David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) is a 42-year-old slacker, working as the delivery man for his family’s butcher shop. He always seems to have some get-rich-quick scheme going on, and now finds himself $80K in debt to some bookies. To make matters worse, David’s girlfriend (Julie LeBreton) tells him she is pregnant, but that she doesn’t think he’s mature enough to be a father.

David soon discovers that this is not the only child in his life—he learns that his visits to a sperm bank 20 years prior have resulted in his fathering of 533 children under the alias of “Starbuck”. Now, 142 of these children are trying to sue to discover Starbuck’s true identity. David’s best friend and lapsed lawyer, Avocat (Antoine Bertrand), takes on the case to keep David’s identity from becoming public. However, David’s curiosity leads him to start secretly checking out his progeny, and becoming a sort of guardian angel in their lives. While helping them, he also helps himself to become a better person.

“Between 1988 and 1990, you donated sperm, under the alias of “Starbuck” at the Lafrance Clinic, which I represent. You made 693 donations over a 23-month period, in exchange for which you received $24,255 in compensation. You have high quality sperm. Due to certain complications during a given period, Mr. Lafrance ended up giving your sperm to all his clients. As a result you have fathered 533 children, 142 of whom wish to know your identity.”

I really enjoyed this film. When I heard the premise, I expected it to be a wacky, inappropriate comedy. Instead, I was pleasantly-surprised by the film’s wonderful mix of drama, comedy and heart. Starbuck is a feel-good movie that shows how people can change and reach their true potential. The comedy in the film is lighthearted and never resorts to the gross-out or shock value that many mainstream comedies rely on these days. And for a comedy, it is not afraid to mix in some very dramatic scenes. The combination of these two aspects leads to quite an enjoyable experience.

If you think about the fact that the film is about a 40-something man secretly stalking 20-year-olds, it could be a bit creepy. However, I never got this feeling watching the film. While the plot may sound far-fetched, in the bonus features, the creators reference a few real-life cases involving even more children being fathered by a single sperm donor.

While I really enjoyed the film, one thing that felt lacking was the plot of the bookies coming after David for the $80K he owes them. This seems to get forgotten or ignored for much of the film, and despite this large debt, David seems to have plenty of spending money for his guardian angel activities.

Starbuck is a Canadian film, produced in Montréal. It is presented in French with English subtitles. I found that sometimes the dialogue got a little drowned out by the background music—but this wasn’t really an issue for me as I was reading the subtitles anyway. The video quality, too, was a bit sub-par—the picture wasn’t very sharp and had a greenish tone to it. The small assortment of extras included on the DVD are interesting, but don’t amount to a whole lot of material.

I highly recommend checking out this entertaining film. before the remake, Delivery Man, hits US theaters this November. The remake stars Vince Vaughn, Cobie Smulders and Chris Pratt in the lead roles, and is directed by Ken Scott, who also directed Starbuck. From the trailer, it appears this will be a scene-for-scene remake. So do yourself a favor and check out this wonderful original version first!

What’s Included:

Film (1:48:35)

• Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)
• Audio: French DD 5.1
• English SDH subtitles

Extras:

• Bloopers (6:49)
  A 2-minute collection of flubbed lines and missed cues set to music. This is followed by a 4-minute montage of scenes from the film set to “L’Atelier”. It closes with one final blooper. Presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, in French with English subtitles.
• Deleted Scenes (8:46)
  Play all or select from “Parking”, “Garbage”, “Diapers”, “Wanna Come Play Soccer?”, “Everyone’s Talking About It”, “Antoine” and “Go, Grandpa”. Presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, in French with English subtitles.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:33)
• Music Video: “L’Atelier” by David Giguère (3:33)
  Music video for the song heard in the film. In French but does not include any subtitles.
• Interview with Patrick Huard (Starbuck) (5:35)
  The star of the film talks about his character, what drew him to the project, and what it was like working with director Ken Scott. The interview is in English.
• Interview with Director Ken Scott (6:45)
  The director talks about the film, the origin of the name “Starbuck”, working with the cast and working on the upcoming remake of the film. The interview is in English.

Final Thoughts:

Starbuck is an entertaining feel-good dramedy with a lot of heart and humor. While the picture and audio quality leave something to be desired, the film itself is definitely worth watching. The DVD also contains a minimal collection of extras. Do yourself a favor and check out this original French-Canadian film before the US remake, Delivery Man, hits theaters later this year.