Innerspace – Review

It is San Francisco in the late 80s and hair is out of control. As the military celebrates some of its decorated soldiers at an event, Lt. Tuck Pendleton (Quaid) is drunk and ready to move onto bigger and better things. As he is ushered home by gorgeous and competent reporter on-and-off again girlfriend Lydia Maxwell (Ryan), he tells her he has found a lab experiment to work on with rabbits. Okay? Why not.

Meanwhile, doofy putz Safeway store food item scanner Jack Putter (Short) deals with never-ending anxiety, loose coworkers, advantageous bosses, and overwhelming stress as he tries to plan for his first vacation in ages. Okay. Why not.

As Tuck hits the lab for his experiment the following day, it turns out it’s actually a highly secret miniaturization experiment. Sweet! As Putter readies for his sunshine cruise, he will need to run a few errands. Bleck.

So, when the day goes absolutely nuts, and a few plot lines kick in, would you be interested in watching our drunk military buddy Tuck wind up in a very small submarine and then somehow injected into a hapless, unprepared and tiny man, Putter? What about if you add some danger and nefarious parties?

Innerspace is too long, but it’s still pretty fun. It can be zany, wacky and silly, but the actors have a good time, and the director delivers plenty of good set pieces and fun practical special effects with his experienced crew. The plot pairs up a couple of offbeat personalities in a very fun way and gives them fun adventures to go on and does it with mostly inventive means.

The script allows for physical humor as well as regular clever lines or silly situations, and does give the characters a touch of growth, but mostly it’s just a silly adventure for the two buddies in the main roles. It certainly won’t blow you away, but it’s not too juvenile that it will dull your senses or just be for kids. Fun is the main theme and the cast delivers just that.