His name's Ernie Douglas... but his friends call him Chip. On Sunday night, the Super Bowl went down, and with the big game came a plethora of big budget commercials, as is tradition. One of the standout ads, especially for fans of Jim Carrey, brought back his character from The Cable Guy to promote Verizon's 5G network. While Carrey hasn't played the part in more than 25 years, the actor has proven he hasn't lost a step since then with how easily he slips back into the role.

The world has changed dramatically since the last time we saw Carrey's Chip Douglas (aka Larry Tate, aka Ricky Ricardo). He's thoroughly impressed with how much technology has changed and hints that Verizon's 5G capabilities are pretty much the wave of the future he was telling Matthew Broderick about in the original film. Also like in The Cable Guy, Carrey makes fast friends with someone new in the ad, going so far as to make plans to return again soon, with or without permission.

Of course, this is all in line with the character. The Cable Guy stars Carrey as a lonely man who grew up with the television as his only babysitter, causing him to develop a lifelong obsession with television along with film and TV minutiae. So desperate for a pal, he manipulates Steven (Broderick) into becoming friends with him, but it all gets to be too much for Steven to handle when he realize that he's literally being stalked by his cable man.

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The Cable Guy Has Grown a Cult Following Since Its Release

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Verizon

Written by Lou Holtz Jr., The Cable Guy is directed by Ben Stiller. Along with Matthew Broderick and Jim Carrey, the film features a variety of big names in various roles, including Leslie Mann, Jack Black, George Segal, Diane Baker, Eric Roberts, Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, and Andy Dick. Stiller also appears in the film as a former child star who murdered his twin brother with their subsequent trial garnering immense media coverage.

A dark comdy, The Cable Guy was not quite the same style of humor as Carrey's other films from the 90s. The change in tone might have been what put off many filmgoers in 1996 who were expecting him to be more goofy and upbeat like they saw in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Dumb and Dumber. In any case, The Cable Guy was trashed at the time of its release, though time has been kind to the film. Carrey has always stood by it, as is now more evident by him reprising the role, and many of his fans now see that film as an underrated classic.

Will there ever be a genuine sequel to The Cable Guy, or is the Super Bowl ad the closest we will come? Anything is possible, as even the idea of Carrey playing Chip Douglas in a commercial would have seemed pretty unlikely just a few years ago. Maybe there's another story to be told in that universe where Chip (as he likes to be called) comes to terms with modern technology.