Champion bodybuilder turned world-famous movie star turned California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has led a pretty outrageous life. So, how do you parody someone who has already been imitated countless times for his strong Austrian accent and catchphrases? Moreover, is it possible to do so effectively in a 15-minute short film? That is the tall task ahead of writer/director Jarrad Bhatia in the humorous Arnold: The Unreal Story.
Kyle Duncan magnificently plays Arnold, with the muscles and, more importantly, the accent both being spot on. He’s at a crossroads in life where he’s already achieved his bodybuilding goals. Next up on Arnold’s calendar literally is to become a movie star. Producer Arthur R. Benson (James McCluskey-Garcia) wants Arnold to star in his upcoming Conan the Barbarian feature, which has Schwarzenegger pumped up. However, his agent Ira (Marc Clement), convinces him that it’s a terrible idea.
“Next up on Arnold’s calendar literally is to become a movie star.”
Next, we see Arnold taking a bad acting class, which leads him to think that he’s ready for the big leagues. This leads to a funny montage of Arnold trying out for various big movie parts of the 1980s, such as Taxi Driver, The Shining, The Blues Brothers, and my personal favorite, Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. All the while, Arnold’s famous catchphrases are sprinkled in for fun.
The ultimate message of Arnold: The Unreal Story is to just be yourself. The film gets to that message in a fun and hilarious spoof while still being somewhat grounded. I would be happy to see this Arnold back for another adventure if the excellent team of Jarrad Bhatia and Kyle Duncan so chooses.
"…just be yourself."
