Innerspace

Innerspace has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in the UK on Sky Go and Now TV Cinema. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 1,415 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Dennis Quaid sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Sky Go.

Innerspace arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The jokes in Innerspace land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. Test pilot Tuck Pendleton volunteers to test a special vessel for a miniaturization experiment. Accidentally injected into a neurotic hypochondriac, Jack Putter, Tuck must convince Jack to find his ex-girlfriend, Lydia Maxwell, to help him extract Tuck and his ship and re-enlarge them before his oxygen runs out. Dennis Quaid and Martin Short lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1987. What keeps Innerspace from feeling disposable is a cast that clearly understands the material better than the format usually demands. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Innerspace is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Dennis Quaid is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.