When I watched Starbuck, a French Canadian film, I could not remember why I put it in my queue until the movie revealed the underlying premise: a loveable screwup discovers that he is the sperm donor for hundreds of children. I saw the American remake, Delivery Man, starring Vince Vaughn, but never wrote a review about it. I have been writing reviews for a long time. After I lost a ton of reviews when Netflix deleted its interface with Facebook, and certain websites that hosted my reviews went the way of the dodo, in 2010, I began to compile my reviews myself instead of posting them using someone else’s platform. Delivery Man hit theaters in 2013, and I saw it via some streaming platform. So I must have liked Delivery Man enough to want to see the original, but it was so forgettable and failed to make an impression that I did not write a review. Sorry, Vince Vaughn.
Starbuck is very memorable. I am a cynical movie lover who is tired of the loveable screwup trope that usually excuses bad boy behavior, but even I could not help but love Starbuck. I found it heartwarming without being schmaltzy. When the movie begins, it appears that Starbuck has no sense of responsibility or grasp on how to be an adult, but as the story unfolds, we realize that is not the case. The motivation for Starbuck, the alias for the sperm donor, is always love. He gets into debt because of love. He is literally overwhelmed and selfless/self-destructive in his ability to see and respond to the needs of his family, which take precedence over practical concerns like doing his job. Starbuck’s priorities overshadow the quotidian concerns of adulthood.
While the plot may seem absurdly kitschy and comedic, Starbuck becomes a story about how one individual can strengthen human connections by intervening in everyone’s life, making everyone feel special and making the world a better place. It challenges our definition of family and suggests that if you take our humanity to the next level, we’re all family and should care about each other. Do not let the subtitles deter you from enjoying this must see movie.