If you remember the fun and excitement of Rick Moranis’ Honey I Shrunk The Kids, then you might be a little interested in the prospect of upcoming sci-fi comedy drama, Downsizing. It’s the latest film by acclaimed director Alexander Payne, following on from the success of his previous releases, About Schmidt, Sideways, The Descendants and Nebraska, so we’re not expecting it to be the family adventure that Honey I Shrunk The Kids was.
Matt Damon (The Martian) leads the all-star cast alongside Kristen Wiig (Despicable Me 3) and Christoph Waltz (Spectre). The full trailer won’t be out until the 12th September 2017, but you can check out the teaser trailer below to get a bit more of a feel for the setup of the plot and more of the cast in action in the film. We’ll update with the full trailer when it’s released.
Release date
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on the 30th August 2017 and it has been scheduled for a release date in the US of the 22nd December 2017. The UK release date for Downsizing hasn’t been confirmed as of yet, but we’ll keep things updated here as the details get confirmed.
Story
The basic premise isn’t a million miles away from Honey I Shrunk The Kids, as a brilliant Norwegian scientist invents a process to shrink humans. However, that’s pretty much where the similarities end as the invention becomes a commercial enterprise, so instead of an accidental microscopic adventure in the back garden you get a life choice opportunity for the masses to shrink down to 5-inches for a cheaper and more sustainable existence.
Paul (Matt Damon) and Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to give the procedure a whirl to get away from their stress crunching day-to-day existence. It results in a minimised relocation to a new downsized community, which comes with some pretty significant changes to the way that they live, along with a whole new adventure to look forward to.
Cast
Kristen Wiig and Matt Damon continue their on-screen collaboration as husband and wife Paul and Audrey following their work on The Martian. Christoph Waltz stars as their annoying neighbour, and they’re joined in the cast by Jason Sudeikis (Colossal), Hong Chau and Swedish actor Rolf Lassgård (A Man Called Ove).
Production
Downsizing is directed by Alexander Payne and Paramount Pictures will be releasing the film internationally. Payne co-wrote the screenplay with regular collaborator Jim Taylor. Phedon Papamichael (The Huntsman) is the director of photography with music from Rolfe Kent (About Schmidt).
First impressions
There’s only really the Downsizing teaser trailer below to go on at the moment, so all bets are off. It’s an interesting concept and it has a strong cast and production team behind it, so it could be another sleeper hit in the making for Alexander Payne. He’s picked up a raft of awards for his previous work, including two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay (for Election and Sideways), so it’s hard not to back it a little.
Review scores have been fairly favourable following the Venice Film Festival, so everything is looking positive for the 2017 release. We’ll know more when the full trailer comes out in September, and hopefully a UK release date will be confirmed around the same time.
