The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Veteran comedic actress Lily Tomlin really gets to show off her chops here by playing no less than three roles. The principal role is that of Pat Kramer, a suburban wife & mom who mysteriously starts shrinking one day due to overexposure to an abundance of chemicals. In short order, she becomes the talk of the town, even going on the Mike Douglas show. She also comes to be exploited by evil scientists who are bent on world domination. Charles Grodin is cast as the harried husband struggling to accept his wifes' diminishing size as a fact of life; Ned Beatty is Grodins' sleazy boss.

Partly a spoof of the classic Richard Matheson story "The Incredible Shrinking Man", this wacky 1980s fantasy functions mainly as a satire of rampant consumerism. As such, it's far from being subtle, and is a little hard to stick with at first due to it being so chaotic. But Tomlin, never more appealing, is the glue to hold it all together. She's terrific; her other roles are neighborhood busybody Judith Beasley and her classic telephone operator character. Grodin is in fine form, and Beatty is a hoot. The villains are played by the likes of Henry Gibson, Elizabeth Wilson, and John Glover, and they're all good. Shelby Balik and Justin Dana are cute as Pats' kids. But the man who deserves a special shout-out is makeup effects ace and multiple Oscar winner Rick Baker, who hilariously, endearingly plays a gorilla named Sidney.

Written by Jane Wagner, and directed by Joel Schumacher (his feature filmmaking debut), this was admittedly never quite as funny as this viewer would have liked, but it was still hard to dislike. It does work towards a priceless, farcical finale. The special effects are quite amusing throughout, and those color schemes in Pats' house are offbeat, to put it one way.

Reasonably entertaining, overall.

Six out of 10.

Not-so-funny satire of American compulsive consumerism society, based partially on Jack Arnold classic 1957. movie, with several scenes knowingly re-acted completely close to original.

Instead of Grant Williams, here we have Lily Tomlin as everyday housewife slaving for her family and shrinking away, to the delight of media hungry for sensations. Besides being more or less ignored by her family, used that Tomlin simply have to take care of them, she has other serious threats that don't involve cats and spiders but something far more dangerous - humans. Along with quite inane plot, everything is exaggerated: this is not a kind, loving family but a bunch of spoiled brats throwing tantrums, husband and his colleagues are more concerned with profit, Mexican maid is non stop dancing and even neighbors are more concerned about giving interviews than actually giving Tomlin support. Any normal person would pack her bags long ago and run away, but Tomlin - being good wife and self-sacrificing mother - totters on, even as her steps became smaller and smaller. It sounded as a good idea on the paper but is not really funny, perhaps because main character is simply not likable enough - Tomlin is great comedian when given chance to be wicked but as a perpetually serving housewife she is simply annoying (only once, she appears as rude telephone operator "Ernestine" and that minute lightens up the screen). Perhaps great fun for teenagers who delight in obvious jokes but not particularly involving as movie experience and sadly, very far from thrill of 1957. original.

Granted, when I last watched this movie, I was probably no more than 10 years old, but it has stuck with me and I would love to see it again! Though others may think the graphics and effects were lame, I look at it this way: it was the 80's...all movies that have effects and such look lame now that we've gone digital and become more technologically advanced. To me, the premise and the antics are what carries this movie in a way that it's a must have in any comedy fan's video library. The physical comedy that stems from Lily Tomlin's vertically challenging situation is pure fun. C'mon, how could the antics from shrinking at a rapid pace NOT be funny?!?!? Now, just have to find it so my daughters can share in the experience...

Incredible Shrinking Woman, The (1981)

** (out of 4)

Semi-spoof of The Incredible Shrinking Man has Lily Tomlin playing a housewife who tests several of her husband's (Charles Grodin) household products and soon finds herself shrinking. This was Joel Schumacher's directorial debut and he handles the material fairly well but the problem is that the material isn't that great to start with. The film tries to be very smart and hip when it comes to commercialism but it forgets to add very many laughs. There are several cute scenes that earn a smile but nothing beyond that. Grodin is wasted in his role as the father and Ned Beatty doesn't add too much either. The highlight is certainly Tomlin in her three roles.

This is one of Lily Tomlin's best movies. It's kind of corny, but it's supposed to be. Did anyone notice the bright colors, that satire the 70's, like the lime green? It's charming and amusing, and as a kid, I guess when Pat disappeared it was a little scary, but I knew she would be OK, because she was the star of the movie. It was not that scary, I've seen a lot worse. Most of all, it's very entertaining, and not the least bit tedious if you have a sense of humor and a good imagination. When you watch a movie like this, you have to suspend your disbelief and let your inner child out. This is one of my favorite comedies. Lily is great!