Dennis Quaid is about to make this third appearance in a Cinematic Chiasmus article. He’s previously appeared in my Dreamscape and The Parent Trap (1998) articles. And today he gets to add another feather to his cap as we explore the 1987 comedy classic Innerspace.

The Chiasmus

Let’s uncover the film’s chiasmus by listing its events in order:

A. Tuck Pendleton gets bailed out by Lydia Maxwell after getting into a fight
 B. Lydia leaves Tuck after spending one more night with him
  C. We meet Jack Putter, and his nightmare is set up
   D. Tuck gets miniaturized
    E. Bad guys break into the lab to capture Tuck
     F. A scientist gets shot by Mr. Igoe and dies after injecting Tuck into Jack
      G. Jack panics as his nightmare comes true and a woman pulls a fake gun on him
       H. Tuck looks through Jack’s eye
        I. Margaret Canker and Mr. Igoe enlarge pictures of Jack’s name tag
         J. Tuck attaches equipment to Jack’s ear so they can talk
          K. Jack exclaims that he’s possessed
           L. Jack beats up a bad guy and escapes his apartment
            M. Tuck nearly gets sucked into Jack’s heart
             N. Tuck enhances Jack’s hearing so they can listen to a private conversation
              O. Tuck promises not to do any damage to Jack’s body
               P. Jack goes to Tuck’s apartment, drinks alcohol, and dances wildly
                Q. Lydia learns that the Cowboy is coming
                 R. The Cowboy makes his debut
                  S. Jack spots Lydia, and they go to lunch
                   T. Jack gets captured by Mr. Igoe, and Lydia follows them
                    U. Jack is stuck in the back of a cold-storage truck
                     V. Jack breaks free and gets into a car driven by Lydia
                      W. Jack and Lydia rent a room next to the Cowboy so they can hear when he leaves
                       X. Jack asks if he can change into Tuck’s clothes
                        Y. Lydia asks her partner at the office for information about Victor Scrimshaw
                        Y. From his office, Victor asks his assistant Margaret for help tracking Jack down
                       X. Lydia sees Jack in a new light once he’s wearing Tuck’s clothes
                      W. Lydia hears the Cowboy leave his room
                     V. Jack and Lydia drive after the Cowboy
                    U. Jack and Lydia follow the Cowboy inside a dance club
                   T. Jack tells his coworker Wendy he’s got to go follow Lydia and the Cowboy
                  S. Jack follows Lydia to the hotel, and he decks the Cowboy
                 R. Jack gets transformed into the Cowboy
                Q. Lydia demands to go with Jack to Victor’s house
               P. Jack goes to Victor’s house, gets a cigar, and has his Cowboy disguise go haywire
              O. Jack tells Lydia the truth about Tuck
             N. Jack asks Tuck to shut off his communication to give Jack a moment of privacy with Lydia
            M. Tuck gets pushed through Jack’s mouth into Lydia’s
           L. A henchman gets knocked out by Lydia’s stun gun so she can escape
          K. Tuck discovers he’s a dad
         J. Victor and Margaret inject Jack with Mr. Igoe so he can kill Tuck
        I. Victor and Margaret get shrunk
       H. Tuck plays music to get Lydia’s attention
      G. Jack stays calm and defeats a killer on the stairs after Lydia’s gun fails
     F. Mr. Igoe dies while trying to drill a hole into Tuck’s pod
    E. Tuck gets sneezed out of Jack in the lab
   D. Tuck gets re-enlarged
  C. Jack meets Tuck in person, and his cigar is paid off
 B. Tuck and Lydia get married
A. Jack goes to rescue Tuck and Lydia after they fall into the bad guys’ clutches

An Appropriately Small Article

I chose Innerspace as my first tiny Cinematic Chiasmus article because it seemed appropriate. This is all about downsizing my workload and making it possible to produce more of these types of articles, so why not start with a movie that’s all about miniaturization?

Innerspace is a wonderful movie that’s fast-paced, funny, and filled with great character moments. It’s rare to see a big-budget, high-concept comedy these days that’s not tied to a recognizable series or intellectual property. And we’re not likely to see more films like this one anytime soon.

So that’s why it’s fun to revisit this film and mine the depths of its brilliance. I hope you enjoyed this little experiment.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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