Synopsis

Recently separated and eager to make a fresh start, Steven hires a friendly cable installer named Chip Douglas. Chip quickly turns the routine service call into an intense friendship, forcing himself into Steven's home, relationships, and private life. As Chip's behavior grows increasingly possessive and threatening, Steven realizes that ending the friendship may be far more dangerous than beginning it.

Factoids & Trivia

• The screenplay began as a smaller, lighter independent comedy. Chris Farley was attached to star in the original version before the project grew into a major studio production.

• Jim Carrey received a reported $20 million salary, a deal that attracted considerable industry attention and helped create expectations that the film would become another blockbuster.

• The film cost approximately $47 million to produce and earned about $102.8 million worldwide. Although it was widely described as a disappointment compared with Carrey's earlier hits, it was not a financial failure.

• Chip's request for Steven's chicken skin at Medieval Times, followed by his "The Silence of the Lambs" impression, was improvised. Matthew Broderick's reaction and laughter were genuine.

• Carrey reportedly had difficulty dribbling and shooting a basketball during the basketball sequence. He mimed the action, and the ball was added during post-production.

• Several of Chip's more extreme scenes were filmed in contrasting versions, with one approach emphasizing comedy and another making the character darker and more threatening.

• The film's initial critical response was mixed, but its combination of celebrity culture, television obsession, loneliness, and psychological menace has helped it gain a stronger cult reputation over time.

• A music video connected with the film was included as a bonus feature on the 15th-anniversary Blu-ray release.