SO WHAT’S JOE, CHOPPED LIVER?

Like “Innerspace,” which didn’t get its due at the box office, director Joe Dante didn’t get his due in some reviews. Instead, the attention went to exec producer Spielberg.

The headline in the S.F. Chronicle: SPIELBERG’S COMIC FANTASY.

The Boston Globe didn’t even mention Dante.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Duane Byrge kicked off his review by calling the film, “A good old popcorn presentation from Steven Spielberg.”

The Chi Tribune’s Dave Kerr wondered if Dante hadn’t “effaced his subversive (film-making) personality in the interest of creating an untroubling entertainment.” Added Kerr, “Where ‘Gremlins’ worked as a grungy, aggressive Mad magazine parody of the Spielberg universe, this new effort is much more in the service of its master. Rather than court jester, Dante is now loyal retainer.”