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

No one explicitly says what the experiment Tuck is involved with is until after it's over.

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Goofs

Tuck should not have been able to see Jack's entire eyeball from the eye socket.

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Quotes

Jack Putter: What exactly are we doing here?
Lydia Maxwell: We're waiting for someone.
Jack Putter: oh, who are we we waiting for?
Lydia Maxwell: The Cowboy. I've been tracking his movements for months and he got to the airport about an hour ago and he always stays here.
[points to the hotel]
Lydia Maxwell: I have a feeling he's gonna lead us right to that chip we need.
Jack Putter: Why do you think that?
[looking at her legs]
Lt. Tuck Pendleton: [noticing Jack is ogling Lydia] Hey, knock it off!
Lydia Maxwell: 'Cause he's a fence. He deals in stolen technology, Western technology almost exclusively, which he then...
[...]

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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

Featured in At the Movies: Dragnet/Adventures in Babysitting/Innerspace (1987)

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Soundtracks

TWISTIN' THE NIGHT AWAY
Written and Performed by Sam Cooke
Published by ABKCO MUSIC, INC.
Courtesy of RCA RECORDS

User Reviews

a nice little comedy

Why INNERSPACE was not the hit it should have been will remain a mystery for years to come. And old concept (FANTASTIC VOYAGE) is given an update with spectacular (for the time, but still good) special effects and an excellent cast. Martin Short is a real delight as a neurotic supermarket clerk who at first thinks he's possessed, only to discover that the only thing in his body is a miniaturized Navy test pilot, Dennis Quaid, who was accidently injected into him instead of a lab rabbit. Meg Ryan is cute as ever, and Robert Picardo co-stars in one of his best roles, The Cowboy. The late screenwriter Jeffrey Boam keeps the story simple but allows for some good suspense and laughs, and director Joe Dante keeps the pacing just right. The battle between Quaid and an enemy inside Short's stomach is the highlight of the film. I remember how much I wanted to be Quaid's Tuck Pendleton (and have his little pod) when I first saw the movie. The ending seems obvious for a sequel, but due to the film's surprising box office failure, it was not to be. Still, this is a really fun movie for the whole family, and I hope a Special Edition DVD is not far away.