Sunday, March 4, 2012

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)
Starbuck (2011)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Ken Scott
Starring: Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand
Language: French
Duration: 103 min.
Rating: 7.5  

Summary:
Just when 42-year-old David Wosniak, an eternal teenager, decides to finally make something of his life, his existence is turned upside down by the appearance of numerous children. The fruit of his activities as a sperm donor.



Starbuck is a film directed by Ken Scott, co-written by Martin Petit. It is the most successful home grown film of 2011 in the province of Quebec, and has been nominated for six Genie Awards including Best Motion Picture.

From outward appearances, it's just another comedy with a silly premise and a character we've seen a million times. You know, the Adam Sandler type who never grew up and is suddenly given the chance to make something of himself. It doesn't stray far from that formula, however this also turned out to have some surprising moments of charm and intelligence to go with the outrageous laughs.

Patrick Huard stars as David Wozniak, a middle aged slacker who works as a delivery driver for the family meat business. A life long loser, his latest scheme is a failed grow-op of which he owes the local gangsters a large sum of cash. One day a stranger turns up in his house with the announcement that David is the biological father of 533 children, the result of numerous sperm donations he made in his twenties under the alias of Starbuck (a legendary Canadian Holstein bull). A large number of which have filed a class action lawsuit to determine the identity of their father.

Where the film really shines is after David receives a file with all the bios of the children in the lawsuit. Curiosity gets the better of him and he looks them up one by one, first just to observe, but soon he is showing up anonymously in their lives to lend a hand, like a self styled guardian angel. Not exactly plausible, but fortunately the scenarios are rather well written, carefully straddling the line between sappy and genuinely touching; and the talented Huard has a natural charisma which makes his character a joy to watch.

All in all, Starbuck may not be all that original in its presentation or outcome, but it is a hilariously fun comedy with some warm moments and a strong central performance. I fear it won't be long until we see this one duplicated in English.

Bonjour Tristesse

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

Starbuck (2011)

14 comments:

Mette said...

I've thought about something like that a few times; a comedy about a sperm donor... it has great potential! I'm glad to hear that someone actually made this film and that it was good.

Hoi-Ming Ng said...

It feels like its been a while since I've seen you review a comedy. This one looks interesting and you are right to "fear".

Sam Fragoso said...

Just wondering ... where do you get your images?

Bonjour Tristesse said...

 Haha maybe you should try screen writing! You might be interested to hear that a Bollywood producer has recently purchased the rights to this one.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I seldom go for comedies like this one, but it had a lot of local buzz, and I'm glad I did.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Haha I don't mean to steal your thunder, I just wanted to see all the Genie Best Picture nominated ones. However, I am interested now in catching up with the rest of Scott's films.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

When I don't have the disc like in this particular case, I screen cap the HD trailer from Youtube.  I also sometimes lookup the distributor's website for promotional stills and press kits. Those are good sources for high resolution posters too.

d_4 said...

No.. Don't duplicate it! I wanna see this one.. alone.. decently-intelligently written! D= Hollywood, you haven't done anything yet and I'm already upset at you!

FrontRoomCinema said...

You know what!! I am in! This sounds like a film that I might well enjoy!

Hope you are well BT

Eric said...

Never heard of this one, but it sounds like it could be good fun. Thanks for the writeup, BT. It's always great to find new movies through your site.

blahblahblahtoby said...

Just got the lineup for Perth International Arts Festival films in the mail. First place for research was you and then I find that the one movie I had already crossed out is the first one you reviewed. AND POSITIVELY! The shock is too much.


Actually as you pointed out the premise was what turned me off of this one but your review has brought me around to shortlisting it for ticket purchase.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Well it's not a must see title, but it's better than it sounds, and might be worth seeing with a crowd.

blahblahblahtoby said...

Oh any excuse for catching movies at a festival. I won't hold my displeasure against you.

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed this - there is something here that I wish Italians could get better. It's just a silly comedy, but there is something unique that is hard to put your finger on.

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