An Eighties spin on the Fantastic Voyage premise with the comedy of Martin Short while he was popular. Hard to believe Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan got together through this, they only share the opening 10 minutes of scene time. I didn’t get to see it in theaters because I was a prisoner of my parents’ house then, aka, “no fun allowed, you need to get all the overtime you can.” Actually, I don’t think I went to the movies once while I was living with them. I do recall Wang Chung had a music video to this movie, their third single from Mosaic, “Hypnotize Me.”
All Innerspace really has in common with Fantastic is the miniature submarine shot into a person. However, ex-Navy pilot Tuck Pendleton was supposed to be injected into a rabbit but right before it happens, mercenaries employed by rival scientists, break in and subdue everyone in the lab. Lab Tech Ozzie manages to escape with the syringe flees to a nearby mall and before he dies from a fatal gun wound, he jabs Jack Putter in the ass. Where’s the comedy? It mostly comes through Short playing a Safeway assistant manager and hypochondriac with all his physical schtick. For example, he thinks Tuck’s communications mean he’s possessed. Later on and inevitably, Tuck’s coaching gives Jack the self-confidence he lacks by the film’s finale.
Although Joe Dante directed this (Gremlins), it could’ve been funnier, maybe with someone more subdued than Short. Trust me, I loved Short on SCTV and SNL, he just doesn’t convey someone who’s “possessed” by a maverick Navy pilot convincingly. It’s the same reason why I barely find Jim Carrey or Jerry Lewis funny, too much is really less. The plot would work with someone more introverted, keeps to him or herself. When Tuck taps into into the host’s eye and ear, Short spazzes when it probably should be like a pin prick, prompting the host wonder, “What the hell?”. In the Late Eighties, I could see Rick Moranis, Chris Lloyd or Joe Piscopo doing this better for they were more subtle. Meg Ryan wasn’t used well either, she’s the stereotypical reporter out to get the story and is Tuck’s ex-girlfriend. The secondary cast is perfect; Robert Picardo as the Cowboy, Henry Gibson as Jack’s boss and perennial villains Kevin McCarthy and Fiona Lewis as the evil scientific team out to sell the shrinking technology to the highest bidder.
Innerspace remains worth watching as a time capsule on far we’ve come in 30 years with computers and biology plus the practical effects (Dante’s strength) are impressive when you see the sub travel through Jack’s anatomy.