suckers for it. Many of these strategies work, and we’re reminded of the relationship in the British comedy classic “School for Scoundrels” (which Carrey should remake) in which a cad teaches one-upmanship to a loser.
The cable guy has an unhealthy need to be Steven’s friend, and he pursues that goal with behavior designed to scare anyone. He’s a stalker. He’s obnoxious and peculiar and inappropriate and relentless, and we start disliking him.
The cable guy is a manic nerd with a lisp and an under slung jaw. He wants to be Steven’s friend. He has a lot of trouble pronouncing certain words. “My brother is a speech therapist,” Steven says helpfully. The cable guy says, “Tho?” Soon the cable guy has insinuated himself into Steven’s life and is offering detailed advice about life. His strategy for getting Robin to come back: Watch “Sleepless in Seattle” with her. Women are suckers for it. Many of these strategies work, and we’re reminded of the relationship in the British comedy classic “School for Scoundrels” (which Carrey should remake) in which a cad teaches one-upmanship to a loser.
The cable guy has an unhealthy need to be Steven’s friend, and he pursues that goal with behavior designed to scare anyone. He’s a stalker. He’s obnoxious and peculiar and inappropriate and relentless, and we start disliking him.
Maybe it would have worked better if the cable guy had become a real friend to Steven, devising love strategies and Machiavellian schemes to win back Robin and thwart her other suitors. As it is, the movie goes in one direction and the cable guy goes in another, and by the end we aren’t really looking forward to seeing Jim Carrey reappear on the screen.
All that being said, if you are a Jim Carrey fan, you will probably like this movie.
All that being said, if you are a Jim Carrey fan, you will probably like this movie.
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