24 Reasons to Believe This Theory Connecting The Parent Trap and Superstar

My theory is that Superstar (1999) is a prequel to The Parent Trap (1998). Twenty-six year old Meredith Blake (Elaine Hendrix) from The Parent Trap is using a fake name, and is actually a slightly older Evian Graham, who is a high school student in Superstar. Evian is forced to change her name because she went on to murder Sky Corrigan (Will Ferrell) in a jealous rage at some point in time between the end of Superstar and the beginning of The Parent Trap. In Superstar, Mary Catherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon) has the ability to rewind and fast forward other movies into the lives of the people around her. “Meredith” from The Parent Trap wants to marry single dad Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) for his money to help out her parents, who are now broke. After helping to cover up Sky’s murder, they were forced to leave town and their well-paying jobs, and then spent most of what was left of their money on Evian’s college tuition. When “Meredith” finds out that Hallie (Lindsay Lohan) has a twin, she screams because she realizes that Mary Catherine has used her power to fast forward The Parent Trap (1961) into her life and set her up for failure again.

Evian and “Meredith” have identical looks and personalities.

1. They’re both played by Elaine Hendrix, so they have the exact same face, body, and voice.

2. In The Parent Trap, Nick’s ex-wife comes to his house and plans on going camping with him and their twin daughters. “Meredith” gets very jealous and does not allow them to go without her. Evian proves to be equally as jealous when Sky talks to Mary Catherine right after breaking up with her. She gives a very loud, high-pitched scream and passes out. “Meredith” screams in this exact same way multiple times in The Parent Trap.

3. Like a classic bully, Evian taunts Mary in the locker room about her underdeveloped body, and calls her “boob sweat”. Similarly, when one of Nick’s eleven year old daughters accuses “Meredith” of wanting to marry her dad because of his money, instead of denying it, she becomes aggressive and tells the little girl that she’s in way over her head. She later kisses the twins’ dad very intensely in front of them just to make a point.

4. When Mary Catherine tries to sign up for the school talent show, not only does Evian bully her, but the two actually come to blows. In The Parent Trap, “Meredith” shows a similar physical aggression, kicking over a water pitcher when she becomes angry on the camping trip, and then throwing her engagement ring at Nick’s head.

5. Both Evian and “Meredith” show signs of eating disorders. In Superstar, Mary Catherine says Evian is bulimic. Later, she is shown eating a bag of Bugles while talking on the phone. She then leaves the phone for a moment, vomits, and returns to her conversation as if it were normal. Similarly, “Meredith” only has half a grapefruit after Nick’s nanny makes a big breakfast. Then on the camping trip with Nick and the girls, the group has to stop for “Meredith” to catch her breath, despite her seemingly fit figure.

6. Both Evian and “Meredith” really seem to enjoy public displays of affection. This character is frequently seen kissing her boyfriend/fiance in front of people in both movies.

These other reasons why it’s totally plausible that Meredith is really Evian

7. In The Parent Trap, we see Meredith’s parents, but we never see or hear about Evian’s parents in Superstar. These could easily be the same characters.

8. Although Superstar came out a year after The Parent Trap, the scenery and costumes make it look like it takes place at least a few years before. Not to mention, Mary Catherine is narrating. Since the main character already knows everything about the events in the movie, they probably happened in the past. There’s no reason Superstar couldn’t be set eight or nine years before The Parent Trap, when “Meredith” is twenty-six.

9. The first time “Meredith” sees both twins together is near the end of the movie. When she realizes there are two of them, she screams in horror. It’s too big and public of a reaction for simply realizing you’ll be having two stepdaughters instead of one. This might be when Evian realizes that Mary has fast forwarded the original Parent Trap into her life.

10. When “Meredith” has to stop for a rest on the camping trip, she specifically asks for her bottle of, what else, Evian. When Nick then asks why he hears screaming, one of the twins explains that “there was a lizard on her bottle of Evian.” Right after her real name is said twice in a row here, Nick addresses the character as “Mer”. She seems confused for a second, and then says “Oh, right, right, right.”

These other connections between the two movies.

11. Of the many Carrie (1976) references in Superstar, the biggest is when Evian showers Mary Catherine with a bucket of paint during her talent show audition. In The Parent Trap, one twin tries to pull the same trick on her sister, except with chocolate sauce, which ends up getting dumped all over the head counselor.

12. The first time Mary Catherine is shown in confession, she does a monologue from another 1976 film, Cybil, in which the title character has multiple personalities and identities. Not only does Evian arguably use a second identity as Meredith, but both twins in The Parent Trap definitely use alternate identities as they impersonate each other. Oh, and the name of Cybil’s first alternate personality is Vicky, which is also the name of Meredith’s mother in The Parent Trap.

13. So how similar are the names Mary and Meredith? Did Evian subconsciously choose Meredith because it sounds like the name of the girl Sky actually wanted to be with at the end of Superstar? Furthermore, does this mean Sky was murdered because he was pursuing Mary again?

