Patrick Huard has a particularly expressive face which serves him well – at least as far as this reviewer is concerned, hamstrung by the language barrier. His portrayal of David Wozniak in the Quebec, Canadian film Starbuck gives his mug ample opportunity to venture across the gamut of visualized emotion. But he excels most at shock and joy, one of which is pretty much the universal expression when learning you’ve fathered 533 children.
If this sounds familiar, it should. The American remake with Vince Vaughn, Delivery Man, is releasing on November 22. The original, Starbuck, released in 2011, is being remade in several other languages as well, which is a fair remark about the broad appeal of the emotionally engaging story. To a foreigner. Watching in subtitles.
The original story opens with David at the sperm bank, making a deposit. Flash forward to the present, where David has unwelcome visitors shaking him down for an eighty thousand dollar debt. Although he has a job in the family business driving the delivery truck, he started growing weed to try and make extra cash. To complicate matters further, his on-and-off girlfriend just learned she is pregnant.
He seeks counsel from his friend, attorney, and father of five, Avocat, (played by Antoine Bertrand, who earned the Canadian film award, a Genie, for Best Supporting Actor). He plays the larger-than-life, boisterous lawyer in opposition to David's character, who is more of an absent-minded and slightly starstruck mensch.
David arrives home to find a stranger in his house – an attorney, warning of an impending lawsuit. The fertility clinic from his youth used his sperm for 533 pregnancies, and 142 of his biological children joined a class action suit to reveal the identity of the father. He was known only as Starbuck, the identity used at the clinic, taken from the name of a famous racing horse stud.
While Avocat works on a defense, David quietly starts to take stock of this newfound family. The attorney left behind a list of the children, so he begins following them, at times acting as a guardian angel. At the same time, Avocet countersues the clinic for two-hundred thousand, and wins.
Even though David must remain anonymous to collect the money and clear his debt, each encounter with his children softens the resolve on his face. Huard has that uncanny ability, best compared to Robin Williams, when it comes to expressing glowing joy through the eyes alone. Each new child he meets, regardless of their status, health, ideology or orientation, brings a lighter step to his gait and a twinkle to his eye, all while David prepares for his “own” child.
This is, with certainty, a salute at fatherhood, with all its worries and missteps along the way parsed out through newfound children. Imagine a father’s greatest fears and hopes for his unborn child, all lived out in reality; these are meted out with each new meeting. It’s sending the message that being a father can be as rewarding as motherhood, and just as virtuous, regardless of the child.
Granted, David never had to change their diapers or their pukey clothes as they grew up, so on some level, the message rings a little hollow. But it's not the story of an absentee father in the least. And as a comedy, messages are not expected. But in this case, a little message goes a long way to helping the humor hit the mark.
As a foreigner reading subtitles, I might have a different read of Starbuck if I could understand Canadian French. Perhaps I wouldn’t have found it as funny, or felt just the right amount of heartstring tugging, to have enjoyed it as much. I am certainly curious to see what the American version, also directed by Ken Scott, has to offer in comparison. On camera, Patrick Huard seems to have a natural charisma in addition to comedy chops. When Delivery Man makes it to Netflix, I’ll have the chance to see whether Vince Vaughns’ grating charm makes for a better David Wozniak.
Rating: 7 of 10 slices Canadian bacon
Pain Level: 3-4
Medication: 200 mg gabapentin, 10 mg oxycodone
POUR REGARDER STARBUCK SUR NETFLIX, PRESSE ICI
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