THE CABLE GUY/FANTASY ISLAND

JOHN OTTMAN

Cable Guy Rating:
Fantasy Island Rating:

Original Review: Since its initial release as a promo in 1997, John Ottman's score for The Cable Guy has become one of the most highly sought-after CDs on the soundtrack market. Now, producer Ford Thaxton has teamed up with Ottman and the guys at Supertracks to produce this two-scores-on-one-CD album, something which any film music fan with some cash to spare would do well to snap up while it is still fairly readily available. The Cable Guy was supposed to be Jim Carrey's first foray into mainstream "dramatic" acting, even though the film still had a high quota of comedic content. In it, Carrey plays a psychologically disturbed cable TV installer who, after an off-the-cuff remark from customer Matthew Broderick, installs himself as his new best friend. It is only when Carrey literally starts to take over, and in some cases wreck, Broderick's life that things start to turn a little nastier, leading to some amusing but rather disturbing confrontations. Although the movie didn't quite reach its target audience, or generate as many laughs and thrills as it intended, John Ottman's music went a long, long way towards rescuing the film. Ottman undertook a balancing act which sought to combine comedy, suspense and satire without making any one of the three elements more prominent than the other - something which would have upset the incredibly thin line on which the premise of the film was perched. Ultimately, Ottman succeeded admirably, and his score is one of the film's three most memorable aspects - the others being Carrey's incredible karaoke version of "Somebody To Love", and his subsequent accapella rendition of Gerald Fried's legendary Star Trek Vulcan fight music during a medieval joust. Don't ask. The 'Main Theme', heard in its fullest forms in the first and last cues, is an enchanting, almost childlike melody which reminds me of both Carol Anne's Theme from Poltergeist and parts of Edward Scissorhands. The soft choir, singing 'la la' while accompanied by Ottman's lush, gothic stringwork, makes for an attractive but rather subversive musical introduction, and this lullabyish choral motif makes appearances frequently throughout the score. The bulk of Ottman's other cues are under 90 seconds in length, something which is slightly annoying in terms of musical development, but certainly not detrimental in any way to the enjoyment of the score. Of these, 'The Satellite Dish' is a short but impressive cue filled with awe and wonder, and several knockout action sequences ('Killing the Baby-Sitter', 'The Tower', 'Spiders and Threats', 'Final Joust', 'Garage Chase', 'The Water Fight') have some wonderful bits of pizzicato, tumultuous percussion and dizzying choir, and are regularly interjected with snippets of the main theme, making the whole thing occasionally sound like Danny Elfman gone mad (well, madder than usual anyway!) The other half of the album is dedicated to Ottman's music from the pilot episode of the short-lived TV series Fantasy Island, in which a mysterious travel agent named Mr. Roarke makes the dreams of his unsuspecting customers come true on his tropical island hideaway. Ottman's music for Fantasy Island is in complete contrast to his dark, melodramatic themes for The Usual Suspects and others. Here, he delves into the realms of light comedy and fun-filled whimsy, resulting in several striking cues. The main theme, heard throughout, is a merry, undulating little ditty with a definite exotic lilt, brought to life by some bold brass notes, light woodwind embellishments and a funky steel drum. Other cues combine moments of comedy with a sense of scope and grandeur, employing a prominent Americana theme, while others incorporate ethnic flutes and percussion and sampled tribal chants into the underscore. Arguably the best cue is the lovely 'Life and Death', which features a gorgeous string melody simply dripping with emotion. Despite the CD proclaiming loudly that this is "For Promotional Use Only! Not For Sale!", it shouldn't be too hard for serious collectors to find, and any time and effort spent trying to track this CD down would be well worth it, especially as it won't be long before this release becomes a highly prized collectable. I personally feel these two scores further strengthen my opinion than John Ottman is the best and most impressive composer to emerge into the mainstream during the latter half of the 1990s, and I confidently predict (and sincerely hope) that his star continues to ascend well into the next millennium.

Track Listing:

FANTASY ISLAND THE CABLE GUY Running Time: 51 minutes 00 seconds

Supertracks JOCD-01 (1999)

FANTASY ISLAND: Music composed by John Ottman. Conducted by Damon Intrabartolo. Orchestrations by John Ottman and Damon Intrabartolo. Recorded and mixed by Casey Stone. Edited by Amanda Goodpaster. Produced by John Ottman. THE CABLE GUY: Music composed by John Ottman. Conducted by Larry Groupé. Orchestrations by Larry Groupé, John Ottman, Damon Intrabartolo, Rick Patterson and Bruce Donnely. Recorded and mixed by Robert Fernandez. Edited by Lia Vollack. Produced by John Ottman. Album produced by John Ottman and Ford A. Thaxton.


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