Starbuck (2011)

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.

Director:

Ken Scott

Writers:

Ken Scott, Martin Petit

Stars:

Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand

10 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Patrick Huard	...	David Wozniak / Starbuck
Julie LeBreton	...	Valérie
Antoine Bertrand	...	Avocat
Dominic Philie	...	Frère sombre
Marc Bélanger	...	Frère sympathique
Igor Ovadis	...	Père de David
David Michael	...	Antoine (as David Michaël)
Patrick Martin	...	Étienne
David Giguère	...	Porte parole
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse	...	Julie
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Barry	...	Joueur de Soccer
Sebastien Beaulac	...	Homme de main
Patrick Caux	...	Voleur de stationnement
Catherine De Sève	...	Animatrice de bulletin de nouvelles
Patrick Labbé	...	Maître Chamberland

Storyline

At 42, David lives the life of an irresponsible adolescent. He coasts through life with minimal effort and maintains a complicated relationship with Valerie, a young policewoman. Just as she tells him she's pregnant, David's past resurfaces. Twenty years earlier, he began providing sperm to a fertility clinic in exchange for money. He discovers he's the father of 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action lawsuit to determine the identity of their biological father, known only by the pseudonym Starbuck.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | debt | biological father | fertility clinic | profile | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [France] Official Facebook [United Kingdom]

Country:

Canada

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

3 May 2012 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

Benim 533 Çocugum Var

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$15,530 (USA) (22 March 2013)

Gross:

$335,034 (USA) (17 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caramel Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Among the newspapers from around the world with headlines about "Starbuck" is the Israeli daily paper Ha-Aretz. Though the headline and the articles are in Hebrew letters, they are full of mistakes and make absolutely no sense.

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Connections

Remade as Delivery Man (2013)

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Soundtracks

"L'Atelier"
Written by David Giguère
Performed by David Giguère
Published by Éditions Sénior Inc

User Reviews

Starbuck for Sure - 9 Stars!

Leave it to the Indie's to create a one-of-a-kind 9-star film. Starbuck takes the cake, or maybe puts the icing On the cake - sorry. High kudos to director Ken Scott.

This film stars Patrick Huard as David Wozniak, aka Starbuck. When David was in his early 20s, he became a professional sperm donor. In fact, he made 655 donations, collected nearly $25,000 in fees and sired 533 children. Hence the movie's theme.

David, now in his early 40s, works as a delivery man in his father's butcher shop. Always tardy but a terrifically likable fellow.

142 of his children band together and launch a class action lawsuit to force David to reveal his identity. Along with the summons and complaint, the sperm collection agency receives a packet that contains a one-sheet from each of the 142. A one-sheet is a one-pager that contains the person's picture and a brief bio. Professional speakers create these for their sales pitch.

Curious David meets a few of his children in his quest to find meaning and make a contribution. He helps three or four of them.

So the debate begins. Should he reveal his identity? What does he owe these now 20-something people? What are his privacy rights? Do children put up for adoption have the right to meet their natural parents? Lots of social issues presented in a truly endearing and entertaining way. . .

David's close friend Avocat, played by Antoine Bertrand is his aspiring lawyer.

Oh and David's girlfriend Valerie, played by Julie LeBreton is pregnant so he contends with that too.

One ding though. The folks that made the movie put the English subtitles in white font and a number of the backgrounds are light colors. So some of the text is difficult to read. Boo! But...

Without revealing any more details because that might spoil the movie, see Starbuck - a Delightfully Wonderful Movie. Loaded with great stuff! Enjoy.

9 stars!!!

Arthur VanDam, film critic and author