Starbuck, 2011.
Directed by Ken Scott.
Starring Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand, Dominic Philie, David Michael, Mac Belanger, Igor Ovadis, David Giguere, Patrick Martin and Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse.
SYNOPSIS:
As his lover announces her pregnancy, a fortysomething slacker receives other life-changing news: 142 people, all of them the result of artificial insemination, have filed a class action lawsuit against him, their biological father, and are determined to discover his identity.
I’ll be honest. I wasn’t expecting much from Starbuck. I knew very little of it prior to actually watching it. As soon as the opening credits started rolling, I knew I would like it.
Starbuck is like a Canadian-French version of Juno mixed with Crazy Stupid Love. It’s heart-warming and engaging. The main protagonist, David, played by Patrick Huard, starts out as the lovable bum Seth Rogen-archetype. He owes some gangsters a lot of money, and he believes the solution is starting a cannabis farm in his house. He’s always late to work and doesn’t do his job properly. As a result his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend and family suffers.
Despite a slow start, Starbuck is well worth your patience when the story begins to unravel. David was for me an initially unlikable character and I was waiting for his journey to give him rewards without much personal development, a mistake that has always been common with writers and filmmakers. Instead David, after learning about the 533 children his donated sperm fathered in the 1980s, undergoes a slow but poignant and delicately articulated character transformation. He begins to follow his children around, acting as a “guardian angel” in their lives. Not only do we see the positive effect the knowledge has on David life, but we also witness how he positively influences his unknowing children.
The film is a study of family dynamics and what it means to be a father. Director Ken Scott creates a dynamic that questions the audience and how much they are willing to tolerate for their loved ones, and how much they are willing to give up. The uplifting tone of the film is accompanied perfectly by music assembled by David LaFleche.
I was disappointed to hear that an English language remake starring Vince Vaughn is in the works. Somehow I don’t think an English version will be able to draw the same emotive response as the original. Starbuck is labelled as a comedy but it seems like a lot more than just a few laughs. I think everyone can draw something from this heartfelt tale.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★
Kirsty Capes
Originally published March 28, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
