JUNIOR is a contender for Arnold Schwarzenegger's worst film, a spectacularly ill-conceived comedy in which the action star plays a research scientist who falls pregnant thanks to some pioneering treatment. It's the third teaming for the star and director Ivan Reitman, following on from TWINS and KINDERGARTEN COP, and it's a stuttering misfire from the start.
First off, I have to say that the subject matter doesn't really lend itself to comedy. There are some jokes here, many of them obvious, but for a lot of the running time the film adopts a mawkish and sentimental tone which doesn't make for a very enjoyable viewing experience. There are also HUGE plot holes surrounding the male pregnancy, such as the film not explaining how the baby grows in Schwarzenegger's stomach without an umbilical cord.
The worst thing about the story is the script, which is threadbare in the extreme. Characters like the shoe-horned in villain played by Frank Langella are lame and just a way to clutter up the running time. The acting is pretty bad, particularly in the case of the excruciating Emma Thompson, whose attempts at 'slapstick' humour fall flat time and time again. I could hardly bear to watch her in this. Schwarzenegger himself is wooden, playing an unlikeable character, and the only decent performance comes from Danny DeVito. Sadly his presence alone isn't enough to make this anywhere near a good movie.
First off, I have to say that the subject matter doesn't really lend itself to comedy. There are some jokes here, many of them obvious, but for a lot of the running time the film adopts a mawkish and sentimental tone which doesn't make for a very enjoyable viewing experience. There are also HUGE plot holes surrounding the male pregnancy, such as the film not explaining how the baby grows in Schwarzenegger's stomach without an umbilical cord.
The worst thing about the story is the script, which is threadbare in the extreme. Characters like the shoe-horned in villain played by Frank Langella are lame and just a way to clutter up the running time. The acting is pretty bad, particularly in the case of the excruciating Emma Thompson, whose attempts at 'slapstick' humour fall flat time and time again. I could hardly bear to watch her in this. Schwarzenegger himself is wooden, playing an unlikeable character, and the only decent performance comes from Danny DeVito. Sadly his presence alone isn't enough to make this anywhere near a good movie.