Delivery Man Review

Rated PG-13 (Thematic Elements, Sexual Content, Some Drug Material, Brief Violence and Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 43 Minutes

Cast-

Vince Vaughn-David Wozniak/Starbuck

Cobie Smulders-Emma

Chris Pratt-Brett

Andrzej Blumenfeld-Mikolaj Wozniak

Simon Delaney-Victor Wozniak

Bobby Moynihan-Aleksy Wozniak

Dave Patten-Adam

Adam Chanler-Berat-Viggo

Britt Robertson-Kristen

Jack Reynor-Josh

Amos VanderPoel-Taylor

Matthew Daddario-Channing

Sébastien René-Ryan

Kevin Hopkins-Andrew Johansson

Jay Leno-As Himself

Bill Maher-As Himself

Directed by Ken Scott

My 533 children...I AM YOUR FATHER!

Note: Screened on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13.

Screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, writer/director Ken Scott's French-Canadian dramedy "Starbuck" received only mildly positive reviews (65% on Rotten Tomatoes) when it was finally given a limited release in the U.S. back in March but by that time, the crowd-pleasing film had already inspired two other remakes, "Vicky Donor" from India and "Fonzy" from France. A mere eight months later, Hollywood has decided to grace us with yet another remake, "Delivery Man" starring Vince Vaughn. Helming this do-over is none other than Scott himself, who's making his American debut here and is currently hard at work on his third film "Business Trip," which reunites him with Vaughn and is set to be released next October. Seventeen years since his star-making turn in Doug Liman's "Swingers," Vaughn's career has all but stagnated, with his last three films, "The Dilemma," "The Watch," and this past summer's "The Internship," all disappointing at the box office. Part of the problem is that the actor tends to play the same role over and over again, that of a fast-talking, irresponsible man-child. While it isn't quite a return to form for the comedian, Scott's "Delivery Man" allows Vaughn to step outside his comfort zone, revealing a more sentimental side in this predictable yet surprisingly charming dramedy.

Working as a delivery truck driver for his family's meat business in Manhattan, fortysomething-year-old David Wozniak (Vince Vaughn) is an affable slacker who's happy to coast through life without any responsibilities whatsoever but that all changes when he finds himself owing $80,000 in loan shark debt while at the same time, his newly-pregnant girlfriend Emma (Cobie Smulders) decides to cut him off from her life due to his constant laziness and unreliability. Just when things couldn't get any worse, David is visited by a lawyer who informs him that due to an administrative fluke, his many anonymous donations to a local fertility clinic twenty years prior has resulted in him being the genetic father of 533 children—142 of whom have filed a class action lawsuit in order to force the clinic to reveal his identity. An overwhelmed David turns to his lawyer pal Brett (Chris Pratt) for help even though the man has never argued such a big case. While Brett sorts through all the details and tries to make sense of this unusual lawsuit, David is handed a packet containing his children's personality profiles. Despite being explicitly told not to look at them, he does so anyway and begins anonymously helping out his biological children with random acts of kindness. As he gets more involved in their personal lives, David begins to wonder if revealing his identity wouldn't be so bad after all.

It's rather ironic that Vince Vaughn is once again starring in what is essentially a shot-for-shot remake. Following his critically-acclaimed performance in 1996's "Swingers," Vaughn tried his hand at a number of dramatic parts and audaciously took on the role of serial killer Norman Bates in Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece "Psycho." Although it received a negative reception (37% on Rotten Tomatoes), with many critics labeling Van Sant's version as 'pointless,' I still admired Vaughn for daring to step into the shoes of the great Anthony Perkins. Unfortunately, that kind of risk-taking went out the window once Vaughn hit it big at the box office with 2005's "Wedding Crashers" and like his character David Wozniak in "Delivery Man," he's been coasting along in the same role ever since. It is only now that the actor is taking his first steps outside his comfort zone.

If you've already seen "Starbuck" earlier this year, then much of what happens in the remake won't come as a surprise since writer/director Ken Scott has opted not to mess with success, only changing a few minor details like switching the action from Montréal to Manhattan and streamlining the dialogue to a more box office-friendly PG-13 rating. The high-concept premise still strains credulity (not any random man off the street can be a sperm donor and there's a rigorous screening process) and it doesn't address the risk of having two of the children unknowingly fall in love and reproducing themselves but Scott does a good enough job in making sure that such lapses in logic don't visibly intrude on the story he's telling. Although there are some funny moments, such as David's futile attempts to fool the aforementioned lawyer into thinking that he doesn't speak English, "Delivery Man" is more of a drama than a laugh-out-loud comedy. Of course, the drama is all very surface-level at best, finding the amiable underachiever anonymously meeting his kids and fumbling around as their so-called 'guardian angel.' This includes subbing in as a barista while one son rushes to an acting audition, helping one of his daughters beat her heroin addiction, and spending time with another son who is sadly autistic. Some of his encounters however are a little too coincidental, finding a few of the kids dealing with major life issues just as David appears but the film's sincerity is never in question, even when Scott goes overboard in pulling our heartstrings. "Delivery Man" paints a decidedly upbeat picture of fatherhood even as it deals with some pretty heavy subject matter and the journey that David goes through is formulaic to a fault but its heartfelt charms allow the film to overcome its numerous faults.

Vince Vaughn's David Wozniak doesn't stray too far from the other man-child roles that he's played in the past but it still remains a nice change of pace from his usual boorish comedic persona. The actor instills the character with an inherent likability and is convincing as a lovable loser who just wants to do the right thing by his family and friends. Vaughn's range may be limited and he isn't always successful in selling the deeper ideas in Scott's script but he's clearly invested in the material. Given that David has 533 children and the story only focuses on 142 of them, it's impossible to afford them all equal screen-time but the ones that we do get to see, played by Dave Patten, Adam Chanler-Berat, Britt Robertson, and Jack Reynor, manage to shine thanks to the sheer enthusiasm they instill in their roles. Polish actor Andrzej Blumenfeld exhibits a genuine warmth as David's father while fan-favorite Chris Pratt (who'll appear as Star-Lord in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" next summer) delivers some of the film's biggest laughs as a buffoonish lawyer who's barely able to manage his four kids. He insists (as a joke obviously) that they 'know they're too old to get an abortion.' The one cast member who fails to make an impression is Cobie Smulders. She's not bad as David's long-suffering girlfriend Emma but the script gives her very little to do besides looking exasperated at Vaughn.

Released on November 22, 2013, "Delivery Man" has received largely negative reviews with 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that 'it has an undeniably sweet charm, and Vince Vaughn is eminently likable in the lead role, but [the remake] suffers in comparison to Starbuck, the hit Canadian comedy that inspired it.' The film is serving as counterprogramming against the highly-anticipated sequel "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and while such a move isn't a guaranteed death sentence, it's unlikely to do Vaughn any favors given his recent box office slump. In fact, early estimates are putting "Delivery Man" with an opening weekend debut of less than $10 million, which is way below Vaughn's last three films. It's an unnecessary remake that suffers from being overly schmaltzy and predictable but there's a sincere charm to "Delivery Man" that manages to win you over despite its unevenness.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"This could be the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me. These kids need someone to look out for them. They need a guardian angel."