Starbuck is a 2011 French-Canadian comedy film directed by Ken Scott and co-written by Scott and Martin Petit. It was produced by André Rouleau for Caramel Film and was shot in Montreal. It stars Patrick Huard, Antoine Bertrand and Julie Le Breton. The story follows an irresponsible middle-aged man who unexpectedly faces fatherhood on two fronts: his girlfriend is pregnant, and dozens of adult children born as a result of his youthful sperm donations have filed a lawsuit to have his identity revealed.
Comedy partners Scott and Petit used the premise to explore fatherhood roles, which are the central theme of the film, with the tragicomic protagonist finding redemption through fatherhood. Critical reception to the film was mixed; some praised Huard's performance and the story which mixed comedy with heartfelt moments, while others felt that the film was overly sentimental. It was the top-grossing Canadian film of 2011, won two Genie Awards and numerous audience awards at film festivals, and appeared on best-film lists in Variety and The Globe and Mail. The film was remade in 2013 as Delivery Man and as Fonzy.
Plot David Wozniak is shown making multiple donations at a Quebec sperm bank in 1988. Twenty-three years later, in 2011, he is a hapless deliveryman for his family's butcher shop, attempting to grow cannabis in his apartment to pay an $80,000 debt to dangerous thugs. He hides this from his police officer girlfriend Valérie, who reveals that she is pregnant with his child and expects nothing from him. David is unsure how to meet his responsibilities and receives conflicting advice on fatherhood from his younger brother and from his best friend. David then meets a lawyer from the sperm bank and is informed that he has fathered 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action lawsuit to force the clinic to reveal the identity of "Starbuck", the alias David used for donations.
David's best friend represents him to keep the records sealed, and shares profiles provided of each plaintiff in the lawsuit. Curious, David seeks encounters with several of the young adults, finding moments to be supportive and in the process saving a life and having his own life saved, and determines to act as their guardian angel. One day, he accidentally follows one of them into a meeting of the plaintiffs and becomes overwhelmed in the midst of his progeny. Given the floor, he tells them that he loves them all and that while the focus has been on Starbuck, that it is remarkable that they've found each other as brothers and sisters. Recognized by several of the attendees, he identifies himself as the adoptive father of a disabled plaintiff who could not attend. Inspired by David's words, they have a weekend camping holiday in which David participates.
In the meantime, David reconciles with Valérie, taking her for an ultrasound and bringing her to dinner with his family. It is revealed that he sent his family on a vacation to Venice when his mother was terminally ill, which was secretly funded by his sperm donation fees. The press sensationally report on the class action suit as it goes to court and Starbuck is maligned in editorials. David decides to identify himself, but when the thugs assault his father he agrees with his lawyer to sue the sperm bank for damages. He wins both suits, receiving $200,000 and his identity remains secret.
David has regrets, but revealing his identity would require him to return the money and place his family in danger. However, his father buys out David's share of the family business to pay his debt, and David sends an email to the media identifying himself as Starbuck. He goes to Valérie's house and discovers that she is going into premature labour and rides with her to the hospital, where the healthy baby is born. He proposes to Valérie, tells her that he is Starbuck, and defends himself as a father. Dozens of the donor children gather to see him and their new brother, whom they shower with baby gifts.
Cast Patrick Huard as David Wozniak ("Starbuck"). Huard was a stand-up comic before transitioning to acting. At the time of filming, Huard was a "superstar" in Quebec, having starred in four Golden Reel winning films and having directed another. Huard's father died 12 days before the film's release, resulting in his cancelling numerous promotional appearances. Maxime Després as 18 year-old David Antoine Bertrand as David's lawyer and best friend Julie Le Breton as Valérie. Le Breton and Huard had previously co-starred as siblings in the 2009 comedy thriller Cadavres. as David's father, an immigrant from Poland. as Frère sombre as Frère sympathique, Paul Donor children: David Michaël as Antoine, a goth vegetarian as Étienne, an aspiring actor David Giguère as a busker and the plaintiffs' spokesperson. A singer-songwriter, he performed an original song for his audition which was used in several of the character's scenes in the film. Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse as Julie, a retail clerk and recovering drug user Félix Brassard as Julien Alex Vallée as Ricardo Félix-Antoine Tremblay as Sauveteur (Marcos), a lifeguard at a public pool as Raphaël, a disabled young man. René reprised this role in the Hollywood remake of the film.
Development and production
The film was co-written by Ken Scott and Martin Petit, former members of comedy troupe Les Bizarroïdes. It was their first collaboration in a decade when they began writing the film in 2009. Petit had the initial idea to tell the story of an irresponsible middle-aged man who had made numerous sperm donations for money and was the donor father to hundreds of grown children. They first set the number of donor children at 200, which seemed comedically absurd to them. However, during development, they learned of a man who had 500 donor children by artificial insemination, and increased their number to bring the script in line with reality.
