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What a funny thrill ride this movie is! A man (Dennis Quaid) volunteers to be shrunk down to the size of a cell and injected into a rabbit. But terrorists are after this scientific breakthrough and by various hijinks he winds up being injected into the butt of a nervous grocery clerk, played by Martin Short. And that's just the beginning.

Innerspace shows Dennis Quaid at his most winning, and Short at his funniest. And of course, there's a very young Meg Ryan as their love interest. The jokes resonate with both kids and adults, and unlike most action-adventure films, the plot here is never short of ideas. And the effects are pretty neat too: as we see Quaid's character wander within the human body, we feel as much amazement and wonder as he does. LOTS of movies attempt to put you in outer space and worlds far away, but I can't think of one that has made the creative attempt of exploring our inner space.

I first saw "Innerspace" when I was 11. I didn't know who any of the lead actors were. I'd never seen Saturday Night Live. And I thought it was a great movie. Twelve years and hundreds of movies later, I still think it's wonderful.

Innerspace is directed by Joe Dante and written by Jeffrey Boam and Chip Proser. It stars Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan and Kevin McCarthy. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Andrew Laszlo.

A hapless hypochondriac store clerk battles to save the life of the man who, miniaturized in a secret experiment, was accidentally injected into him.

The premise is of course absurd, but everyone involved knows this and proceed to entertain with a mixture of thrills, spills and a good old fashioned good versus bad value. Narrative is based around the race against time thematic as miniaturised Tuck Pendleton (Quaid) fights from within the body of Jack Putter (Short). He has to keep Jack out the hands of crooks who are after the secrets of the miniaturisation process, whilst simultaneously being on a clock before he runs out of air - or fall prey to Jack's anti-bodies system etc.

Dante strings together some terrific set pieces, while the realisation of the inside of the human body is smartly staged. Cast are on hugely engaging form, with the central relationship between Quaid and Short a pure joy and mined for constant laugh and peril tactics. The dual aspect is niftily handled by Dante and his crew, with the battle within Jack's body running concurrently with Jack's battles out in the real world.

What wonderful sci-fi froth this is, as Dante has a blast of a time with the effects tools to hand to take the concept of Fantastic Voyage and make a top line action comedy adventure. Great soundtrack too! 8/10

INNERSPACE (1987) *** Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy. Fast-paced and frenzily funny action/comedy/sci-fi film with Quaid as a washed up military pilot who volunteers to be miniaturized in a scientific experiment a la "Fantastic Voyage" inside a bunny but is mistakenly injected into hyper hypochondriacal Short (in arguably his finest comic role) who provides the physical comedy with Ryan as Quaid's long-suffering journalist girlfriend. Nice performances and some truly eye-popping Oscar-winning visuals. Directed by Joe Dante

This is an updated "Fantastic Voyage" and interestingly done, I thought. Joe Dante directed a number of fun movies to watch.

It's not the innocent Steven Spielberg "E.T."-like movie I expected because of the language and several sex jokes. In other words, this is not a kids' movie.

Dennis Quaid stars and plays his usual cocky self. (He's mellowed in recent years.) Meg Ryan is her usual cute-but-of-little-substance self and Martin Short is just plain funny - the best guy in the movie.

The film offers a good combination of humor and science-fiction suspense. It's a fun movie I would rate higher if it weren't so silly in spots.

Why INNERSPACE was not the hit it should have been will remain a mystery for years to come. And old concept (FANTASTIC VOYAGE) is given an update with spectacular (for the time, but still good) special effects and an excellent cast. Martin Short is a real delight as a neurotic supermarket clerk who at first thinks he's possessed, only to discover that the only thing in his body is a miniaturized Navy test pilot, Dennis Quaid, who was accidently injected into him instead of a lab rabbit. Meg Ryan is cute as ever, and Robert Picardo co-stars in one of his best roles, The Cowboy. The late screenwriter Jeffrey Boam keeps the story simple but allows for some good suspense and laughs, and director Joe Dante keeps the pacing just right. The battle between Quaid and an enemy inside Short's stomach is the highlight of the film. I remember how much I wanted to be Quaid's Tuck Pendleton (and have his little pod) when I first saw the movie. The ending seems obvious for a sequel, but due to the film's surprising box office failure, it was not to be. Still, this is a really fun movie for the whole family, and I hope a Special Edition DVD is not far away.