Movie Answer Man
Movie Answer Man (06/30/1996)
Q. In your review of "The Cable Guy," you wrote: "We want to like Jim Carrey. A movie that makes us dislike him is a strategic mistake." Maybe the problem with "The Cable Guy" isn't Lou Holtz Jr.'s screenplay; maybe the problem is Ben Stiller's direction. I've only seen 10 minutes of the "Ben Stiller Show", but in that 10 minutes Stiller made very unfunny, vicious fun of Amish people. Janeane Garafalo (star of "The Truth About Cats and Dogs") was in the skit and afterwards, in a taped segment showing her and Stiller walking down the street talking to each other, she notes her skepticism about just how funny a vicious attack on gentle, peace-loving people can be. Stiller's face seems to register not a single sign he's got a clue what she's saying. (Michael Brant, San Rafael, CA.)
