There was a moment, maybe fifteen years ago, that The Cable Guy was being heralded as a misunderstood masterpiece for it's time, like Citizen Kane was in the 40's and Vertigo was in the 50's.
Reality: the movie was, is, and always will be a fucking mess. For anyone that wanted Ace Ventura-like humor, it's shit. For people that appreciate dark comedy, it's still too mainstream and chickens out of a much darker path it could've taken. For anyone who felt it was a metaphor for a generation of adults raised by TV, it's an over-simplified idea lacking depth throughout.
Anyone who thinks it's brilliant is seeing what isn't there - and I believe Carrey was one of them, which is why when it didn't set records, he began looking into dramatic material, and his career never recovered.
If you look at any of his films now - barring my admitted bias for the stupidity of the first Ace Ventura and Dumb & Dumber, both of which I judge as a whole and not just Carrey himself - I don't think he's ever had a truly solid movie that he carried. Number 23, Truman Show, Kick Ass 2, The Mask, The Majestic, every single one sucked.
He's a hack. He's a Canadian Norton.