Innerspace (1987) Warner Bros./Sci-Fi-Comedy RT: 120 minutes Rated PG (language, crude humor, some violence, brief rear nudity) Director: Joe Dante Screenplay: Jeffrey Boam and Chip Proser Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography: Andrew Laszlo Release date: July 1, 1987 (US) Cast: Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Vernon Wells, Robert Picardo, Wendy Schaal, Harold Sylvester, William Schallert, Henry Gibson, John Hora, Mark L. Taylor, Orson Bean, Kevin Hooks, Kathleen Freeman, Archie Hahn, Dick Miller, Kenneth Tobey, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin. Box Office: $25.9M (US)/$42M (World)
Rating: ***
The summer movie season has been a highly competitive one since Star Wars came along in ’77 and completely changed the game. For every success, there are two or three failures. As the ‘87 season approached, I predicted Innerspace would be the top earner of the summer based on the phenomenal success of Back to the Future two years earlier. Like the popular time travel comedy, it bore the phrase “Steven Spielberg Presents” above the title and dealt with science gone berserk. It seemed like a real no-brainer. I figured Innerspace couldn’t possibly fail, no way.
Boy, was I wrong! Audiences didn’t respond to Innerspace like I thought they would. It only managed to eke out $25.9 million at the box office. It’s hard to say what exactly went wrong, but it’s nothing to do with the movie itself. It’s a solidly entertaining sci-fi-comedy from Joe Dante whose previous collaboration with Spielberg, Gremlins, was one of 1984’s biggest hits, another fact upon which I based my hypothesis.
In a sentence, Innerspace is a zany comic take on Fantastic Voyage. Dennis Quaid (Dreamscape) stars as Lt. Tuck Pendleton, a cocky naval pilot whose military career is nearly at an end. He elects to participate in a scientific experiment involving miniaturization. Both he and his submersible pod will be shrunk to microscopic size and injected into a rabbit via a syringe. Naturally, something goes wrong. A gang of thieves led by Dr. Margaret Canker (Lewis, Dr. Phibes Rises Again) breaks into the lab to try and steal the technology. One of the white coats grabs the syringe and makes it to a shopping mall where he’s shot by one of Canker’s goons, Mr. Igoe (Wells, The Road Warrior). Before he dies, he manages to inject Tuck into the derriere of neurotic hypochondriac supermarket cashier Jack Putter (Short, Three Amigos).
It takes Tuck a minute to realize he’s in the body of human instead of a bunny. Once he does, he attaches a camera to Jack’s optic nerve so he can see what Jack sees. He attaches another device to Jack’s inner ear so he can communicate with him. At first, Jack thinks he’s lost his mind. Hearing voices can’t be a sign of good mental health, right? When he finally calms down, Tuck explains everything and asks for Jack’s help. He has only a limited supply of oxygen and needs to be extracted before it runs out. This entails Jack stealing back the technology from criminal mastermind Victor Scrimshaw (McCarthy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers).
As per Tuck’s instructions, Jack goes to his ex-girlfriend, newspaper reporter Lydia Maxwell (Ryan, Top Gun), for help. It’s a lucky thing he does; she has a line on the illegal tech dealer, known simply as “The Cowboy” (Picardo, The Howling), planning to buy and sell the stolen program to the highest bidder. Together, Jack and Lydia try to retrieve the purloined computer chip and get it back to the lab in time to save Tuck.
There’s a lot going on in Innerspace, perhaps too much at times. Dante crams in a lot in the space of two hours. It’s a sci-fi exploration adventure, heist flick, corporate espionage actioner, buddy movie, love triangle and zany slapstick comedy rolled into one. It has an assassin with a gun mounted in his robotic hand and a(n) (inner)space battle between two tiny vessels inside Jack’s body. Short, in an excellent display of his knack for physical comedy, does a silly dance to Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away” that conjures up memories of his Ed Grimley character from SCTV and SNL. As much as I like Innerspace, it gets tiring. It could have used some tighter editing for time. At the same time, I’d hate to see any of it go.
The Oscar-winning special effects by ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) truly are amazing. Maybe it’s the kid in me speaking but pre-CGI movies like Innerspace always look cool. The old school effects hold up remarkably well after more than three decades. The scenes of Quaid navigating his way through Short’s bloodstream and around his insides are convincing in a way CGI never could be. One of the neatest moments is when the two men share a drink by way of Short guzzling booze down his throat. Another is when Tuck electronically alters Jack’s face so he resembles The Cowboy. It’s a little freaky but still cool. The miniature work is mostly on point save for some clumsy scenes featuring partially shrunken villains. Oh well, that’s the 80s for you.
Although they mostly don’t appear on-screen together, Quaid and Short have great chemistry as the alpha male and the meek guy in need of confidence. One of the most interesting aspects of Innerspace is Jack’s transition from nervous Neddy to brave hero. Ultimately, he’s the one who has to save Tuck’s bacon which sometimes means punching out a goon or two. It’s nice how Tuck helps Jack gain self-confidence. In return, Jack teaches Tuck about humility, kindness and decency. Ryan shows her comic chops as a strong, slightly dizzy 80s woman determined to break what she think is the story of the century. She was always cute in her early roles.
The supporting cast and cameos are a movie geek’s dream come true. Wells, who also played bad guy Bennett in Commando, makes for a surprisingly funny heavy. McCarthy is great as the so-called criminal mastermind. Other familiar faces strew throughout Innerspace include William Schallert (Twilight Zone: The Movie), Henry Gibson (Laugh-In), Wendy Schaal (Where the Boys Are ‘84), Dick Miller (Hollywood Boulevard), Kathleen Freeman (The Blues Brothers), Archie Hahn (Meatballs Part II), Orson Bean (voice of Bilbo Baggins in 1977’s animated The Hobbit), Kenneth Tobey (1951’s The Thing), animator Chuck Jones and SCTV cast members Joe Flaherty and Andrea Martin.
Throw in a nifty score by Jerry Goldsmith and you have a good summer movie. Innerspace has its faults but Dante covers for them with the loony tune spirit of the whole thing. It definitely should NOT have been ignored when it played at the movies but I guess shrinky-dink characters are no match for Axel Foley, Alex Murphy and Ah-nuld taking on a seven-foot alien.
