Cruel, unsettling and frequently very funny indeed, this was rudely
dismissed on its release but now looks like Carrey’s best film
pre-Truman Show. His deranged TV technician pesters architect
Broderick into a friendship made in hell: what ensues is a male bonding
pastiche of Fatal Attraction. Stiller directs like he acts – edgily and
ironically, deftly satirising America’s vapid obsession with the
tube (his parody of a televised murder trial is ruthlessly on the
money). Inspired set pieces at a medieval-themed restaurant and a
karaoke party give Carrey the chance to go maniacally OTT as usual – but
inside a wickedly dark persona that mainstream audiences clearly
weren’t ready for.
