Line #11 YMMV/TheCableGuy


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Chip's behavior takes on a different tone if one takes the view that he may be autistic. Many of his behavior and personality traits -- misreading social cues and what is appropriate behavior, intense interest in television shows to the point of obsession, acting as though he's following a narrative and speaks in a "scripted" manner -- line up fairly well on the autism spectrum. On the other hand, the fact that he suffered from isolation from an apparently early age might mean his behavior is merely the result of social isolation.
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The soundtrack is full of ''great'' mid-90s alternative rock!
3	** "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" by Primitive Radio Gods is just an example.
4	** Also notable is "Leave Me Alone", [[Music/AliceInChains Jerry Cantrell's]] debut single as a solo artist- it's only heard over the end credits, but has a somewhat eerie, paranoid mood that suits the darker elements of the film.
5	** Gerald Fried's music for the iconic fight sequence of "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime Amok Time]]" (aka the Decapodian National Anthem) is quite appropriate for the fight in the Medieval Times restaurant, especially because of Chip's insanity.
6	* CryForTheDevil: While there's no doubt that Chip is a creepy and obsessive stalker his FriendlessBackground childhood makes his somewhat pitable. Also the fact that he grew up with a neglectful mother (he mentions that he never knew his father) who used to left him alone in front of the TV she named "the babysitter" only made his sanity worse.
7	* FridgeBrilliance:
8	** Chip's desire for a true friend, and his EvenEvilHasStandards moment regarding the Sweet Brothers case, is shown to be rooted in his childhood want for a brother.
9	** Chip doesn't see anything wrong with buying Steven a prostitute because his own mother made a living as one.
10	* HarsherInHindsight: The advancement of the internet and social media has brought (cyber)stalking into the spotlight, which makes people like Carrey's character TruthInTelevision.
11	* HilariousInHindsight:
12	** Just about every single thing that the Cable Guy says about the future of media, like having the Internet, phone and TV through cable as well as having the ability to play video games online, has come true in the last 20 or so years.
13	** Compare Creator/JimCarrey beating up Creator/OwenWilson in a bathroom in this film, to kicking his ''own'' ass in a bathroom in ''Film/LiarLiar''.
14	** Between this film, ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', and ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' there's an odd spiritual trilogy about television: the Cable Guy is raised by it, Truman Burbank is raised ''on'' it, and Andy Kaufman turns it to his own ends.
15	** At the end, Chip's final MadnessMantra while laying hurt on the ground has him repeating the lines of a doctor or paramedic preparing to use a defibrillator on someone. In ''Film/BruceAlmighty'', Bruce actually gets revived by a defibrillator during his later meeting with God after being hit by a truck.
16	** This won't be the last time Jim Carrey plays a crazed character involved with [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 electricity]]!
17	** Chip in one scene warns Rick to not get burnt my the "molten lava". Nowadays Creator/JackBlack is known for having voiced [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie a famous lava-related villain.]] And that warning comes from [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 a future electricity-based villain.]]
18	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: For a dark comedy, this film does at least have one genuinely good moment between the Cable Guy and Steven. At the karaoke party, Steven gives the Cable Guy a speech therapy cassette called "Lose Your Lisp in 30 Days". The Cable Guy is genuinely touched by the gift, possibly even the ''one'' time in his life anyone has shown him any sort of true compassion and thought. For the brief moments afterward, the Cable Guy and Steven could possibly even be considered friends. Of course, everything falls apart shortly after that, but it's still a decently touching moment in an otherwise pitch black film.
19	* HoYay: Though Chip just desperately wants to be friends with Steven, there are shades of this about his longing.
20	* JerkassWoobie: For as utterly insane as his behavior is, it's made clear that Chip's upbringing -- being neglected at best, and physically abused at worst -- is what led to him acting out the way he does. All he really wants is real human companionship, just some kind of kindred spirit out there, but being raised on so much television has left him without much grip on reality. He can only view life through the lens of character and plot archetypes, and it's left him unable to really fit in anywhere, and [[GoMadFromTheIsolation mentally and emotionally disturbed from years of loneliness.]]
21	-->'''Chip:''' Yeah, but I get ''really'' lonely. I mean, look at me, come ''on''!
22	* MoralEventHorizon: Chip crosses this when he kidnaps Robin with the implied intention of committing a "friend" version of MurderTheHypotenuse.
23	* ParanoiaFuel: The guy who fixes your cable? He might be a StalkerWithACrush that will insert himself into your life and not let go.
24	* PresumedFlop: While it was certainly a box office disappointment considering how well Jim Carrey's star vehicles were performing up to that point, the film was still profitable, with $102 million worldwide on a $47 million budget.
25	* RetroactiveRecognition: Partly because Creator/BenStiller was connected to the alternative comedy scene of the 1990s, there are a number of supporting actors who were virtually unknown at the time but would go on to become much more famous: Creator/JackBlack as Steven's friend, his Music/TenaciousD bandmate Kyle Gass as the couch potato who picks up a book, Creator/BobOdenkirk as a member of Robin's family, Creator/DavidCross in a bit part as a co-worker of Steven's, and Creator/OwenWilson as Robin's rude date who gets beaten up in the bathroom.
26	* TearJerker: When [[spoiler: Steven retrieves Robin from Chip after a struggle atop of a satellite dish,]] all Chip has to say after the fact is "I just wanted to be your friend! ... but I screwed it up." His confused, heartbroken face tells the whole story.
27	** The scene when Steven very gently confess to Chip that he doesn't want to be his friend. Chip is deeply hurt by his words even if he says that he respects his decision. Even Steven looks a bit sorry for him.
28	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The entire plot of the film centers around the [[DeadHorseTrope already late]] {{Old Media Are Evil}} trope as a plot device, all the while ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' blares from television sets, {{Grunge}} mostly sets the mood for the soundtrack, and [[TheInternet the "information superhighway"]] is stealthily taking public interest by storm. Also if Chip had done his suicidal stunt in the 2010s, it wouldn't have stopped people from finding out Sweet's verdict -- they would have just whipped out their cell phones to watch a news feed (unless hitting the dish cut out the cell service of the whole county... somehow).
29	** '''Exploited''' by a series of 2022 SuperBowlSpecial commercials for Verizon in which Creator/JimCarrey reprised his role. The Cable Guy struggles to accept that cable has been superseded by superior wireless technology, and his new karaoke jam is Music/TheWeeknd's "Can't Feel My Face".
30	* ValuesResonance: A very interesting example: in the Netherlands, many critics interpreted and even recommended the film as a psychological gay drama. Possibly because homosexuality is widely accepted in the country (so interpreting Chip's stalker behavior as romantic love isn't ''weird'' -- rather, it's ''dramatic''), and because the comedy style is somewhat similar to Dutch surrealist drama as a genre.
31	* VindicatedByHistory: When it was released in the '90s, it got a mixed response from critics and audience alike who thought [[PlayingAgainstType it was too far of a departure]] from Carrey's traditional goofball roles. Today, it's regularly brought to the table as one of the best Carrey comedies, and even possibly movies in general in his résumé. If nothing else, Carrey's performance here points to him having a much greater range as an actor than he was generally presumed to have up to that point; not long after this, ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' and ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' -- perhaps not coincidentally films also steeped in television and what it does to people -- would display his gifts to full effect.

Context YMMV / TheCableGuy