Junior (1994 film)

Junior

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Produced by Ivan Reitman
Written by Kevin Wade
Chris Conrad
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Danny DeVito
Emma Thompson
Frank Langella
Pamela Reed
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Adam Greenberg
Edited by Wendy Greene Bricmont
Sheldon Kahn
Production
company
Northern Lights Entertainment
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • November 23, 1994 (1994-11-23)
Running time
 109 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million
Box office $108.4 million

Junior is a 1994 American comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson. The film was released in the United States on November 23, 1994. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Alex Hesse, a scientist who undergoes a male pregnancy as part of a scientific experiment.[1]

Despite the film's lukewarm reception, Schwarzenegger and Thompson received Golden Globe nominations for their performances. The film's theme song was also recognized, going on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It is also Schwarzenegger and Pamela Reed's second collaboration after Kindergarten Cop (1990).

Plot

Austrian Research geneticist Dr. Alex Hesse (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has a nightmare about infants urinating in a library. In the real world, he and his colleague Dr. Larry Arbogast (Danny DeVito), an obstetrician and gynecologist, have invented a fertility drug, "Expectane", that is supposed to reduce the chances of a woman's body rejecting an embryo and thus prevent a miscarriage. Unfortunately, they are not allowed to test it on women since the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the drug; so Hesse and Arbogast move forward in their research.

In response, Hesse breaks into the laboratory and locks himself in. The head of the review board, Noah Banes (Frank Langella), informs Arbogast that while the FDA has denied their team the right of human experimentation, the team has managed to receive a donation from fellow geneticist Dr. Diana Reddin (Emma Thompson) from the ovum cryogenics department. When Hesse questions the chances of a woman taking an unapproved drug during pregnancy, Arbogast reveals that there is no need to identify the gender of the experiment and convinces Hesse to impregnate himself, using an ovum codenamed "Junior".

That night, Hesse has another nightmare in which his potential offspring has his own face pasted onto it. That day, he complains to Arbogast that his nipples are hurting him. Later, the normally aloof Hesse inexplicably lightens up and chats incessantly about walks, massages, and naps. Reddin tells Hesse that being a woman is not as great as it sounds, citing the menstrual cycles which do not stop until menopause. Meanwhile, Arbogast's pregnant ex-wife, Angela (Pamela Reed), wants him to be the doctor delivering her baby. Hesse begins to wonder what it would be like to be a father and watches some television commercials to have himself a good sobbing. He later begins overreacting, with Angela noting his practice of "mixing cuisines".

It is revealed that the "Junior" ovum is actually from Reddin's own body, making her the mother of Hesse's child. Banes wants to take credit for the experiment despite having no role in it. Arbogast disguises Hesse as a woman and hides him in a retreat for expecting mothers outside the city, passing off his masculine appearance as past anabolic steroid use. Eventually, after a visit from Reddin, Hesse experiences abdominal pain due to the damage that the baby is doing to his abdomen. While shut away in his resort room, Alex calls both Arbogast and Diana. Diana rushes to the resort from the laboratory, Alex calls a fellow doctor and tells him to evacuate the hospital and prep it for an emergency c-section for Alex.

A hospital staff overhears the doctor's conversation and alerts Banes about it. Banes calls the Media to the hospital, to take credit and become famous, however Arbogast's fellow doctor alerts him about the media and Arborgast makes a detour to get a decoy for Alex, so he can have a private c-section. When Arborgast's car arrives at the hospital, he disappoints the media when he brings out his own pregnant wife.

Banes, who had summoned the university dean and the press to witness the world's first pregnant man, is discredited and fired. Meanwhile, Diana and Alex have snuck to the back of the Hospital and use the fire escape to get in. While acting as Alex's decoy double, at the hospital, Angela goes into labor. Alex has an emergency caesarean section, where he is given an epidural even though he's at high risk as is the baby. Reddin, not being able to help Alex through this time, is sent by Arbogast, to keep Angela company.

Reddin walks into the waiting room to find Angela in labor and ends up being her labor coach, since there's no hospital staff available. Hesse feels emotionally scared and horrible, as Arbogast and the other surgeon cut through the last few layers of tissue, to get to the baby, Arbogast announces that Hesse's water shows no signs of fetal distress.

Alex feels the pressure as Arbogast and the other doctor deliver his baby. Arbogast announce the arrival to Reddin, who is on hands and knees helping Angela cope with contractions. Reddin hands Angela over to Arbogast and rushes off to see Alex. Arbogast has Angela prepped for childbirth. Reddin visits Hesse in the Post-op, getting her first glance at her baby, together they decide to name the baby girl, Junior. Arbogast delivers Angela's child and the two reconcile to raise the boy, Jake, as their own.

In the final scene, the two families are on a beach on vacation celebrating the birthdays of Junior and Jake. Reddin is heavily pregnant with her and Hesse's second child, and when Angela mentions that she would like to have another baby but does not want to go through pregnancy again, they all begin trying to convince a reluctant Arbogast to carry the child.

Cast

Reception

Box office

In North America the film grossed slightly more than half its budget ($37 million vs $60 million); worldwide it grossed $108 million.[2]

Critical response

The film received mixed to negative reviews with 32% approval rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 4.7 out of 10, based on 31 collected reviews.[3]

Comedian and former Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Michael J. Nelson named the film the second-worst comedy ever made.[4]

Notably Roger Ebert was a fan of the film, giving it 3½ out of four stars and maintaining that:

"I know this sounds odd, but Schwarzenegger is perfect for the role. Observe his acting carefully in Junior, and you'll see skills that many 'serious' actors could only envy."[5]

Ebert and his partner Gene Siskel gave the film "two thumbs up" on their television show.

In May 2007, Sandy Smith had launched an essay writing competition, asking entrants to attempt to prove that Junior could be considered the greatest movie of all time. He obsessively started collecting copies of the movie in November 2005, and eventually collected 24 copies. In February 2008, despite Sunday Herald covering the story,[6] the competition received fewer entries than there were prizes offered. The essays submitted, and one commissioned from an academic essay writing company to Smith's own specifications, are available to read on the competition website: www.juniorbestfilmever.info

See also

References

  1. ↑ Walker, Michael (1994-11-20). "MOVIES : High Atop Mount Goofiness : When it comes to taking an unlikely premise--say, a pregnant Schwarzenegger--and turning it into a blockbuster comedy, nobody's earned his stripes like Ivan Reitman.". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  2. ↑ "Junior (1994)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. 1995-01-31. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  3. ↑ "Junior". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  4. ↑ Nelson, Michael J. "Inoperable Humor: The 5 Worst Comedies of All Time". Cracked. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  5. ↑ "Junior". Chicago Sun-Times.
  6. ↑ McCracken, Edd. Arnie’s ‘one-joke’ movie made into work of art, Sunday Herald, February 24, 2008. Retrieved on November 2, 2009.

External links

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