Innerspace
Directed by Joe Dante
- action
- comedy
- science fiction
The story
Test pilot Tuck Pendleton volunteers to test a special vessel for a miniaturization experiment. Accidentally injected into a neurotic hypochondriac, Jack Putter, Tuck must convince Jack to find his ex-girlfriend, Lydia Maxwell, to help him extract Tuck and his ship and re-enlarge them before his oxygen runs out.
What it’s like
Bright 1980s studio color with a slick, glossy finish: sunlit San Francisco streets and crisp suburban daytime, then the film drops into a cramped, neon-lit lab and a supermarket aisle seen from the height of a shrunken man. Joe Dante's camera stays mobile and playful, with fast pans and zooms that turn ordinary rooms into cartoonish obstacle courses, and the inside-the-body sequences glow with pulsing reds, blues and wet, glassy textures. The score is bouncy and synth-driven, ticking along with the comic panic. Pacing is brisk and cheerful, a farce where anxiety is the running joke and the emotional register stays light and goofy, with a neurotic man slowly learning to trust himself and a reluctant romance warming up along the way. Violence is minimal and cartoonish: a few slapstick mishaps and a bit of peril, with no gore to speak of, and no sexual content beyond light innuendo. A fun, gentle fit for a Saturday afternoon or a nostalgic comfort rewatch, and for viewers who enjoy sci-fi comedy with bright, busy visuals and a sense of wonder.
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