You can’t
watch Junior and not conclude with me that Arnold Schwarzenegger can
be an outstanding actor when he’s well cast.
Junior is
one movie I remember seeing and enjoying every time it comes on, ever since I
was young. Back in high school, we’d laugh at the sight of a pregnant Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Dosed with enough estrogen, you’ll be amazed at how Arnold
pulls off a performance worth commending as a man going through the life and
struggles of pregnancy—from the irritability to the mood swings. This is one
movie you should see to truly appreciate Arnold’s acting ability.
How did Arnold’s
character get into this mess, you may ask? Well, he and Danny DeVito (playing
Dr. Alex and Dr. Larry, respectively) are fertility doctors who’ve been working
on experiments to help chimpanzees with difficulty conceiving. The experimental
drug they’ve been using on the chimps has been highly successful, and both have
invested time and money into the project. They decide to present their findings
to the FDA for approval.
Alex doesn’t
take the shutdown well and decides to leave the country to continue his project
back home. Larry, however, has all his finances tied up in this project, so he
convinces Alex to stay and take the experiment to the next phase: testing it on
a human host.
It’s illegal for
them to do this, but Larry couldn’t care less—he wants this to work more than
anything. To avoid getting caught, they decide to use Alex as the guinea pig
for the fertility experiment. All he has to do is carry the child through the
first trimester.
Leaving aside many of the scientific inaccuracies in this movie, I’d like you to step into watching it with an open mind, ready to enjoy the performances of these two amazing actors, flanked by Emma Thompson.
Other issues I need to warn you about in Junior is, as you can guess, the plot leans heavily on its absurd premise, which for me added to the charm, though I can see how it could be annoying to others. The pacing feels uneven, with some key moments rushed through, likely because the science is pure fantasy. The characters' motivations often feel forced, making it harder to fully connect with their actions.
Arnold and Danny
had previously worked together in the 1988 movie Twins,
which was also directed by Ivan Reitman. Twins was
a huge financial success, and I believe the studio and Reitman thought they had
a winning pairing on their hands.
Junior was
also a financial success in the end, but like Twins, it
wasn’t well-received by critics. However, I can guarantee you won’t sit through
either this or Twins without
being entertained by the absurdity of both films’ script settings.
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