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The Cable Guy
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.
1996 · Directed by Ben Stiller · 96 min · Comedy · Drama · Thriller · Screenplay in the scene database · 15 frames
Tagline
There's no such thing as free cable.
Plot
After a failed marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Robin Harris, architect Steven Kovacs moves into an apartment. Following his friend Rick Legatos' advice, Steven bribes cable installer Ernie "Chip" Douglas to get free movie channels. Chip makes Steven one of his preferred customers and, in return for his services, asks if he can see Steven socially, which Steven begrudgingly agrees to.
On a visit to the city's central satellite dish, Chip confides to Steven that when he was young, his father was absent and his mother used television as a "babysitter". Chip starts to intrude more and more on Steven's life, alienating him from his friends. He begins leaving multiple messages on Steven's answering machine and installs an expensive home theater system as a gift, which Steven rejects.
Steven allows Chip to host a party for his preferred customers at his apartment. During the party, Steven has sex with a woman who turns out to be a prostitute hired by Chip. Learning this, Steven angrily ejects Chip from his apartment. To make amends, Chip tracks down and beats up Robin's date and warns him to stay away, then upgrades her cable, ostensibly as a gift from Steven. Robin gets back together with Steven as a result. However, when Steven finds out Chip's hand in their reunion, he politely ends his friendship with Chip.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Lou Holtz Jr.
- Cinematography: Robert Brinkmann
- Edited by: Steven Weisberg
- Music: John Ottman
- Production design: Sharon Seymour
- Produced by: Judd Apatow, Jeffrey A. Mueller, Andrew Licht
Cast
- Jim Carrey as Cable Guy
- Matthew Broderick as Steven
- Leslie Mann as Robin
- Jack Black as Rick
- George Segal as Steven's Father
- Diane Baker as Steven's Mother
- Ben Stiller as Sam Sweet
- Eric Roberts as Eric Roberts
- Janeane Garofalo as Medieval Waitress
- Andy Dick as Medieval Host
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Columbia Pictures, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Licht/Mueller Film Corporation
- Budget: $47,000,000
- Box office: $102,825,796
- Themes: prison, prostitute, karaoke, obsession, dark comedy, medieval, cable guy, frenemies
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