Distributed by

Columbia TriStar

Cat.no: CDR 94680

Cert: 12

Running time: 92 minutes

Year: 1996

Pressing: 1999

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 20 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround

Languages: English

Subtitles: None

Widescreen: 2.35:1

16:9-Enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 5

Price: £19.99

Extras : Scene index, Theatrical trailer

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Director:

Ben Stiller (Reality Bites)

Producer:

Andrew Licht, Jeffrey A. Mueller and Judd Apatow

Screenplay:

Lou Holtz, Jr.

Music:

John Ottman

Cast:

Cable Guy: Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Batman Forever, Dumb & Dumber, Liar Liar, Man on the Moon, The Mask, The Truman Show)
Steven: Matthew Broderick (Addicted To Love, Biloxi Blues, Family Business, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Freshman, Godzilla, Inspector Gadget, Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle, War Games)
Robin: Leslie Mann (George of the Jungle, Last Man Standing, She's The One)
Rick: Jack Black (Bob Roberts, Dead Man Walking, Demolition Man, Enemy Of The State, The Jackal, Never Ending Story 3, Waterworld)
Steven's Father: George Seagal (Carbon Copy, Fun with Dick and Jane, The Mirror Has Two Faces, To Die For)
Sam Sweet: Ben Stiller (Empire of the Sun, Flirting with Disaster, Happy Gilmore, Reality Bites, There's Something About Mary, Zero Effect)
Eric Roberts: Eric Roberts (Best of the Best 2, Heaven's Prisoners, Sleeping With The Enemy, The Specialist)
Medieval Waitress: Janeane Garofalo (Cop Land, Larger Than Life, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, The Truth About Cats and Dogs)

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As Chip leaves they exchange pleasantries, Chip turning a "see you around"-style comment into the pair of them going out for the evening the next day. Little by little he winds his way into Steven's life, his girlfriend's life - in as much as trying to help the separated pair get back together by fair means or foul - to the point where he just can't get rid of him, finally turning up at a strictly friends-and-family dinner party, but when Steven tells Chip that he has no room in his life for a new friend, Chip goes into overdrive - as if he hasn't already - and Steven will wish he'd just stuck to bog-standard terrestrial TV.

Highlight of this excellent comedy film by a mile is of course Jim Carrey, recently coming to the fore with The Truman Show after the flop of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as the manic technician whose madness knows no bounds and is the perfect example of a man who's actions can never be predicted, bringing many a laugh to this reviewer. Matthew Broderick spends a lot of his time looking bewildered but does a fine job as the straight man opposite Carrey. Cameos include the director Ben Stiller as murderer Sam Sweet, whose tale of debauchery is plastered all over the cable news channels, not to mention a quickly-made TV movie starring, also in a brief cameo role, Eric Roberts as himself as Sam Sweet, if you see what I mean. Finally, there's a cameo from the prolific dour-faced and sarcastic comedienne Janeane Garofalo as the waitress in a Medieval-themed restaurant, who pulls off a splendid retort in her usual style to a question from Broderick :

(JG enters carrying a jug of Pepsi)
MB: Can I get a knife and fork ?
JG: There were no utensils in medieval times, hence there are no utensils AT 'Medieval Times'. Would you like a refill on that Pepsi ?
MB: There were no utensils, but there was Pepsi ?
JG: Dude, I gotta lotta tables...

The picture quality is fantastic and artifact-free and since it features a number of facial close-ups, the skin tones are brought out perfectly. A number of scenes also use plenty of colour, all of which are represented flawlessly here. The film presented in its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1, is enhanced for 16:9 widescreen televisions - thus allowing for 33% higher resolution - and the average bitrate is a fine 5.51 Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s. Note that the back-cover states a film ratio of "16:9", but thankfully the film is in its correct theatrical ratio and not cropped to 16:9, unlike two other recent releases from other distributors, Sleepers (from Polygram) and Boogie Nights (from Entertainment in Video).

The sound is also spot-on and well-used with many of Carrey's scenes as punchy effects are used to denote his offbeat behaviour. A Dolby Digital 5.1 option is there but in English only.

Extras :

Chapters/Theatrical Trailers :

Languages/Subtitles :

Filmographies/Biographies :

Menu :

Upon selecting the "Start Movie" option, you'll first see a "Sony Pictures DVD Center" logo, followed by the Dolby Digital helicopter demo, the copyright logo and then the film itself.

Overall, this is an excellent comedy in which Carrey shines in every scene, while each of these don't last particularly long, there are plenty of them. Couple this with a brilliant transfer and it's well worth a purchase. It's just a shame there isn't much in the way of extras. Also, the BBFC saw fit to cut four seconds out of the film for "violent content", but any cuts made aren't obvious so it's not a big deal to lose them.

FILM	 		: *****
PICTURE QUALITY		: *****
SOUND QUALITY		: *****
EXTRAS			: **
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OVERALL			: ****½

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.