Innerspace is a 1987 adventure comedy about a hapless store clerk who must foil criminals to save the life of the man who, miniaturized in a secret experiment, was accidentally injected into him.
Today’s Netflix Pick is a sci-fi comedy that combines some cool techno-babble sciency stuff with lots of well-earned laughs. Starring Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, and Meg Ryan, it features plenty of great action and Oscar winning-visual effects from the same guy who helped make the Star Wars and the Terminator franchises look so amazing. It’s Innerspace and it’s what you’re watching tonight. Here’s why.
THE STORY: Directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, it follows naval aviator Lt. Tuck Pendleton (Quaid), who, after some setbacks, resigns his position and volunteers for a secret miniaturization experiment that is meant to put him inside a rabbit. However, when the laboratory is attacked, the hypodermic needle he is suspended in gets shot into the body of a hypochondriac grocery store assistant manager named Jack (Short). Now the two of them, along with Tuck’s girlfriend Lydia Maxwell (Meg Ryan), a reporter, must try to get Tuck out before his air supply runs out, which gets them mixed up with some nasty bad guys and a potential catastrophe.
WHY YOU NEED TO WATCH: Skipping logic, Innerspace goes for funny instead and uses the sharp comedic talents of Short to great effect, with shades of Steve Martin‘s 1984 masterpiece All Of Me, another story about a man with someone stuck inside them. Quaid spend almost the entire movie in a cockpit, but somehow manages to still have plenty of physicality to it. However, special effects wizard Dennis Muren and crew are the real stars of the show, the amazing practical effects still inspiring thirty years on. The ‘insides’ of Jack are all incredibly convincing and make for a ton of eye-popping moments as Tuck zips about in his miniaturized ship. A whacky and zany story, its infectious energy and commitment to the silliness make this a terrific movie for the whole family, sure to inspire some imaginations. It’s streaming on Netflix right now.