Fabulous Films, out now

As part of a fertility research project, a male scientist agrees to carry a pregnancy in his own body.

Ivan Reitman’s 1994 comedy about male pregnancy pokes fun at Schwarzenegger’s macho persona by making him hormonal and irrational, while trying to rekindle some of the Twins magic by reuniting him with co-star Danny DeVito. Unfortunately, even though it’s also directed by Ivan Reitman, Junior is no Twins, and that’s a pretty low bar to reach in any one’s standards.

Here’s the single joke – what would happen if a macho man was pregnant? Wouldn’t that be hilarious? We could have him dressing up as a woman so he can stay in a maternity home, he can be hormonal, cry, be in touch with his feelings… comedy gold. Except it isn’t. That single joke is stretched over nearly two hours – it’s a good half hour too long – and even if you can accept the ludicrous premise, there’s just too few laughs.

Frank Langella gets little to do as the boo-hiss villainous research administrator Noah Banes, Emma Thompson keeps a certain dignity as Arnie’s love interest, but the greatest sin is that Danny DeVito isn’t given any funny lines, playing straight man to his co-star. Released between True Lies and Eraser, Arnie was alternating between action flicks and comedies, and this is arguably even more of a disappointment than Kindergarten Cop or Jingle All the Way.

Extras on this UK BluRay premiere are a  six-minute featurette briefly interviewing the cast and crew, and the movie’s trailer.

Verdict: A comedy that aims low and still fails to deliver on the most basic level, squandering a quality cast. 5/10

Nick Joy

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