{"id":274295,"date":"2021-06-14T19:14:08","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T16:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-critics-said-about-1996s-the-cable-guy\/"},"modified":"2021-06-14T19:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T16:14:08","slug":"what-critics-said-about-1996s-the-cable-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-critics-said-about-1996s-the-cable-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Critics Said About 1996&#8217;s &#8216;The Cable Guy&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23ca2d06f94\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23ca2d06f94\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-critics-said-about-1996s-the-cable-guy\/#What_Critics_Said_About_The_Cable_Guy_in_1996\" >What Critics Said About The Cable Guy in 1996<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-critics-said-about-1996s-the-cable-guy\/#What_Critics_Say_About_The_Cable_Guy_Today\" >What Critics Say About The Cable Guy\u00a0Today<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#What Critics Said About 1996&#8217;s &#8216;The Cable Guy&#8217;<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><em>They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. How did critics feel about a certain movie at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical reception of the 1996 Jim Carrey black comedy The Cable Guy.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>In the mid-\u201990s, <strong>Jim Carrey<\/strong> was arguably the biggest movie star in the world. In 1994 alone, he had three films that racked up more than $100 million <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-numbers.com\/person\/530401-Jim-Carrey#tab=acting\">each at the box office<\/a>. The following year Carrey would add two more to his resume that each eclipsed $200 million. Carrey\u2019s success was primarily due to the schtick he had mastered. With the unique ability to contort his face in a million different ways, and a manic energy unmatched, Carrey blossomed into a slapstick specialist with the golden touch. Audiences flocked to see the actor talk from his ass or make the most annoying sounds possible. It was dumb, brainless fun, but it worked.<\/p>\n<p>In 1996, at the peak of his powers, Carrey signed on to star in <em><strong>The Cable Guy<\/strong><\/em>, bagging a then-record $20 million payday. <strong>Ben Stiller<\/strong> was hired to direct, <strong>Matthew Broderick<\/strong> joined as the co-lead, and the movie was shaping up to be another hit in Carrey\u2019s run of good fortune. But rather than be another light-hearted 90 minutes relying on Carrey\u2019s charisma, <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> is something much different. It still features Carrey\u2019s signature slapstick comedy and its fair share of iconic moments. Still, it\u2019s a much darker story about an intrusive, lonely man raised by television, desperately seeking some form of human connection.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Cable Guy<\/em> was still a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/release\/rl3276375553\/\">box office hit<\/a>, but the critical response was much more mixed. Critics and audiences of the day had a preconceived idea of what a Jim Carrey movie should be, and this wasn\u2019t it. The film was criticized for missing the mark, misusing Carrey\u2019s talents, and being flat-out mean. While many noted that the film was going for a more thought-provoking <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach than Carrey\u2019s earlier works, the consensus was that Carrey was doing the same thing, but it felt out of place in this darker film.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Cable Guy<\/em> didn\u2019t derail Carrey\u2019s career. The rest of the decade was very kind to the actor, with more hits to follow, but <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> was viewed as the black sheep, often becoming the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/comb.io\/lN8ChP\">butt of jokes<\/a>. Time has been much kinder to the film. In the twenty-five years since its release, it\u2019s developed a growing cult following. Today the film is much more appreciated, with Carrey\u2019s performance earning praise and the film\u2019s themes on obsession and the influence of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> becoming more relevant.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Critics_Said_About_The_Cable_Guy_in_1996\"><\/span>What Critics Said About The Cable Guy in 1996<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201c<em>The Cable Guy<\/em> is a hateful, bloodless monster,\u201d <strong>Joe Morgenstern<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB834705950304591500\">wrote in his scathing review<\/a> for the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>. Morgenstern felt the film leaned way too hard into the lead \u201ccharacter\u2019s hatefulness,\u201d referencing the film\u2019s basketball scene in which Carrey ruins the fun by being too aggressive and shattering the backboard. Morgenstern wondered out loud if perhaps Carrey\u2019s large payday gave him too much freedom. \u201cThere\u2019s no evidence at all of anyone having taken the star or his handlers aside to say, at some critical juncture, \u2018Wait a minute, there\u2019s no script here,\u2019 or \u2018Stop, what you\u2019re doing isn\u2019t funny.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chris Kaltenbach<\/strong> of the <em>Baltimore Sun<\/em> echoed similar sentiments regarding Carrey. \u201cHe\u2019s over the top, acting on such a huge adrenalin high that his face seems constantly ready to explode,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/news\/bs-xpm-1996-06-14-1996166145-story.html\">Kaltenbach wrote<\/a>. \u201cHe mugs, he twitches, he screams. His eyes pop out, the veins in his neck bulge, his voice takes on the timbre of an air-raid siren.\u201d Kaltenbach\u2019s main issue was that Carrey gives his typical performance, but he\u2019s the bad guy this time. And Carrey, as the bad guy, is off-putting and \u201csimply uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his review for the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, <strong>Kenneth Turan<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1996-06-14-ca-14754-story.html\">wrote that the film<\/a> struggled by \u201ctaking itself too seriously.\u201d According to Turan, the film tried too hard to sell us on this backstory about a character with a dark past instead of just allowing funny people to be funny. Turan points to Carrey having an \u201cunnerving edge\u201d but is still too funny to resist breaking into laughter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jane Horwitz<\/strong> had a pretty mixed take on <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> in her review for <em>South Florida Sun-Sentinel<\/em>. Horwitz <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/news\/fl-xpm-1996-06-28-9606260217-story.html\">wrote that<\/a> \u201cCarrey\u2019s wild-eyed performance as a lonely and disturbed cable TV installer occasionally verges on brilliance\u201d but lacks any \u201cemotional truth.