Review by Alyn Darnay
Written & Directed by: Ken Scott
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Cobie Smulders, Chris Pratt
Finally, along comes a vehicle for Vince Vaughan that almost fully works. After years of doing his comedic persona of an obnoxious and insensitive boor, he does something a little different, a little more sensitive, and it seems to really hit with human emotions on every level. The last time I saw this from Mr. Vaughan was in Jurassic Park 2, and it took Spielberg to get it out of him.
Granted, “Delivery Man†is a re-make of a cute 2011 French Canadian film called “Starbuckâ€, and granted they probably used the same script word for word; since the writer/director of this film is the same Ken Scott who made the original version, it still doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a refined and sensitive film with good acting and an engaging storyline. If you didn’t see the original, go for this version, you’ll probably enjoy it more.
Here’s the storyline:
Affable underachiever and ne’re-do-well manchild David Wozniak’s (Vaughan) life is turned upside down when he finds out that he fathered 533 children through sperm donations he made twenty years earlier. Up to his eyeballs in debt to the mob and rejected by his pregnant policewoman girlfriend Emma (Smulders), things couldn’t look worse for this butcher store delivery guy when he is hit with a lawsuit from 142 of the 533 twenty-somethings who want to know the identity of the donor. At this point, David’s best pal, less-than-competent lawyer Brett (Pratt), urges him to keep his paternity secret, but when David gets his hands on letters from his children, he can’t resist the urge to start on a journey that leads him to discover not only his true self but the father he could become as well.
Even though the story is predictable, and I’d say a bit structurally challenged at times, “Delivery Man†will definitely win you over with its subtle charm and big laughs. It comes on with an attitude rarely seen in films of this type. It’s sensitive and yet a little dark in places, but the performances of the supporting actors softens it all; the roles are cast just perfectly.
Another nice thing I found in “Delivery Man†is that it appears to have been designed to illustrate the extraordinary range of individual personalities that can result from the same set of genes, each one special in its own way. It sort of reminds us that we are all brothers and sisters in a sense, closer than we think to our origins. That’s a hard thing to express in conversation, let alone in a film, my congratulations to Mr. Scott on his accomplishment.
My take on the film…it’s fun! Good date movie for any adult, worth going to see. I recommend it.
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (out of 5) “Delivery Man†is Rated PG-13 (thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language)
Running Time: 1 Hrs 43 Min