I think the hardest genre in films to make, a form that hasn't been mastered, is the "bubble-gum" movie, and not bubblegum as in a negative thing. Films that might not really be based on comic books but are nonetheless comic-booky, aware of their own distance from reality, and while they have lots of action, they are also funny with out being full spoofs.
I can relate to that.
It's a solid story. We know where the story is heading. The progress to the conclusion is consistent and steady. There's no dead areas in the film, and it isn't one of those annoying films where everything happens in the last 5 minutes.
Innerspace has comedy, but it isn't forced down your throat. It's all passive and indirect, which is how comedy should be. There's no direct jokes, so there's no time that it prompts us to "laugh now", which is also good. Forced humour isn't humour.
But it's a difficult comedy balance: taking itself serious enough to not be spoofy, but not taking itself so seriously that the it stops being light hearted and fun.
In the centre of the film we've got:
A hypochondriac -- okay
...with a miniaturised human pod inside him -- it's okay. it' sci-fi
...being kidnapped by a cigar smoking camp guy with a pure white suit and a fur coat. -- that's okay, it's just his way.
...in a meat truck -- it's okay, it happened to be there at the right time to be stolen.
...driven by a mute hit man -- he's cool
...with a fake hand that has gun and blow torch attachments --
...who listens to angel of death -- doesn't really fit, but never mind
But all in all, in retrospect, that's just absurd.
You see a recipe here for how to make similar films?
(It'll probably be edited to heck though...)
