The Cable Guy

"There's no such thing as free cable."

1996 1h 36m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 2,781

ComedyDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When recently single Steven moves into his new apartment, cable guy Chip comes to hook him up—and doesn't let go. Initially, Chip is just overzealous in his desire to be Steven's pal, but when Steven tries to end the 'friendship', Chip shows his dark side. He begins stalking Steven, who's left to fend for himself because no one else can believe Chip's capable of such behaviour.

“There's no such thing as free cable.”

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Cast

Jim Carrey
Cable Guy
Matthew Broderick
Steven
Leslie Mann
Robin
Jack Black
Rick
George Segal
Steven's Father
Diane Baker
Steven's Mother
Ben Stiller
Sam Sweet
Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ben Stiller
Writers: Lou Holtz Jr., Richard K. Buoen, Ben Stiller
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ben Stiller, shot by Robert Brinkmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Steven Weisberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick and Leslie Mann carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There's no such thing as free cable.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0115798 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ben Stiller directs. Robert Brinkmann behind the camera. John Ottman scores. Steven Weisberg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Ben Stiller, shot by Robert Brinkmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Steven Weisberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick and Leslie Mann carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "There's no such thing as free cable.".
7IMDB entry: tt0115798 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "prison", "prostitute", "karaoke", "obsession".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Brinkmann
Original score: John Ottman
Editing: Steven Weisberg
Production design: Sharon Seymour
Costume design: Erica Edell Phillips
Makeup / hair: Sheryl Ptak
VFX supervisor: John Nelson
Sound: Scott Millan
Stunt coordinator: Freddie Hice
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $47,000,000
Box office: $102,825,796
Return: 219% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Cable Guy (1996)

Awards

MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ben Stiller

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-06-15
★ 7/10
Dark slice of comedy pie from Carrey & Stiller. As with everything in life, the internet also has its good and bad angles. Here with The Cable Guy, I myself salute the internet highway and in particular the many users of IMDb who have come forth to support this most divisive of movies. Lambasted on release by regarded critics and chided by many a cinema goer who went in expecting Mask & Ace Ventura like fluff, The Cable Guy was thought to be the death knell for Carrey's career. It wasn't of course. He would revert to pleasing box office friendly type the following year with "Liar Liar", and would continue to surprise with his choice of roles, and the performances with them, in the likes of "The Truman Show", "Man On The Moon" & "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind". As a point of reference with his career overview, The Cable Guy stands up as a bold choice by Carrey, and one that serves notice of his willingness, and ability, to take on more challenging roles. The film itself is a mixture of high Carrey comedy mixed with dark, almost horror undertones. The thematics of loneliness and the need for companionship makes for an odd bedfellow with the berserker antics of Carrey as he plays off of Matthew Broderick's ordinary Joe. Yet director Ben Stiller, the cop out finale aside, has achieved the cheeky fusion with much success. Utilising Carrey's energy as both a force of comic nature, and a bubbling under the surface desperado loony tune. Along the way, well before it goes real dark and gets edgy, we are treated to some delightful comedy moments. A Karaoke sequence and dinner at Medieval Times stand out, but the knowing jokes referencing movies and the TV infatuated world are also unheralded, and astute stabs of fun. Far from perfect it be, but it's a film that was badly timed, or even, misunderstood by the scribes of the time. Thank the lord for the internet for we can now find those prepared to admit they like much about The Cable Guy. Yes, I be one of those hardy souls too. 7/10
r96sk2025-03-12
★ 4/10
<em>'The Cable Guy'</em> should've worked for me. It didn't. I'm a big fan of Jim Carrey movies but I found this to be dreadful, it's the first film of his that I've found to be forcibly poor. It kinda leaves a bad taste too, given the main two characters are unlikeable. Nothing about this pleased me, despite a good cast list. As already noted with Carrey, but I also don't mind Matthew Broderick and Leslie Mann. There are plenty of famous faces elsewhere too, from Owen Wilson to Jack Black to Ben Stiller (also director). Bob Odenkirk even makes an appearance. Despite all that, this frustrates. I'm usually one to be swayed by a starry cast too, so me disliking this as strongly is saying something to be honest. The plot just felt like a five-minute short stretched out to ninety minutes. You can tell where the story is going from basically the get-go, which is particularly a negative when you don't give the audience (or just me, possibly) a reason to want to watch any of those onscreen. The karaoke bit with "Somebody to Love" is probably the only scene that I'll come close to remembering positively. An annoying disappointment, this one.