weller79 I had some expectations about this movie, but ultimately I regret the 1/half hour I spent seeing this mess. This film is just a one-woman-show with Tomlin in three roles (two of them completely pointless), but the jokes are at best worth of some cheap sitcom and the movie fails almost each attempt to be funny. Grodin is super-lazy and the introduction of a man in a gorilla suit in the second part of the movie cannot revive a predictable, banal plot with a moral not more complex nor subtle than a Saturday morning cartoon. The few PROs (some nice F/Xs, an authentic 1980s flavour and an excellent Ned Beatty in a thankless role) are not enough to save the movie.

Scott LeBrun Veteran comedic actress Lily Tomlin really gets to show off her chops here by playing no less than three roles. The principal role is that of Pat Kramer, a suburban wife & mom who mysteriously starts shrinking one day due to overexposure to an abundance of chemicals. In short order, she becomes the talk of the town, even going on the Mike Douglas show. She also comes to be exploited by evil scientists who are bent on world domination. Charles Grodin is cast as the harried husband struggling to accept his wifes' diminishing size as a fact of life; Ned Beatty is Grodins' sleazy boss.Partly a spoof of the classic Richard Matheson story "The Incredible Shrinking Man", this wacky 1980s fantasy functions mainly as a satire of rampant consumerism. As such, it's far from being subtle, and is a little hard to stick with at first due to it being so chaotic. But Tomlin, never more appealing, is the glue to hold it all together. She's terrific; her other roles are neighborhood busybody Judith Beasley and her classic telephone operator character. Grodin is in fine form, and Beatty is a hoot. The villains are played by the likes of Henry Gibson, Elizabeth Wilson, and John Glover, and they're all good. Shelby Balik and Justin Dana are cute as Pats' kids. But the man who deserves a special shout-out is makeup effects ace and multiple Oscar winner Rick Baker, who hilariously, endearingly plays a gorilla named Sidney.Written by Jane Wagner, and directed by Joel Schumacher (his feature filmmaking debut), this was admittedly never quite as funny as this viewer would have liked, but it was still hard to dislike. It does work towards a priceless, farcical finale. The special effects are quite amusing throughout, and those color schemes in Pats' house are offbeat, to put it one way.Reasonably entertaining, overall.Six out of 10.

Michael_Elliott Incredible Shrinking Woman, The (1981) ** (out of 4) Semi-spoof of The Incredible Shrinking Man has Lily Tomlin playing a housewife who tests several of her husband's (Charles Grodin) household products and soon finds herself shrinking. This was Joel Schumacher's directorial debut and he handles the material fairly well but the problem is that the material isn't that great to start with. The film tries to be very smart and hip when it comes to commercialism but it forgets to add very many laughs. There are several cute scenes that earn a smile but nothing beyond that. Grodin is wasted in his role as the father and Ned Beatty doesn't add too much either. The highlight is certainly Tomlin in her three roles.

alanmora This film is one of the best comedies ever made and it features Lily Tomlin at her comedic best. Here, Miss Tomlin not only portrays Pat Cramer, the title character but she also gets the opportunity to showcase her comedic genius by portraying several of the characters that helped make her performances on "Saturday Night Live" and "Laugh-In" the stuff of legend. She plays her own chemically conscious neighbor Judith, as well as 2 of her most beloved characters Earnestine the telephone operator and Little Edith Anne! This is a movie I have loved since childhood and grow to love even more with every subsequent viewing. It is rather difficult to locate a copy but is worth the search. Inexplicablly, some copies and some airings on networks such as Encore cut out the Edith Anne skit, which really annoys me personally but I have seen so many different versions of this film that I practically have the scene memorized anyhow (who can forget Tomlin's hysterically funny line as Edith Anne to herself as Pat Kramer..."Is that you, Hamster lady?"). The cause of Pat Kramer's shrinking dilemma is a chemical reaction caused by the use of too many commercial products which really sends a powerful political message as relates to American consumerism that still holds true today. Do yourself a favor and enjoy an evening with Pat Kramer and her kin...you'll be glad you did!