Innerspace (1987)

A hapless store clerk must foil criminals to save the life of the man who, miniaturized in a secret experiment, was accidentally injected into him.

Director:

Joe Dante

Writers:

Chip Proser (story), Jeffrey Boam (screenplay)

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Lt. Tuck Pendleton
Martin Short	...	Jack Putter
Meg Ryan	...	Lydia Maxwell
Kevin McCarthy	...	Victor Eugene Scrimshaw
Fiona Lewis	...	Dr. Margaret Canker
Vernon Wells	...	Mr. Igoe
Robert Picardo	...	The Cowboy
Wendy Schaal	...	Wendy
Harold Sylvester	...	Pete Blanchard
William Schallert	...	Dr. Greenbush
Henry Gibson	...	Mr. Wormwood
John Hora	...	Ozzie Wexler
Mark L. Taylor	...	Dr. Niles
Orson Bean	...	Lydia's Editor
Kevin Hooks	...	Duane

Storyline

Tuck Pendleton is a cocky pilot, who is taking part in a miniaturization experiment. When some bad guys break into the lab to steal the technology, one of the scientists takes a syringe which contains the miniaturized Tuck and vessel. Now in the vessel is part of the material needed to restore him. But the other part which is the lab is stolen. The scientist's shot but before dying he injects Tuck into Jack Putter, a hypochondriac, who feels that something is wrong with him all the time. When Tuck links himself to Jack's systems, he discovers that something happened. So they go back to the lab, and discover what happened. Now they are told that unless they retrieve the material that was stolen they won't be able to restore Tuck before his oxygen is depleted. Now the government rep decides that the only thing that matters that as long as they have the other half of the material, it is useless to the thieves. So Tuck eggs Jack to go out and find the thieves. They enlist the aid of ...

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Plot Keywords:

miniaturization | hypochondriac | trapped in a human body | heroine | male objectification | 

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Taglines:

Inside Jack Putter there's a hero trying to get out.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viaje insólito

Filming Locations:

377 Filbert St., San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,739,000, 5 July 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,893,810

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,The Guber-Peters Company,Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rick Moranis was considered to play Jack Putter. He later did a similar kind of movie two years later which was Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) which also had Mark L Taylor.

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Goofs

The movie depicts miniaturization as, effectively, blowing up a full-sized submersible pod and then reassembling it at a smaller scale. There are several problems with this idea: 1) the pod would weigh just as much as before, and would therefore punch a hole right through the subject it is injected into because all that weight would be concentrated in a spot the size of a blood cell, 2) the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle basically states that an object taken apart at the subatomic level would be impossible to reassemble, 3) Tuck would have died from being "molecularly isolated and displaced", 4) fluids would be impossible for a submersible to maneuver through because, at that scale, ordinary water would be like a gel to a thruster (not to mention bodily fluids which are thicker), and 5) whiskey would be impossible to drink.

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Quotes

Mr. Wormwood: You've got a great future in front of you in Retail Food marketing, and I just hate to see you throw it all away by going psycho on us.

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Crazy Credits

The Special Effects credit at the end of the movie states "Mr Short's Interiors by Industrial Light and Magic".

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Connections

Referenced in Total Recall (1990)

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Soundtracks

I'M AN OLD COW HAND (FROM THE RIO GRANDE)
Written by Johnny Mercer
Published by CBS FEIST CATALOG, INC.

User Reviews

A good way to get on someone's nerves--literally!

I just saw this movie today, and I must say, it was rather interesting. The scenery looked like something out of a Walt Disney World attraction, and the special effects were good, making this a very fascinating movie.

"Innerspace" is about a pilot, Tuck (Dennis Quaid) who is accidentally injected in grocery store assistant manager Jack (Martin Short) when the needle was originally intended for a rabbit. Jack had only 1 day to get Tuck out before his air supply ran out, making for an interesting plot.

Martin Short was hysterical in this strange comedy that kind of looks like "All of Me." He physically thrashes around, and the comedy suits him perfectly. Dennis Quaid is good in the role of Tuck, who is arrogant, and begins to appreciate things after this little "incident."

Of course, no movie would be complete without key scenes that add to the movie. And of course, no movie review would be complete without mention of these favorite scenes. The scene where Tuck and Jack get drunk off of Southern Comfort together was a riot, because I was wondering how much JAck actually drank. I like how he hiccupped and stumbled around, while Tuck asked, "Jack, are you drunk?" My other favorite scene was when Jack first hears voices and yells "I"M POSSESSED!" The fact that the first scene that introduces him in the doctor's office sets the stage, so we know he's a hypocondriac.

This movie was very funny and very cute at the end (won't give it away). Although it plays like a Disney attraction,it probably would be cool. I highly recommend this movie to Martin Short, Dennis Quaid, or Meg Ryan fans. Watch out for the vaccinations, and definitely don't ignore that little voice inside you, it could be a space pod. Enjoy!