The Incredible Shrinking Woman
(C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'The Incredible Shrinking Woman' (directed by Joel Schumacher) is a ludicrous, but high-spirited tragicomedy that still managed to entertain me, to some degree, as a child. The great Lily Tomlin stars as demure housewife Pat Kramer, who leads the typical American Dream life with ad executive husband, Vance (Charles Grodin), who brings home the dough while she raises their 2 children in the suburbs of sunny California. But after exposure to a plethora of bizarre household chemicals, Pat starts shrinking to a miniature size, much to the bafflement of doctors, and to the chagrin & horror of Vance & their two kids (Shelby Balik, Justin Dana).
Pat's constant concern: danger of being squished, and ever getting back to full size again. As she becomes a world-renowned media sensation due to her sympathetic condition, Vance’s oily boss (Ned Beatty, playing slime ball very well) conspires with her doctors (Henry Gibson, Elizabeth Wilson - who almost always play the heavies) & the evil leaders (Tom Keller, Jim McMullan, Pamela Bellwood) of a secret insidious organization to capture & kidnap Pat to use her blood as part of a plan for - wait for it - world domination. They'd like to use serum from her blood to pick & choose humans to be small & subservient. Silliness ensues.
All I can really say about this movie with any semblance of clarity {if not critique} is that I remember watching it a lot as a kid and being fascinated by Tomlin, the early 1980s decor, & an utterly terrifying kitchen scene in which Pat is in constant threat of being diced up in the kitchen sink garbage disposal. As a kid, I loved this. So my 'non-awful' rating is based almost entirely on those nostalgic memories. Objectively, I recognize that this is a poorly written & directed affair. Some pro critics enjoyed it, most loathed it. I can concur that the script is witless; and supposedly borrows weakly from the 1957 sci-fi predecessor, The Incredible Shrinking Man.
Sure, this film wants to say something about the plight of the American housewife, the moral fiber of the advertising industry and, most importantly, the newfound responsibility of chemical manufacturers in creating environmentally-safe household products. But the plot abandons these salient points in favor of madcap laughs & odd happenstance. i.e. a fake-looking captive humanoid ape; people slipping on banana peels; and other such nonsense. If this film seems more geared for a younger crowd ... why the repeated chatter about the Kramers' unhappy sex life? Why mention synthetic spermatozoa & bull scrotum? That stuff is barely funny for adults, and awkward for kids to hear. Having said that, as a kid, terms like that went right over my head.
I love Lily Tomlin and, she is fun, here; but she doesn't have to stretch any acting muscles, and she doesn't have her usual edge. Charles Grodin has never been one of my faves, and his performance here hasn't changed that. The shrinking special effects + oversized sets {to make Pat look miniature} are cheap-looking, and yet, they have a certain charm about their 'badness' that I enjoyed; it is fun to chuckle at them throughout the film.
On the whole, given the movie's deficiencies, as well as things I liked, I would give this the most tepid of recommendations. The best sequence is absolutely the aforementioned kitchen scene in which Lily Tomlin tries desperately to evade death by way of a cleaning lady who is dancing to music and completely unaware that her kitchen duties can easily kill mini-Pat in an instant -- it's an alternately humorous & nerve-rattling sequence. That scene + the bright, sunny, garish 1980s So Cal set design brought a smile to my face. It is a genuinely loopy movie that may be a curio to those looking for early Tomlin vehicles; but that's about all.
Pat's constant concern: danger of being squished, and ever getting back to full size again. As she becomes a world-renowned media sensation due to her sympathetic condition, Vance’s oily boss (Ned Beatty, playing slime ball very well) conspires with her doctors (Henry Gibson, Elizabeth Wilson - who almost always play the heavies) & the evil leaders (Tom Keller, Jim McMullan, Pamela Bellwood) of a secret insidious organization to capture & kidnap Pat to use her blood as part of a plan for - wait for it - world domination. They'd like to use serum from her blood to pick & choose humans to be small & subservient. Silliness ensues.
All I can really say about this movie with any semblance of clarity {if not critique} is that I remember watching it a lot as a kid and being fascinated by Tomlin, the early 1980s decor, & an utterly terrifying kitchen scene in which Pat is in constant threat of being diced up in the kitchen sink garbage disposal. As a kid, I loved this. So my 'non-awful' rating is based almost entirely on those nostalgic memories. Objectively, I recognize that this is a poorly written & directed affair. Some pro critics enjoyed it, most loathed it. I can concur that the script is witless; and supposedly borrows weakly from the 1957 sci-fi predecessor, The Incredible Shrinking Man.
Sure, this film wants to say something about the plight of the American housewife, the moral fiber of the advertising industry and, most importantly, the newfound responsibility of chemical manufacturers in creating environmentally-safe household products. But the plot abandons these salient points in favor of madcap laughs & odd happenstance. i.e. a fake-looking captive humanoid ape; people slipping on banana peels; and other such nonsense. If this film seems more geared for a younger crowd ... why the repeated chatter about the Kramers' unhappy sex life? Why mention synthetic spermatozoa & bull scrotum? That stuff is barely funny for adults, and awkward for kids to hear. Having said that, as a kid, terms like that went right over my head.
I love Lily Tomlin and, she is fun, here; but she doesn't have to stretch any acting muscles, and she doesn't have her usual edge. Charles Grodin has never been one of my faves, and his performance here hasn't changed that. The shrinking special effects + oversized sets {to make Pat look miniature} are cheap-looking, and yet, they have a certain charm about their 'badness' that I enjoyed; it is fun to chuckle at them throughout the film.
On the whole, given the movie's deficiencies, as well as things I liked, I would give this the most tepid of recommendations. The best sequence is absolutely the aforementioned kitchen scene in which Lily Tomlin tries desperately to evade death by way of a cleaning lady who is dancing to music and completely unaware that her kitchen duties can easily kill mini-Pat in an instant -- it's an alternately humorous & nerve-rattling sequence. That scene + the bright, sunny, garish 1980s So Cal set design brought a smile to my face. It is a genuinely loopy movie that may be a curio to those looking for early Tomlin vehicles; but that's about all.