Junior

Arnold Schwarzenegger as a scientist who makes himself pregnant? The premise is pretty funny, even if the idea of Ah-nold in a comedy makes one suspicious. I thought "Twins" was awful, and "Conan" a comedy by accident. "Kindergarten Cop" was better because Schwarzenegger was mostly a straight man. Here he is called on to act the part of a pregnant man opposite Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson. While it is not an Oscar calibre performance, he gets the job done.

The story is reasonably simple. DeVito (a fertility specialist) and Schwarzenegger (a scientist) are partners working on a new miracle fertility drug. Their project gets canceled by the University and replaced by an ovarian study under the direction of Emma Thompson. They decide to implant an embryo in Schwarzenegger and continue the study illegally. They steal an egg from Thompson's ovarian study and the stage is set. Of course, the egg is Thompson's and she and Schwarzenegger are attracted to each other.

Ivan Reitman does a very good job with the story, keeping it simple and staying focused on the characters. Had he spent a lot of time focusing on the physical comedy, the film would have failed. Instead we get to watch the ultimate "macho" figure take on the ultimate "female" experience. The contrast keeps the comedy rolling, while the characters carry the film.

It is hardly a profound film, although it is intelligently written. The issues raised rely on simple male vs. female differences and the contrast of Schwarzenegger's image with this role is used to full effect. It's an enjoyable film with strong performances by Thompson and DeVito.

This movie is about a male scientist that, for a scientific experiment, agrees to carry a pregnancy in his own body (!). And while his colleague's former wife is also pregnant, he also befriends a nurse (and hilarious situations follows).

Personally I found the movie funny at times. I'll say to the haters ''Come on folks it's a comedy''. But I'll explain the reasons why I didn't rated this movie higher than 5. And it's better than the overall rating of 4,6 would suggest.

The pros: Schwarzenegger, DeVito and Emma Thompson were the strong point of the movie, they did the best with the material they were given. I liked especially the scene when Arnold ends in drag at a clinic specialized in pregnancy, and some weeks later along with DeVito and Emma rush to the hospital along with DeVito's wife.

The cons: The concept of a pregnant man can disturb many sensible persons, and I personally felt queasy about the subject matter. Thanks to the nightmare scene (although many wouldn't agree with me, I found it very funny). And the villain, played by Frank Langella, it's not a very believable villain, as he is defeated easily.

However I found the movie funny and likeable, but in some points shallow and silly. But this is not always a bad thing, like in this case.

I have never laughed & cried so hard at the same time. Finally, a man pregnant. And having it Arnold playing this part was wonderful. He ran the emotional and physical gammet and he did it beautifully. As a woman who had a horribly difficult pregnancy and constantly wanted to smack men up the side of the head when they make comments about how easy we have it, I finally felt that someone got it.

Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger pair up as a Doctor (OBGYN) and a Research Scientist who are trying to come up with a formula to help women with difficult pregnancies to have a better chance of carrying through. (A worthy effort in itself) They are turned down by the FDA for a human testing and the University revokes their funding. (TYPICAL) In a totally bold, crazy and plot driving move, Devito talks Arnold into trying the formula on himself. But where to get the donor egg. (Enter Emily Thompson as a fellow Dr/Researcher who has cryogenically frozen eggs). And the humor just gets funnier from here.

Arnold suddenly is going through the mood swings, the nausea, the nipples itching and everything else that goes with a "WOMAN" being pregnant. And he doesn't pander or downplay any of it. He was down right beautiful in the part.

I highly recommend this to any woman who is, will be or has been pregnant. You will laugh and cry and totally enjoy this movie. And guys, if you don't get it, well, you never have when we were the pregnant ones, so why should you get this portrayal??? Give it a shot, you may learn what real strengths women have.

The humor in this film lies in its premise. If you don't know what it's about, I won't bother spelling it out for you. But it's pretty ridiculous. The jokes themselves are hit-or-miss. Some land fine but most miss the mark.

Schwarzenegger and DeVito of course are good together, but the writing could have been better. This film never lets up with the ridiculousness, which is nice, but if only it could have been more funny. Of course it's a classic, but it's still hard to sit through if you're not in the mood. Do not recommend.

Arnold Schwarzenegger gets pregnant. That's about it. The premise is ridiculous, the twists and turns in the plot are mind-bogglingly stupid and every joke is predictable and hammered at you--but I still like this film! The script does have it's moments, but the performances really carry this one.

Arnie is suprisingly very funny when he becomes pregnant (when asks DeVito in all seriousness "Does my body disgust you?" I broke up); DeVito is just along for the ride but is good--he's the straight man to Arnie; Emma Thompson is just gorgeous, very funny and full of life as a clumsy scientist. Also Judy Collins (yes, the singer) pops up looking radiant as the head of a center for pregnant women. Everything looks wonderful and the film is slickly made to cater the the audience. I usually hate films like that, but this worked. The only bad part is Pamela Reed--she's a wonderful actress and comediene but she's shamefully underused--she doesn't get any good funny scenes till the end. Also, where else will you see Arnie in a dress?

It's a one joke film. Is it a good film? No. Do I like it? Very much. Call it a guilty favorite.

One complaint--at 2 hours it's too long. Couldn't it have been trimmed a little?