Title says it all. 1995 Toyota Camry LE. Went to open the hood. Nothing. No “click” sound. I cannot open it by using the finger latch in the front grill because the cable release doesn’t do its job first.
How in the heck do I open up the hood now??
Cartooniverse
I hope you know a contortionist as here’s what you have to do (unless you want to cut a hole in your hood): Reach from underneath of the car up to where the mechanism is. You’ll be able to find the cable there, tug firmly and the hood will pop loose, so you can open it via the hood latch.
The cable is probably stretched a little bit, or gone out of adjustment.
If you have someone who can help you, have them pull on the release while you push down on the hood. Pushing down a little will take some pressure off the latch, allowing it to move more easily.
So you push down and hold, they pull the release and hold, you try to open the hood. Repeat several times with slightly different timing and various amount of pushing and pulling.
Failing that you may see if you can adjust some slack out of the cable at the release end, or grab the cable itself behind the release handle with a pair vice grips and pull (this can damage the cable, but usually not if you’re a tad careful).
Edited to add: Tuckerfan’s suggestion is also a good one!
First off stick you head down in the driver’s footwell and look at the hood release. Did the cable come out of the handle? The handles are plastic and will often break. If the handle is broken, a new handle is needed.
Is there an adjustment on the end of the cable (some do, some don’t)
If you can get to the end of the cable, you can usually grab it with a pair of vice grips and pull the cable to open the hood.
If that fails, as Tuckerfan says go for the other end. Oft times a long screwdriver will allow you to move the latch.
See if the latch mechanism is visible through the grille. If so, a hook made from coat hanger should allow you to operate the end to which the cable is connected.
Remember to do this only when the engine is cold!
Not at all familiar with the layout on a Camry but it is sometimes possible to feed a wire clothes hanger, suitably bent into shape, through the radiator grill, hook the wire and pull it enough to release the initial catch.
Not as big a concern as you might think. The latch is in front of the A/C condenser and that area cools off long before the engine itself.
Not to mention that quite often, by the time you get yoursself contorted into the necessary position to reach the cable, even the hottest engine has had time to cool. 
Pretty much. 
mr.emilyforce’s mid-90’s Toyota pickup had this problem last month.
First thing to try (worked for us): WD-40 the heck out of the catch, inasmuch as you can see it or guess where it is, from the front and/or underside.
Mechanically, in keeping with the advice what’s gone before, probably the cable from the release to the catch got messed with somehow; most likely strained or stretched a little. In which case, lubing up the works makes it easier for the stressed-out cable to do its job.
Worst case scenario: cable or one of its anchor points has broken and needs to be replaced.
If the WD-40 or coat-hanger or other advice works, be sure to examine the whole cable assembly as carefully as you can while you have the hood open, since the trick may or may not work twice.
When mine stopped working, my mechanic showed me this one:
1- Pull release handle once, firmly
2- Make a fist and give the hood a solid thump. Not right over the latch, maybe two feet in and slightly off-center.
Once I got the feel for it, it was amazing how light a thump would make the hood pop up. Every time I did it, it made me feel like Fonzie for some reason.
Hi, I’m back.
I did insert my cranium into the footwell of the driver’s area. The release is intact, the hard rubber grommet with slot to hold release a set distance from mount is in place in it’s slot. That looked fine.
Took 15 year old daughter to car. Had her sit behind steering wheel. This involved several steps not directly connected to the task at hand.
I asked her to lean over, pull the hood release and hold it. This was greeted with surly distain. Apparently when wearing ones faux Coach sunglasses, automotive repairs are not possible.
While release was being held open, I reached into grill. Found hand-release mechanism that is normally pulled to open hood. While holding that mechanizm “open”, I pushed down hard and pulled up hard on the lip of the hood. After a few vigorous, nay I may say aggressively violent, tugs I was rewarded with the release of said hood.
I immediately put on vinyl exam gloves. I slathered my right thumb and forefinger with an excessive amount of Teflon Lube Gel which I always have in the house. Schmearing it about, I coated both latch and spring. A couple of tries to release and close and it now works like buttah.
Note to all: WD-40 is the satanic spawn of the lubricant world. It is a rust-promoter, it has little lasting power, it draws dust and dirt in instead of repelling. Altogether appalling as a lube.
For this kind of trick I use Teflon Lube Gel or Teflon Oil. For serious waterproofing I use silicone spray. For anti-dust and light lube, ACF-50, which is a marine waterproofing spray that creates a microfilm surface on anything you spray it onto. Not appropriate for this application, but nice to know about.
Thanks for the tips, all !!!
BlackNGold, this is known as the Arthur Fonzarelli School of Mechanical Repair. 
It works on cars, motorcycles, jukeboxes and just about anything else you can think of. In the world of Emergency Medical Services, it is called the precordial thump.
Cartooniverse
A minor correction to my last post. I meant to say, when waterproofing ** clothing and fabric**, silicone is used.
A combination of tips given by emilyforce and BlackNGold has worked for me:
WD-40 the heck out of the catch, inasmuch as you can see it or guess where it is, from the front and/or underside.
Pull release handle once, firmly.
Make a fist and give the hood a solid thump.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the hood releases.
After you get the hood up, clean and lube the entire mechanism.
Where I come from, the preferred term is “percussive maintenance”.