Starbuck

My friends and I went to the theater to see another movie tonight but arrived too late, so on a whim we decided to check out Starbuck and it was actually so good.

It was so funny, my friends and I were cracking up. It's also very character driven and there are a ton of lovely moments that make you love the characters as they struggle to make decisions. Starbuck is totally heart warming as you start to see the altruistic spirit rise from his funny pathetic starting point.

I can't wait to recommend it to my friends and family, so that's why i am writing this review at one in the morning... so... check it out.

In this feel-good movie the viewer is transported to the world of David Wozniak, a French-speaking Polish-Canadian who lives in Montreal, where he works in a family business as a meat deliveryman. He's an average Joe without much ambition or money. He is amiable and has a good heart, but his girlfriend Valérie is ready to dump him because of his aimlessness.

It turns out that he has a secret. Because of a screw-up at a fertility clinic, he is actually the biological father of hundreds of children. There are so many of them they have organised to find out the identity of "Starbuck", their common father. This diverse, interesting group of young people have formed a rather large club that socialises together. After all, they have the same father.

The plot of the movie has two threads based on David's attempts to cope with this situation: David getting caught up (secretly) in the world of these children; but at the same time David trying to hide his identity from them, Valérie and the world. I was drawn into this scenario and was curious to see where it would go.

The movie had a lot of fast dialogue in French, but it was easy to follow because of the English subtitles. The film is filled with gentle humour. The interesting world of the Wozniak family was portrayed realistically. Montreal life is the quiet backdrop to this movie. However, you have to wonder where the snow was!

One thing that wasn't really explained was how these sperm-donor children all found each other. Clearly there was a massive problem with the clinic, but this aspect is not dwelt on in the film.

Final word: a good movie.

David Wozniack has quite the problem. As a man who doesn't have many responsibilities aside from driving his dad's delivery truck for the butcher shop, he's the father of 533 children. He's got commitment issues with his girlfriend, and gets ragged on for not being dependable enough. So how did this happen?

All the children were conceived thanks to his donations to the fertility clinic, registered under 'Starbuck' - and it's twenty years later - 142 of the kids want to know his identity. Class action lawsuit time!

I heard about this premise from a friend, and it sounded absolutely hilarious. What would anyone even do in this situation? It's absurd! I went in, expecting plenty of laughs, but walked out with a genuine love for this film. It's a wonderful surprise. What could have been a mere gimmick for comedy turned out to be a starting point for something much more. When we first see David, he isn't doing well. Nothing is expected of him, he seems to be a disappointment with everyone he knows, except for his best friend, and the news of this children can only be a headache. However, he decides to take a more active approach and gets to know his children, as scary as the idea seems. One step at a time, one child at a time. The result is an effective mix of silly and sweet, some great lines, and genuine emotion.

I don't think this film will get a wide a distribution as it deserves, which is a real shame. I suspect the fact that it being in French will deter some audience members from the film. Personally, I saw it with subs and it wasn't hard to follow. It's well worth the effort to do a bit of reading. Starbuck has piqued my interest to see more Canadian films in hopes of more gems like this one. All I can do is spread the word, and hopefully the word of mouth will help it along. This film is a crowd-pleaser and I was caught between laughing and crying during some parts, I can't praise it enough. Give it a chance if it happens to be playing your local theatre - it might just blow you away!

A very refreshing film. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing it again in theatres.

Remember Vince Vaughns enjoyable comedy Delivery Man (2013)? Well this is where it all began, a French Canadian movie that got remade multiple times including the aforementioned title.

It tells the story of a lovable loser who donates heavily to the sperm bank. One day he discovers he has fathered over 500 children and that over 100 of them are fighting through legal means to have his identity revealed.

A powerful, moral, thought provoking tale I actually enjoyed the Vince Vaughn effort but certainly didn't expect the original to be this much better. I know generally US remakes are inferior but it was loyal to this, the original however is just a complete tour-de-force.

I was just talking recently about how many movies have made folks cry and that my number was just 4. Not too bad considering I've now seen over 8000 films! Starbuck almost made it a 5th, it crushed me and choked me up!

No Vaughn here, no Chris Pratt but it does have the same director as the Hollywood remake. No familiar faces helped the film no end as I saw characters instead of actors.

This is the best film I've seen in a longtime and heartily recommend it. Even if you don't like subtitles or sappy movies, but your bias aside and give Starbuck a chance. I'd be very surprised if you regret it.

Outstanding stuff.

The Good:

Great soundtrack

Heartfelt

Thought provoking

The Bad:

Nothing springs to mind

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Some people really do read the articles in porn magazines

Threat of drowning isn't taken into consideration on a bank loan application

I too cannot look at a child for more than 10 seconds without wanting to smack it

Sperm donation is prostitution

Starbuck (2011)

This might look like a bad movie—a silly idea and a goofy promo photo. And it's in French, so American audiences south of Canada are relatively small. But it's far more genuine than it portends. It's funny and warm. It's clever. It's improbable and impossible, sure, but that's part of the joyous fantasy of this weirdly feel-good film.

The premise starts pretty simply—an eager sperm donor (for money) finds out his sperm was used a lot. And with great success. Hundreds of babies were conceived. And now a group of over a hundred have banded together as a class- action group to demand his identity be released.

Because of the suit, he finds all this out and is shocked. Then, because the court has all the plaintiffs listed in detail, he is able to find the people, one by one. And so it goes. He meets. He does good deeds. He keeps his mouth shut. And in the process he begins to see the situation from the point of view of these 20 year old kids.

In this country you could picture Ben Stiller or similar comic actor taking the role. Here it is Patrick Huard, a Canadian French-speaking actor. And it turned into a hit (the most popular film in Quebec in 2011). Huard makes his character compelling, even as all these ridiculous things are happening around him. Watch it for his performance alone.

Or watch it for the warm and fuzzy aspects that are really a surprise given the comic plot. Fun and well done!