Alright, fellow tapeheads, gather 'round the flickering glow of the metaphorical CRT. Tonight, we're pulling a tape off the shelf that, even back in the day, probably made you do a double-take walking down the comedy aisle at Blockbuster. Remember seeing that cover? Arnold Schwarzenegger... pregnant? Yep, we're diving into the utterly unique, slightly baffling, yet strangely charming world of Ivan Reitman's 1994 comedy, Junior. This wasn't just another action star trying comedy; this was the Austrian Oak himself gestating a human being. You couldn't make it up... except they absolutely did.
### From Twins to Triplets (Almost)
The big draw, of course, was seeing Arnold reunite with his Twins (1988) co-star Danny DeVito and director Ivan Reitman, the man who also gave us stone-cold classics like Ghostbusters (1984). After the roaring success of Twins, the idea of getting this trio back together felt like printing money. Junior aimed to recapture that odd-couple magic, swapping genetic experiments for, well, different genetic experiments. Schwarzenegger plays Dr. Alex Hesse, a stoic research geneticist, while DeVito is Dr. Larry Arbogast, his opportunistic but ultimately loyal OB-GYN partner. Their fertility drug, "Expectane," gets shut down by the FDA, led by a wonderfully slimy Frank Langella. Desperate, they decide on the ultimate human trial: implanting a fertilized egg (using an anonymous donation cheekily named "Junior") into Hesse himself. What could possibly go wrong?
### Arnold Gets Hormonal
Let's be honest: the core appeal, and the core absurdity, rests squarely on Schwarzenegger's broad shoulders. Seeing the Terminator experience morning sickness, mood swings, and pickle cravings was the entire hook. And you know what? Arnold commits. He plays Hesse's transformation from rigid scientist to emotional, nurturing expectant... father? Mother? Parent! with a surprising amount of vulnerability and comedic timing. It's easy to forget, amidst the T-800s and Commandos, that Schwarzenegger had genuine comedic chops when paired with the right material and director. He even snagged a Golden Globe nomination for this role, which feels simultaneously wild and somehow understandable when you watch him navigate Hesse's increasingly bizarre situation. Reportedly, Arnie was initially hesitant about the script – can you blame him? – but his trust in Reitman, who had delivered big time with Twins and Kindergarten Cop (1990), convinced him to take the plunge.
### The Secret Weapon: Emma Thompson
While Arnold and Danny provide the familiar chemistry, the film's secret weapon, the ingredient that elevates Junior beyond pure gimmick, is the absolutely luminous Emma Thompson as Dr. Diana Reddin. Fresh off her Best Actress Oscar win for Howards End (1992), Thompson dives into the role of a brilliant but incredibly clumsy cryogenics researcher with infectious glee. She's klutzy, socially awkward, steals every scene she's in, and develops a wonderfully sweet and unconventional romance with the increasingly sensitive Hesse. Her character could easily have been just a plot device, the unwitting egg donor, but Thompson injects such warmth, intelligence, and physical comedy into Diana that she becomes the heart of the film. It's her reactions, her earnestness, and her sheer comedic talent that ground the outlandish premise. She also earned a Golden Globe nod, and deservedly so. The chemistry between the reserved, pregnant Arnold and the effervescent, accident-prone Thompson is genuinely delightful.
### A Very 90s Pregnancy
Junior feels aggressively 90s in its high-concept DNA. This was the era where studios weren't afraid to take big, weird swings. It’s fascinating to learn that the initial script, penned by Kevin Wade and Chris Conrad, was apparently conceived as a darker thriller about the perils of genetic manipulation. It was Reitman who saw the comedic potential and steered it into the lighter territory we know today. Watching it now, you can almost feel the pitch meeting: "Arnold Schwarzenegger gets pregnant!" It’s a testament to Reitman's skill with blending heart and humor, and the cast's commitment, that the film works as well as it does.
Sure, some of the science is hand-wavy, and the plot takes some convenient turns, but there's an undeniable sweetness beneath the silliness. The practical effects, like the glimpses of the fetus via ultrasound, have that slightly fuzzy, tangible quality common to the era – a far cry from today's hyper-realistic CGI, but charming in its own way. The film wasn't the box office behemoth Twins was (grossing around $108 million worldwide on a $60 million budget), and critical reception was decidedly mixed back in '94, but it found its audience on home video – that reliable haven for quirky comedies. I distinctly remember renting this one, drawn in by the sheer audacity of the premise plastered on the VHS box.
Rating: 6.5/10
Justification: Junior gets a solid 6.5 primarily for the surprisingly effective comedic performance from Schwarzenegger, the absolutely stellar work by Emma Thompson who elevates the entire film, and the undeniable charm of the Arnold/DeVito/Reitman reunion. It loses points for a premise that wears a bit thin and some predictable plot beats, but its heart is in the right place. It's a genuinely unique artifact of 90s high-concept comedy.
Final Take: It's goofy, it's biologically improbable, but Junior delivers a strangely heartwarming bundle of joy, carried by a game cast and a premise so audacious it could only have thrived on a dusty VHS shelf. Proof that sometimes, the weirdest deliveries are the most memorable.