Dir: Ken Scott
Release: 10 January 2014
Rating: 12A
Ken Scott’s Hollywood remake of his 2011 French-Canadian movie Starbuck, Delivery Man is the story of slacker, er, delivery man David (Vaughn) who discovers that he has 533 children thanks to a slip-up from the sperm bank he visited 20 years previously in a bid to make some cash.
Enter 142 of David’s offspring, who want to know who their biological father is. They argue that the bank’s mistake in using David’s offerings for all the women who visited the clinic means the initial contract, and David’s anonymity, no longer stands. David’s handed a bundle of profiles by his lawyer best friend Brett (Chris Pratt) and, one by one, he goes about meeting his kids – not telling them who he is – and helps them to make a change in their lives.
Of course, it’s not as straightforward as David playing guardian angel – the media picks up on the story and the kids’ legal campaign gathers momentum. So will David have to reveal himself? You’ll have to go see it to find out.
The plot’s ambitious and pretty ridiculous, but there are a few laughs in there. Vaughn sails his way through a role which feels very familiar with minimal effort, while Parks and Recreation’s Chris Pratt too takes on a part we’ve seen him play before – the loveable but dim best friend. The film seems to rely on the goofy male lead to carry it rather than clever writing, big gags or any imagination. The subplot of David’s pregnant girlfriend Emma, played by How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders, is almost forgotten about, which is a shame as she’s pretty much the only female character.
Delivery Man is, in essence, everything we’ve come to expect from a Vince Vaughn film. What could’ve been a very funny movie ends up being a bit of a disappointment.
[rating=2]
