The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)

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Directed by Joel Schumacher.

Starring Ned Beatty, Henry Gibson, Charles Grodin, Maria Smith, Lily Tomlin, Elizabeth Wilson.

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The Incredible Shrinking Woman, directed by Joel Schumacher, is an attempted social satire focusing on the position of women in our society and our social values. After being exposed to a bizarre mixture of household chemicals, Pat Kramer (Lily Tomlin) begins to shrink. While this baffles scientists and makes parenting difficult, Pat captures the hearts of the American people. An evil political group who plots world domination kidnaps Pat and performs experiments on her to learn the secret of how to shrink everyone. The screenplay was written by Jane Wagner, Tomlin's frequent collaborator; Charles Grodin plays Pat's husband. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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The Faux Feminism of Mr. Mom
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"While I’m on the subject of film studies classes I’m taking this semester, here’s another story inspired by a film I watched at school yesterday. In Women in Film, which, in case you can’t tell, is a class on feminist film theory, we screened Marleen Gorris’ mind-numbing debut A Question of Silence (original Dutch title: De Stilte rond Christine M.). While bored from the obviousness of the film, which tells the story of three women on trial for the random murder of a boutique salesman, I thought about how much it reminded me of 9 to 5, a movie I would have much preferred to be watching (and not just because the music is soooo much better). Then, as my mind kept wandering, I realized that three popular movies I loved as a small child were 9 to 5, The Incredible Shrinking Woman and Mr. Mom, all silly comedies made and set in the early ’80s (as was Gorris’ film), all obviously informed by the women’s movement of that time, which could each be given a serious reading from a feminist fi ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

lost interest.

An amusing but ever-so-slight spoof of 1950s science fiction and consumerism, this early effort by director Joel Schumacher never finds the right tone for its admittedly unusual tale. The film, which is sometimes striking in its awkwardness, is partially salvaged by quirky detail (the production design as one example) and fine acting from Lily Tomlin. Tomlin, seen here in three roles, confirms her status as a crafty, chameleonic performer who never seems to get the credit she deserves -- or a film as inventive as she is. A truly unique feature, The Incredible Shrinking Woman remains one of the only films in history in which a woman gets caught in a garbage disposal and befriends a giant gorilla (expertly designed by makeup master Rick Baker). ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Tags: activism , miniaturization , mutant , survivor , toxicwaste
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