Main Cast: Lily Tomlin, Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty, Henry Gibson, Maria Smith, Elizabeth Wilson
Release Year: 1981
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
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
Review
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
Mark Blankfield - Rob; Pamela Bellwood - Sandra Dyson; John Glover - Tom Keller; Nicholas Hormann - Logan Carver; Jim McMullan - Lyle Parks; Shelby Balik - Beth Kramer; Justin Dana - Jeff Kramer; Richard James Baker - Sidney; Todd Everett - Cop; Sally Kirkland; Charles Woolf; Bruce Logan; Mike Douglas - Mike Douglas/Himself
Credit
Roberta Weiner - Costume Designer, Joel Schumacher - Director, Jeff Gourson - Editor, Anthony Redman - Editor, Suzanne Ciani - Composer (Music Score), James Shanahan - Production Designer, Raymond A. Brandt - Production Designer, Bruce Logan - Cinematographer, Hank Moonjean - Producer, Jane Wagner - Producer, Jennifer Polito - Set Designer, Rick Baker - Special Effects, John K. Kean - Sound/Sound Designer, Bruce Logan - Special Effects Supervisor, Jane Wagner - Screenwriter, Richard Matheson - Book Author
Pat Kramer is an ordinary suburban housewife and mother until she gets exposed to a strange mixture of household chemicals, including "Galaxy Glue", a new product from her husband's advertising agency. Soon after, she begins to shrink which baffles scientists. As she becomes smaller and smaller, she finds it nearly impossible to fulfill her role as housewife and mother. Eventually, she becomes a celebrity of sorts, appearing on the Mike Douglas show, and capturing the hearts of the American people. Soon she is less than a foot tall, making her a doll to her children, and forcing her to move into a dollhouse.
Pat is kidnapped by a group of mad scientists, who make it seem that she perished in the kitchen garbage disposal. The scientists plan to shrink everyone in the world by performing experiments on Pat to learn her secret. With the help of the lab custodian and a super-intelligent gorilla named Sydney, she escapes. Pat shrinks to microscopic size and falls into a puddle of spilled household product chemicals - which makes her return to normal size. The film ends with Pat's homecoming. However, when her foot makes her shoe split open, the audience is led to believe Pat will continue to grow in size.
This film carries an anti-consumer message, since a collection of perfumes, cleansers, and assorted household products is what caused Pat to shrink, and some consider it an early acknowledgment of multiple chemical sensitivity disorder.
The attack on consumerism has also been associated with early criticism of the Reagan Administration and Corporate America that was present during the 1980s, although at the time of the film's release, Reagan had only been president for ten days, and the movie was largely completed prior to Reagan winning the Presidency in November 1980.
Production notes
This was originally planned to be a 3-D film, but the idea was ultimately scrapped.
Prop products shown in the film included "Cheese Tease", an aerosol cheese spray; "Galaxy Glue", a household super glue; "Breathe Easy", a feminine hygiene spray; and the prototype for a new perfume called "Sexpot".
Actor Dick Wilson plays a fussy supermarket manager - much like his famous Charmin tissue TV commercial character: Mr. Whipple.
Mike Douglas sings the song "Little Things Mean a Lot" on his show before Pat Kramer comes out on stage.
A scene was cut where Pat Kramer shrinks some more while backstage at the Mike Douglas Show. Judith Beasley comes to the rescue by fashioning a tiny dress for Pat to wear from the cut sleeve of her own blouse. In the final version, Judith is shown in the studio audience with one of her sleeves missing.
Lily Tomlin plays four characters in this film: lead character Pat Kramer, her neighbor Judith Beasley (from her Broadway shows), Tomlin's Laugh-In characters "Ernestine" (a telephone operator) and "Edith Ann" (a little girl) who wanders in the lab (shown in the TV version).
Rick Baker played Sidney the Gorilla. In 1981, he was the very first recipient of the Oscar for Best Make-Up for "An American Werewolf in London" when the category was first introduced. Baker's career, especially his early fascination with gorillas and his work in three movies featuring them is told in the TV documentary "Gorillas: Primal Contact".
In one of the many editions of his books of movie reviews, Roger Ebert took special notice of the sets and color scheme in the film, as have several other reviewers since its release.