14. In both movies, two girls meet, become best friends, and make it their goal to make a specific couple happen.

Mary was rewinding and fast forwarding into different movies during Superstar.

15. She works at a video store, where her job is rewinding movies on VHS. If anyone can acquire this very specific superpower, it’s the person who has this very specific job.

16. In one of the first scenes, Mary Catherine tells her grandmother that she’s using her telekinesis to kill the girl who poured pig blood on her (Carrie reference). Her grandmother doesn’t question her having a superpower.

17. Mary Catherine is an omniscient narrator. How does the main character already know everything about what happens in this movie? Is it because this story already happened in the past? Almost definitely. Is it because she also has a specific movie superpower on top of that? Possibly.

18. In the opening scene, Mary Catherine is narrating and says, “They say that God works in mysterious ways, and in my case, very mysterious. Anyway.” I would say giving her a superpower that allows her to rewind and fast forward movies into people’s lives is a pretty mysterious way for God to work. Near the end of the movie, the priest tells Mary Catherine to “use the gifts that God gave her.” Father, I’m telling you, she does. Anyway.

19. Let’s talk about all the sudden movie scene transformations that happen in Superstar. Armageddon (1998) is a no doubter, as is Carrie. The Seven Year Itch (1955) also makes an appearance when a breeze lifts Mary Catherine’s plaid skirt at school. There even seem to be allusions to Mean Girls and Napoleon Dynamite, both of which were released in 2004, five years after Superstar. I’m telling you, this superpower thing is real. Mary Catherine also gives monologues straight out of three other films.

The God character in Superstar is actually Sky’s ghost.

20. God is played by Will Ferrell, who also plays Sky. Also like Sky, he has a very laid back personality, is very friendly, and likes to dance. The God character also doesn’t seem especially smart, at least not in the way you’d like God to be smart.

21. When Mary Catherine asks this character if he’s God, he responds by saying that he’s just what Mary subconsciously thinks God looks like, going as far as to say that his appearance is partially based on Sky. Also, whoever this character is, later appears to Slater (Harland Williams). If this character were God, wouldn’t he then look like Slater’s subconscious idea of God? Is it possible that this is the bearded ghost of Sky Corrigan who has been rewound back to the time when Sky was alive ?

In The Parent Trap, it’s Meredith’s parents who need her to marry for money, not her.

22. She already has a really good job as a publicist, not to mention a sweet red convertible. So why does she not deny marrying Nick Parker for his money? She doesn’t seem to need it.

23. When “Meredith” tells her parents about Nick’s money, they are just as excited about it as she is. Why would parents be so happy about their daughter marrying for money when she already has an awesome job? Are the kind of parents who would do that also the kind of parents who would cover up a murder?

24. Lastly, it might be hard to imagine Evian/Meredith doing anything for unselfish reasons, but if you watch both movies closely, her parents appear to be the only characters in either movie that she is always nice to.

666 Reasons You’ll Believe This Fan Theory About The Cable Guy (Okay, But Really Only 28)

If you haven’t seen the movie, Steven (Matthew Broderick) is moving into a new place because his girlfriend, Robin (Leslie Mann), kicked him out of their apartment when he proposed. In the first scene, the cable guy (Jim Carrey) arrives at Steven’s apartment to install his cable. After the two start hanging out a lot, Steven’s friend (Jack Black), who is slightly jealous, learns and tells Steven that the cable company fired the cable guy a long time ago for stalking customers. In the final scene, Steven tries to stop the cable guy from committing suicide. He jumps anyway, but sustains no serious injuries. In the end, it appears that Steven and Robin are getting back together and that the cable guy has agreed to leave them alone. Throughout the movie, there is news coverage of Hollywood actor Sam Sweet (Ben Stiller), who is on trial for murdering his twin brother.

So here's the theory: Steven previously sold his soul to the devil in exchange for being allowed to marry Robin. (Leslie Mann is way out of Matthew Broderick’s league, right?) But they never married because they were both murdered by Sam Sweet after witnessing the actor murder his brother. Steven’s new apartment is limbo, and the cable guy is actually the devil. Steven spends most of the movie trying to reunite with Robin, who is in heaven. Eventually Steven remembers who the cable guy really is and tells him he doesn’t want him around anymore. The devil then tries to bring Robin down to hell, which Steven tries to prevent. In the end, Steven tries to stop the cable guy from committing suicide. For that, the devil tells Steven, “he’s good people” and allows him to join Robin in heaven.

Steven’s new apartment building does not exist on earth. It’s actually limbo, and he is the only one that lives there.

1. There are several shots of the hallway on Steven’s floor when his front door is open. No other residents are ever shown in the hallway or walking in or out of the building. Nor are there any muffled sounds of neighbors.

2. No one complains about the excessive noise from Steven’s apartment when cable guy hosts a really loud karaoke party there.

