The Jim Carrey Comedy On Netflix That Will Actually Shock You
In the 1990s, few actors were releasing as many classic comedy films as Jim Carrey. Carrey kicked off his 90s comedies with Ace Venture: Pet Detective in 1992, followed it up with The Mask and Dumb & Dumber in 1994, and released an Ace Ventura sequel and The Truman Show to cap off the decade. But somewhere in the middle, he released one of his darkest and most underrated comedies with The Cable Guy in 1996, which you can currently stream on Netflix.
Jim Carrey’s black comedy The Cable Guy is streaming on Netflix.
Definitely don’t go into The Cable Guy expecting Jim Carrey to be doing his typical goofy 90s persona, as he instead decides to take his manic energy to bring a creepy vibe to his titular character. The film follows Carrey as a cable installer who becomes an increasingly intrusive presence in the life of one of his customers, played by Matthew Broderick.
The rest of the cast is rounded out by Leslie Mann, Jack Black, George Segal, Diane Baker, Eric Roberts, Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Andy Dick, Ben Stiller, and Bob Odenkirk.
Along with being one of Jim Carrey’s weirder 90s comedies, The Cable Guy is also the feature directorial debut of Ben Stiller, who would direct Zoolander just five years later. Since then, Stiller has directed quite a few films, including the hilarious Tropic Thunder.
He also directed the incredible Apple TV+ show Severance, which he also executive produces.
The Cable Guy was actually a fairly decent box office success, too, despite its muted status in Carrey’s filmography.
The only reason that one might consider The Cable Guy a financial disappointment is that it didn’t pull in the same amount of cash as Jim Carrey’s other comedies of the decade. Still, a $102.8 million worldwide gross is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and it’s significantly more than the film’s $47 million production budget.
Along with being one of Jim Carrey’s weirder 90s comedies, The Cable Guy is also the feature directorial debut of Ben Stiller, who would direct Zoolander just five years later.
The film did receive some mixed reviews upon release, but it has since become a cult classic in Carrey’s catalog.
Interestingly, there’s a world where The Cable Guy didn’t star Jim Carrey and instead starred one of his 90s comedy contemporaries. Before Carrey was on board, the film was initially sold with Chris Farley, but he had to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts. Adam Sandler was also considered for the role.
While Adam Sandler and Chris Farley would have no doubt been great in The Cable Guy and brought their own spin to the character, having Jim Carrey in it seemed to work out for the best. He brought out the dark comedy side of the character that the script called for.
According to producer Judd Apatow, the studio even had complaints about how dark some scenes were, but also said that any removals from the script were “part of the natural evolution of our creative process.”
It’s safe to say that if you’re a fan of Jim Carrey and you haven’t seen The Cable Guy that you should definitely check it out. Carrey has since dramatically expanded his roles, showing that can be just as good of a dramatic actor as a comedic one, but his 90s comedies will undoubtedly always hold a special place in the hearts of fans. Especially since there’s a chance that we never get a new movie from Carrey again.
Jim Carrey’s most recent film was Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where he really got to have a lot of fun in the role of the villainous Dr. Robotnik and return to his comedy roots. However, Carrey said during promotion for that film that he planned on retiring afterward. While Carrey certainly has plenty of time left to take on more movie roles, he may just want to focus on his painting and live a quieter life.
Before Carrey was on board, the film was initially sold with Chris Farley, but he had to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts. Adam Sandler was also considered for the role.
It’s hard to imagine not getting to see Carrey bring his charisma and talent to the screen in the future, but he’s at least left us plenty of films that are absolute classics if not outright masterpieces. Plus, there’s always the chance that Carrey will come out of retirement if someone presents him with a role that he just can’t resist.
Jim Carrey certainly has one of the most unique and eclectic careers in Hollywood, and it’s amazing to watch one of his comedies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective or The Cable Guy and then see him easily switch the dramatic switch to give award-worthy performances in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
