Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

A Non-review by Professor Popinjay

I was a Jim Carrey fanatic when I was in middle school. I know I just geeked out about Mr. T but that was when I was like 2. But this is a whole different era. I thought Ace Ventura was hilarious. I loved every second of The Mask. I can recite Batman Forever verbatim. I yearned to be as dumb as Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber.

So when The Cable Guy was announced, I was primed, pumped, and ready to go.

The Cable Guy is the story of a lonely guy who obligates (manipulates, really) people into having a relationship with him because he’s hooking them up with free cable. No one was giving me free cable in middle school but I knew plenty of people who had learned to maintain friendships through manipulation and they DRAINED. THE. LIFE OUT OF ME!

At first people like this made me really uncomfortable and irritated. They still do even at my age now but I’ve learned to establish and maintain boundaries.

I say “Listen, I enjoy hanging out with you occasionally but I need you to respect my limitations. If that means you don’t want to give me (insert favor) anymore that’s fine. I’m still happy to be friends.

Usually it’s my mortgage agent I’m talking to but boundaries are boundaries!

Carrey’s character in Cable Guy goes far beyond the breaching of boundaries and reveals himself to be a downright stalker, influencing Mathew Broderick’s family and friends against him. It’s creepy as all get out.

So yeah, Carrey was the villain basically. And not a fun comic book villain like the Riddler (I mean the Riddler from Batman Forever, not the Paul Dano Riddler from 2022’s The Batman. That Riddler was not fun.) Did I like Carrey as a creepy not fun villain? Not really. Going into a film expecting Carrey’s zany antics and getting this was jarring for me as a kid. But now I can appreciate the acting talent. And there are some iconic, even hilarious scenes. The Medieval Times scene is so stinking funny. Bldld-AH! Bldldldldld-AH!

It’s not the greatest movie but if you’re going into it with the intention of teaching your kids the importance of boundaries in relationships, it is a pretty entertaining way to go about it.

Thankfully, Carrey did Liar Liar shortly after this and TOTALLY REDEEMED HIMSELF!!!