"1957's The Incredible Shrinking Man is hailed as one of the defining sci-fi pictures of its era, a visually impressive flight of fancy which found its sense of wonder - and abject terror - not in deep space or the distant future, but in the mundanity of everyday life. Director Joel Schumacher, screenwriter Jane Wagner, and force of nature comedian Lily Tomlin, on the other hand, believed it was the perfect candidate for a good old lampoon."
"Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints (Landis had envisioned a spectacle he dubbed a "cross between and I Love Lucy") and other commitments (a little-known film called The Blues Brothers), it was Schumacher tasked with finally bringing the picture to the screen. The first-time director, then best-known for co-writing musical pictures The Wiz, Car Wash, and Sparkle, later admitted that he was in over his head, but was helped by the immeasurable talents of his leading lady."
"Indeed, even when she's shrunk to the size of a matchstick, Tomlin still lights up the entire screen. She gets plenty of chances to show off her talents, too, reprising characters from both her one-woman stage shows (no-nonsense organic cosmetics saleswoman Judith) and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (rude telephone operator Ernestine), as well as the full-size and miniature versions of suburban housewife Pat. Eddie Murphy, eat your heart out."
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) began as a sequel concept to the 1957 The Incredible Shrinking Man, originally intending to follow wife Louise into her husband’s microscopic world. The project stalled until the late 1970s, when John Landis pushed for a comedic reworking. Budgetary limits and other commitments prevented Landis from directing, and Joel Schumacher, a first-time film director known for co-writing musicals, assumed the role. Schumacher later admitted he struggled with the production but benefited from Lily Tomlin’s performance. Tomlin plays suburban housewife Pat and reprises several comic characters, anchoring the film’s lampooning tone despite production constraints.
Read at Inverse
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