3. There is a shot of the outside of Steven’s apartment building. It has four floors, but Steven’s window is the only one that has a light suggesting that someone lives there.


4. Most of the people at the karaoke party are old and appear to be from different time periods. There is a small group of young people there as well. Obviously most people die at an old age. When you take into account the prostitute who’s there, it seems like the right mix of people who might have died and didn’t make it directly into heaven.


5. Like you might imagine limbo, the apartment is really bland. Everything seems to be grey and there are almost no decorations.

The cable guy has textbook devil tendencies because he’s the devil.

6. When Steven tries to refuse his new friend’s gift of the entertainment system, the cable guy says, “You’ve given me something so much more valuable - friendship.” Friendship? Don’t you mean “your soul”?

7. The cable guy bribes a restaurant bathroom attendant to take a break so he can take over his job and beat up the guy who’s on a date with Robin. This may be to fulfill his bargain and get Steven’s soul.

8. Devil in Disguise 101: Lay low and conceal your identity. We never learn the cable guy’s real name. Also, cable guy and bathroom attendant are both pretty low profile jobs.

9. At the karaoke party, the cable guy slays “Somebody to Love” like only the devil himself truly could.


10. Before he starts singing “Somebody to Love”, he references the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. He says, “That night the Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels had their way. Tonight it’s my turn.” Um. Creepy.

11. After Steven finds out that a girl he slept with is a prostitute, the cable guy advises Steven not to tell his girlfriend. Classic devil on the shoulder move.

The cable guy has special abilities and knowledge that no actual human could have.

12. Steven calls the cable guy when his cable is out. About a second after Steven finishes dialing, the cable guy is already knocking on Steven’s door.

13. He just happens to know when Steven and his friends are playing basketball, and shows up right when one of the guys gets hurt and they need another player. Suspicious. After they ask the cable guy to fill in, he climbs up another player’s back with his feet to propel himself to a backboard-shattering slam dunk. Who else but the devil.


14. Near the end of the movie, the cable guy somehow breaks into Steven’s office, changes his screen saver, and gets a video of Steven trashing his boss to play on every computer in the office. How though?

15. After Steven gets fired from his job, he’s in the parking garage. The cable guy somehow gets every car in the parking garage to sound its alarm at once. Then he makes every car to stop at once, and Steven hears the cable guy’s voice. How is this happening?


16. In the restaurant bathroom, the cable guy, disguised as a bathroom attendant, takes almost no time to silently sneak under the stall and surprise the guy on a date with Robin. When we get another look at the bathroom stall doors, they come within a foot or less of the ground.


17. Before the karaoke party, the cable guy somehow sneaks a huge entertainment system into Steven’s apartment. This includes a big screen TV, speakers, and of course a deluxe karaoke machine. Steven questions how the cable guy got all that in the apartment without his knowing.

18. In one scene, the cable guy appears from absolutely nowhere. Steven is shown going up the steps to his building, and the only thing off to the side is a light post and some grass. The camera angle changes, and the cable guy instantly appears.


19. The cable guy survives a very high fall and seems to be just fine. How?

This devil imagery and symbolism.

20. The name of the town is Centerville. Sounds a lot like Sinnerville, right?


21. There is a shot of the cable guy standing in front of the big screen TV with a fireplace playing, which you might say looks like the fires of hell.


22. At one point, the cable guy is talking to Steven on the phone when a spider crawls across his face. The cable guy does not react whatsoever. Honestly, who other than the devil wouldn’t react to a spider crawling across their face?


23. After Steven’s friend tells him that his new friend isn’t really a cable guy, it triggers a nightmare where the cable guy has a very demonic voice and eyes. Perhaps Steven is finally remembering who the cable guy really is here.


24. The cable guy seems to really like candles (candles as in fire, and fire as in hell). There are very, very few decorations in Steven’s bland apartment. There are, however, a lot of candles, and it’s not totally clear if they belong to Steven or the cable guy. They are used almost exclusively during the cable guy’s karaoke jam. The cable guy also sniffs one pretty intensely at Robin’s apartment.

There is a separation between Steven and Robin because she’s in heaven.

25. There is something physically separating Steven and Robin. Until the very end, when perhaps the devil allows Steven to join Robin in heaven, Steven is never shown making any sort of physical contact with his girlfriend at all.

26. When they’re on Steven’s couch watching a movie, they do not touch at all. Is this how you sit and watch “Sleepless in Seattle” with someone you’ve been having sex with?


27. At Steven’s parents’ house, Steven is on one couch with his mom, and the cable guy is with Robin on another when they play porno password (guess whose game). During this dinner party, Robin hugs the cable guy multiple times, but never even touches Steven.


28. Robin’s apartment just looks like a much happier place than Steven’s place. It has a lot of flowery decorations and colors. Maybe it’s because she’s in heaven instead of limbo.