Dr. Alex Hesse (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Dr. Larry Arbogast (Danny DeVito) are two leading fertility specialists who've had promising results on fertility drug, Expectane. When the FDA denies their application for human trials, University Director, Noah Barnes (Frank Langella) terminates their grant and project and transfers their resources to Dr. Diana Reddin (Emma Thompson) and her cryogenic ovum studies. Out of desperation Larry and Alex circumvent trials by using Alex as a temporary specimen, only for Alex to bond with the pregnancy much to Larry's annoyance. Meanwhile, Arbogast's ex-wife, Angela (Pamela Reed), is also pregnant and wants Larry to be her doctor but won't tell him who the father is, and must also deal with Alex's mood swings and cravings while avoiding the suspicions of Dr. Barnes.
Released in 1994, the film began development under the working title of Oh, Baby until it came to the attention of Arnold Schwarzenegger who brought the script to Ivan Reitman loving the premise. While Reitman was initially hesitant feeling the premise was too "out there" to work with a mainstream audience. The movie eventually gained traction and reteamed Reitman with Scharzenegger after successes in both Twins and Kindergarten Cop and even managed a reteam with DeVito following the cancellation of Reitman's semi-autobiographical film, Prague. While the movie did have some support such as Siskel and Ebert who both gave the film very positive reviews, the majority of the critical reception was lukewarm to negative and performed about 50% of the business of previous Schwarzenegger/Reitman collaborations. While the movie wasn't a box office disaster by any stretch, it fell short of expectations by a wide margin.
Schwarzenegger actually does a good job playing against type as Alex Hesse and is surprisingly believable as an uptight no nonsense Austrian scientist (one of the few times Schwarzenegger plays an Austrian). DeVito likewise is playing a more likable character than usual that while still financially motivated is more egalitarian than the typical DeVito character and fits rather well into the role. There's a sweetness to the performances that emits a genuine likability to the material that makes the film a pleasant sit. Unlike previous Reitman/Schwarzenegger projects like Twins or Kindergarten Cop the movie is much slower paced than either of those films and plays more like a Chris Columbus handled melodrama than the typical high concept comedy formula that is more expected. Whether or not you enjoy this movie will be dependent upon your enjoyment of light dramedies as that's oddly the route this movie takes despite its out there premise.
In many ways you can see Junior as a Sci-fi extension of those "men taking care of kids" movies like Mr. Mom, Three Men and a Baby, or Look Who's Talking and the material on display is really no better nor worse than those (save for an ill-advised CGI baby face in a dream sequence). The movie is pure formula and isn't shy about it. It's not offensively awful or a trainwreck as popular consciousness has deemed it, but it also doesn't mine its premise for all the comedic potential it could.
Junior is an okay timekiller. It's a pleasant enough distraction with likable characters and good chemistry that just happens to have a strange premise. It's definitely a dated movie fitting well in mind with the standards and sensibilities of the time, but it's not all that focused on the implications of its high concept instead just playing as a standard rom com with some gender reversal. If taken for what it is, a rom com with an unusual premise, it's perfectly fine.
Released in 1994, the film began development under the working title of Oh, Baby until it came to the attention of Arnold Schwarzenegger who brought the script to Ivan Reitman loving the premise. While Reitman was initially hesitant feeling the premise was too "out there" to work with a mainstream audience. The movie eventually gained traction and reteamed Reitman with Scharzenegger after successes in both Twins and Kindergarten Cop and even managed a reteam with DeVito following the cancellation of Reitman's semi-autobiographical film, Prague. While the movie did have some support such as Siskel and Ebert who both gave the film very positive reviews, the majority of the critical reception was lukewarm to negative and performed about 50% of the business of previous Schwarzenegger/Reitman collaborations. While the movie wasn't a box office disaster by any stretch, it fell short of expectations by a wide margin.
Schwarzenegger actually does a good job playing against type as Alex Hesse and is surprisingly believable as an uptight no nonsense Austrian scientist (one of the few times Schwarzenegger plays an Austrian). DeVito likewise is playing a more likable character than usual that while still financially motivated is more egalitarian than the typical DeVito character and fits rather well into the role. There's a sweetness to the performances that emits a genuine likability to the material that makes the film a pleasant sit. Unlike previous Reitman/Schwarzenegger projects like Twins or Kindergarten Cop the movie is much slower paced than either of those films and plays more like a Chris Columbus handled melodrama than the typical high concept comedy formula that is more expected. Whether or not you enjoy this movie will be dependent upon your enjoyment of light dramedies as that's oddly the route this movie takes despite its out there premise.
In many ways you can see Junior as a Sci-fi extension of those "men taking care of kids" movies like Mr. Mom, Three Men and a Baby, or Look Who's Talking and the material on display is really no better nor worse than those (save for an ill-advised CGI baby face in a dream sequence). The movie is pure formula and isn't shy about it. It's not offensively awful or a trainwreck as popular consciousness has deemed it, but it also doesn't mine its premise for all the comedic potential it could.
Junior is an okay timekiller. It's a pleasant enough distraction with likable characters and good chemistry that just happens to have a strange premise. It's definitely a dated movie fitting well in mind with the standards and sensibilities of the time, but it's not all that focused on the implications of its high concept instead just playing as a standard rom com with some gender reversal. If taken for what it is, a rom com with an unusual premise, it's perfectly fine.