More like the cabal guy, really
It was denounced as ruinous, contemptible and brainless. And that was the reaction only to Jim Carrey’s $20-million acting deal for “The Cable Guy.”
Sony’s milestone Carrey contract was merely the beginning of the ridicule heaped upon the 1996 dark comedy about a stalker cable TV installer. Carrey’s infamous pay package (which has been eclipsed repeatedly) was cited in many of the film’s consistently caustic reviews and badmouthed in executive suites across town.
The Los Angeles Times called “The Cable Guy” a “complete miscalculation” and the New York Times dubbed it “the true disaster movie of the summer.” All the same, the movie grossed a modest $60.1 million.
Outside of late-night runs on (where else?) cable, the film was quickly forgotten. But what the industry naysayers and film critics couldn’t have predicted was its lasting impact on Hollywood comedy.
With just a few steps, nearly every member of the current comedy royalty can somehow be linked to “The Cable Guy,” even if they had only tiny cameos.
It makes for a much better legacy than the outrage over Carrey’s $20-million paycheck.
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