Marcia Strassman made the practical wife or mother worth watching by listening properly and reacting without fuss. We value that steadiness, even when the writing gives her little to do beyond responding to a man.
Fi1m perspective
Marcia Strassman listens while somebody else makes life complicated. As Diane Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), she gives Rick Moranis a practical wife to play against, without having to match his eccentricity. Her reactions help us believe in the family while the fantasy gets on with its business. She makes the replies sound natural, even when her job is chiefly to give the other actor an opening. We rate that quiet competence, though the parts do not always ask enough of her.
Television had already made good use of that steadiness. Nurse Margie Cutler in six early episodes of MASH (1972) preceded Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter* (1975), the four-season role that established her. As the title character's wife, she was often asked to prompt or respond to material written for the men. That is a narrow job description for an actor, however comfortably she fits it. Her straight-woman timing made the part work, but it could not give Julie the development the scripts withheld.
Joe Johnston's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids gives her a family comedy whose pleasures lie chiefly in the inventive, brisk garden adventure. We warmed to Diane because Strassman makes the mother's concern believable amid the fantasy. Moranis does much to keep the comedy appealing, with Strassman providing a useful practical counterpoint. Some of the adult performances push the jokes too hard; we would not pretend the comedy is uniformly restrained. Her contribution helps keep the family scenes grounded without competing with the adventure for attention.
She returned as Diane in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), and Another Stakeout (1993) made further use of her quick reactions in a supporting comic part. Later guest and supporting appearances did not bring another role with the prominence of Julie or Diane. The frustration is how often the sensible woman is required to keep listening while somebody else gets the material. There is skill here, and too few opportunities to see what else she might have done. Start with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and pay attention to the person doing the listening.
Biography
Marcia Strassman was an American actress and singer. Born on 28 April 1948 in New York City, she died on 24 October 2014 in Sherman Oaks, California. She began her career as a teenager, replacing Liza Minnelli in the Off-Broadway musical Best Foot Forward, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18.
Strassman first gained attention for her television work, appearing as Nurse Margie Cutler in the first season of MASH (1972) and as Julie Kotter in the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979). She later played Diane Szalinski, the wife of Rick Moranis’s character, in the family films Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992). She also appeared in guest roles on series including Murder, She Wrote, Magnum, P.I. and Highlander: The Series, and in films such as Another Stakeout (1993) and Reeker* (2005).
