‘Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves’ Goes Straight To Video For A Reason
Two of the more enjoyable Disney films of the past few years were the “Honey, I…” productions.
You know, as in “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” (1989, directed by Joe Johnston) and “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” (1992, directed by Randal Kleiser).
The only problem, from a film-marketer’s point of view, was that there was really no place further to go in the series. First you’ve shrunk the kids, and then you’ve expanded a toddler to the size of King Kong. That about covers things.
But Disney couldn’t leave well enough alone. Thus we have “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves,” the studio’s first-ever live-action movie to debut on video. Of course, it’s easy to see why this 76-minute film would go directly to video: it has little of the quality boasted by the first two.
“Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves” is the first directorial effort of Dean Cundey, a former cinematographer best known for his work on “Apollo 13” and “Jurassic Park.” It involves the only carry-over actor from the other films, Rick Moranis as absent-minded scientist Wayne Szalinski, and the ongoing problems he has with his chief invention - an incredible shrinking machine.
Through a series of silly circumstances, Wayne, his wife (Eve Gordon, taking over for Marcia Strassman), his brother and his sister-in-law find themselves as big as insects. Their children, thinking the parents have left them on their own, immediately begin misbehaving.
Not completely, though, for this is a Disney film. So after pushing the envelope on acceptable family dysfunction - Wayne is self-absorbed to a fault, his wife is a shrew and the kids are basic brats - everything ends happily.
With its sequels to “Aladdin” having gone straight to video, and with its plan to do the same with the “Toy Story” sequel, Disney is giving a new meaning to the term “straight to video.”
That term is typically applied to movies that were deemed so bad that they didn’t deserve a theatrical run.
In the case of “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves,” the old meaning still sticks. ** Rated PG
Walking and Talking
***-1/2
When Laura (Amy Heche) decides to marry her jewelry-designer boyfriend, best friend Amelia (Catherine Keener) is at a loss. Then matters worsen when Amelia’s cat dies, and she begins to feel the need for a man of her own - a need not fulfilled by her ex-lover male friend (Liev Schreiber). If this simple scenario sounds a little trivial, that may be because it is - at least when compared to movies that concern the Great Issues of life. But when you accept it on its own level, “Walking and Talking” is a touching, poignant study of womanly friendship. It’s the sort of movie that tends to slip right past metroplex theaters and onto the video shelves, where the discriminating viewer - if lucky - will discover its small but lasting pleasures. Rated R
The Long Kiss Goodnight
***
Renny Harlin is not known for restraint, which explains the graphic violence of such films as “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” and “Cliffhanger.” But he shows enough self-control in this quick-paced thriller to allow real-life wife Geena Davis and co-star Samuel L. Jackson to take charge. Davis portrays a woman suffering from amnesia who, with the help of low-rent private eye Jackson, seeks to find out what in her past is causing people to try to kill her. The search involves a complete physical makeover for Davis, and it sets her up against a den of CIA-funded assassins. Shane Black’s screenplay provides Davis, Jackson and Brian Cox plenty of great repartee, even though it does fall apart near the very end with one or three too many convenient plot twists. Still, Harlin blows up lots of cars, keeps the action moving and is wise enough to maintain his two main stars purely center stage. Rated R
First Wives’ Club
**-1/2
Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton are charter members of the group from which this comedy’s title is taken. The plot: They seek revenge on the men who spurned them for younger models. Despite the richness of material, director Hugh Wilson doesn’t delve much below surface level, leaving the three stars - especially Hawn - to carry the film. And they almost pull the task off. Look for Maggie Smith, Bronson Pinchot and Sarah Jessica Parker in memorable supporting roles. Rated PG
Scorpion Spring
**
How’s this for dialogue: “You know what I say. There is only birth, death and many hangovers in between.” Here is the essence of this neo-noir, which is another in a long line of contemporary mystery-thrillers with hard-boiled roots. It involves the innocent foil (a young guy driving west), the wise guy (Alfred Molina as a French actor/reprobate), the beautiful woman (Angel Aviles as a young Mexican woman searching for her brothers), the killer (Esai Morales a drug dealer with a sharpened screwdriver) and the pursuers (Ruben Blades as a border patrol agent, Kevin Tighe as the Imperial Valley, Calif., sheriff and a crooked Mexican cop). All come together over a drug shipment, and the climactic scene takes place at - you guessed it - a place called Scorpion Spring. Boasting some clever aspects, and some good acting by Molina and Blades in particular, the film is otherwise pedestrian. Note: Look for Matthew McConaughey in a cameo at the very end. Rated R
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