Free cable is the ultimate aphrodisiac…

After kicking off June with discussions of our very first Vincent Price film in Theater of Blood (listen) and revisiting the world of Anne Rice (kinda) in Queen of the Damned (listen), we’re stepping out of our usual area of coverage to discuss Ben Stiller‘s genre-adjacent black comedy The Cable Guy (1996).

In The Cable Guy, newly single Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick) gets more than he bargained for after he bribes his eccentric cable installer, Ernie “Chip” Douglas (Jim Carrey), for free movie channels. While attempting to woo back his ex Robin (Leslie Mann), Steven must contend with Chip’s desperate need for companionship. Chip’s relationship-building tactics quickly escalate into obsessive stalking, making for a darkly comedic take on thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Single White Female.

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Episode 390: The Cable Guy (1996)

Get ready to tell us where you like it as we head to Medieval Times because we’re discussing Ben Stiller’s Jim Carrey-starring black comedy The Cable Guy (1996) for its 30th anniversary! Tagging in for the conversation are Patrick Hamilton and Gena Radcliffe of the Kill By Kill Podcast.

Join us as we go all in on the oddly prescient (and highly media literate) film made famous by Jim Carrey’s $20 million paycheck. From Carrey’s incredibly creepy performance to a nightmare sequence straight out of A Nightmare on Elm Street, there are a lot more horror (and homoerotic) undertones to this film than you might expect!

Plus, that iconic karaoke sequence, sexy Jack Black and comparisons to Single White Female, So I Married an Axe Murderer and Scream.

Cross out The Cable Guy!

Coming Up Next: We’re licking the drain as we check in with the Catton family in Emerald Fennel’s not-remake of The Talented Mr. Ripley in her 2023 sophomore feature Saltburn!

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 498 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 3 Episodes 5 & 6, Backrooms, Passenger, Leviticus, an audio commentary on the original Scary Movie (2000), and the return of our Requel Tier as we begin our episode coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.