\u201d For Horwitz, the movie gets stuck in the middle. It\u2019s not funny, and it\u2019s not scary, so what is it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roger Ebert<\/strong> awarded the film two out of four stars. Like Horwitz, Ebert was left confused by what the movie wanted us to feel. \u201cWe want to like Jim Carrey,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/the-cable-guy-1996\">Ebert wrote<\/a>. \u201cA movie that makes us dislike him is a strategic mistake.\u201d In Ebert\u2019s eyes, The Cable Guy landed in this weird spot by mistake. It was supposed to be just another Jim Carrey comedy, but the darker elements of the story took over, and no one knew what to do at that point.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> wasn\u2019t completely shunned. In his review for the\u00a0<em>New York Daily <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0<strong>David Kehr<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/archives\/nydn-features\/cable-guy-offers-premium-entertainment-jim-carrey-wired-tv-technician-takes-remote-control-customer-life-article-1.722255\">praised Carrey<\/a> for making a \u201cgutsy move\u201d by taking on a risk that would cause most commercial projects to shy away. Kehr praised Carrey for his ability to keep \u201csomething sadly human alive in his character.\u201d He felt Broderick was the perfect counter, calling him \u201clikable enough to preserve the audience\u2019s sympathy but with a streak of selfishness that makes his fate seem slightly deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Orlando Sentinel<\/em>\u2018s <strong>Jay Boyar<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/news\/os-xpm-1996-06-14-9606120804-story.html\">called the film<\/a> an \u201coddly intelligent comedy\u201d and questioned whether or not it would be too smart for his fans. Boyar gave Stiller credit for providing \u201cCarrey a reliable structure to play around in.\u201d From there, Carrey used his trademark \u201csilliness and slapstick\u201d but did so in a way not previously done. Instead of playing it for over-the-top laughs, it\u2019s a hard, edgy satire.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Critics_Say_About_The_Cable_Guy_Today\"><\/span>What Critics Say About The Cable Guy\u00a0Today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Everything that felt so strange and out of place when <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> was first released seems to make a lot more sense now. And people are starting to take notice. While revisiting the film for its t<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.avclub.com\/20-years-ago-today-jim-carrey-blew-up-his-image-with-t-1798248485\">wentieth anniversary<\/a> for the <em>AV Club<\/em>, <strong>A.A. Dowd<\/strong> had a pretty simple explanation for why people didn\u2019t like it: \u201cAudiences were freaked out by it.\u201d And they should have been freaked out. Carrey threw a fastball when everyone was expecting his whacky screwball. It was a risky move, but as Dowd points out, it \u201cwas also the first sign that there was more to its in-demand leading man than rubbery features and a brave, almost pathological willingness to look foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dylan Gray<\/strong> praised <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> in a column for <em>The Daily Illini<\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyillini.com\/opinions\/2020\/01\/30\/the-cable-guy\/\">calling it an<\/a> \u201cincredibly cynical, poignant and succinct indictment of the modern media environment.\u201d Gray writes that the film isn\u2019t perfect and maybe doesn\u2019t even succeed if viewed as a comedy. \u201cBut when read as a critique of the modern media world 20 years before its time, the beauty of the film is much more pronounced. Media saturation is dangerous, and living outside of the fabricated world is important to our psychological adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More recently, <strong>Chris Cabin<\/strong> of <em>Slant<\/em> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slantmagazine.com\/film\/the-cable-guy-at-25-ben-stillers-still-stellar-satire-of-media-obsessed-gen-xers\/\">called the film <\/a>Stiller\u2019s best work as a director, noting his use of Dutch angles and his ability to handle a dream sequence. \u201cThe times had to catch up with <em>The Cable Guy<\/em>,\u201d Cabins writes, \u201cand now seen in hindsight, the film seems as bold an American comedic statement as was available in the mid-to-late \u201990s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In retrospect, it\u2019s easy to see how <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> caught so many people off guard back in 1996. It\u2019s not uncommon for A-list stars to veer off course and try something different than what their reputation suggests. But they usually step over to the arthouse world and do something low-key that only reaches audiences that are guaranteed to like it. Carrey decided to get weird out in the open with other big stars while taking a record-setting paycheck. The audience didn\u2019t have the chance to prepare properly. These days we\u2019re better prepared. Not only are we more accustomed to the range Carrey has as a performer, but the film\u2019s subject matter is more relevant than ever. <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> may focus on its titular character, but it\u2019s really a snapshot of America\u2019s obsession with tabloid news and the influence of what we choose to consume and how we consume it. In the social media, TMZ-crazed society we currently live in, <em>The Cable Guy<\/em> hits harder than ever.\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/what-critics-said-the-cable-guy\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-critics-said-the-cable-guy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Critics Said About 1996&#8217;s &#8216;The Cable Guy&#8217;&#8221; They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. How did critics feel about a certain movie at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":274296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/the-cable-guy.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[39404,22033,1412],"class_list":["post-274295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-jim-carrey","tag-the-cable-guy","tag-they-said-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}