Fathers of young children, Scott and Petit saw the absurd premise as a way to explore issues of modern fatherhood and "to look at every possible aspect of paternity." In particular, they wanted to look at delayed fatherhood and how father roles had changed in the previous fifteen years. Making David a guardian angel to the donor children allowed them to show the character acting as a father in different situations before becoming a father.
The donor children were initially written as stereotypes – the handicapped, the actor, the drug user – and were not fleshed out with names and details until later in the process. These descriptive terms are retained in the film's credits for many of these roles, along with David's brothers and lawyer. Most of the young actors cast for the donor children were relative unknowns, making their first feature film performances.
The title comes from the Canadian Holstein bull Hanoverhill Starbuck, which was prized by the Artificial Insemination Centre of Quebec (Centre d'Insémination artificielle du Québec, CIAQ) for its genetics. It sired more than 200,000 cows through artificial insemination during its 19-year life.
Starbuck was produced by André Rouleau of Montreal-based Caramel Films on a budget of $6 million. It received funding from Telefilm Canada's Canadian Feature Film Fund and from the Quebecor fund. From financing to the completion of production took two years.
Filming commenced on 15 September 2010. Most of the film was shot in the Mile End district of Montreal, a multicultural neighbourhood which informed the production design. The professional soccer scenes were filmed at Saputo Stadium with the participation of the Montreal Impact soccer club, during their 19 September 2010 match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Pierre Gill served as director of photography with production design by Danielle Labrie and music by David Lafleche. Costume design was by Sharon Scott. The film was edited to 108 minutes by Yvann Thibaudeau. Dialogue is in Quebec French with subtitles in other regions and countries, including in France for certain passages.
Themes
Paternity is the central theme of the film. Film critic Jay Stone wrote that Starbucks David belongs to a new generation of fathers in film, neither an idealized role model nor a bumbling incompetent, but a character who is "both comic and tragic [as he] connects with the children he doesn't know". Meeting the donor children as adults, David must put aside preconceived expectations and accept the children for who they are. There are the talented ones (e.g.: the sports star and the actor), the cool ones (the lifeguard and the busker), and the worrying ones (the drug user, the promiscuous homosexual and the goth). As David helps to improve the lives of several of the donor children, the story reveals that David has always been giving, despite this being the cause of many of his misfortunes. This selflessness reveals a talent for being a father and David finds redemption through fatherhood.
While most of the film focuses on ties between David and the donor children, David is surrounded by other fathers: his own, his best friend, and his brothers who both have children. Scenes between David and his father discuss the importance of being present in the lives of one's children, and the perspective of fatherhood improves David's relationship with his father.
Sociologist Margaret Nelson found that, like other popular North American films involving assisted reproductive technologies, Starbuck reinforces the nuclear family. David's numerous genetic children are shown throughout the film to be isolated from other family relationships: no birth mothers, adoptive fathers, or other siblings are shown or referenced. The genetic tie between David and the donor children is shown as an irresistible bond, reaching a climax in the extended group hug after David announces that a new "brother" has joined their family. However, Nelson found that the conclusion places David's heart with Valérie and their new son, while the donor children are reduced to a battalion of babysitters. Nonetheless, film critic Roger Moore found Starbuck to be "a most rewarding reinvention of what family can mean."
Release Starbuck was distributed by Les Films Christal in Quebec and by its parent company Entertainment One in English Canada. The film had its world premiere on 21 June 2011 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, hosted by the heritage minister James Moore. The film opened across the province of Quebec on 27 July. The film had a gala presentation at Roy Thompson Hall on 14 September as part of the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It then had a limited release in English Canada on 23 September (with subtitles).
In February 2012, Telefilm Canada announced that Starbuck had been sold in 101 countries, making it among their best international performers. Rouleau gave credit for much of the international sales to a press and industry screening of Starbuck at TIFF, where there was enough excitement to generate sales for major markets including bidding wars for France and Spain. Further sales occurred at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Starbuck opened in France on 27 June 2012, with a wide release of 190 screens. After attracting 100,000 admissions in its first week, attendance unusually held steady at 25,000 to 30,000 admissions per week for the following six weeks. On French cinema website AlloCiné, the film ranked as users' second-favourite movie of the summer, behind The Dark Knight Rises.
Starbuck was shown as part of the Canada Front showcase by Telefilm Canada in association with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as its New York City premiere in March 2012. Following appearances on the film festival circuit, Starbuck had a limited US release in New York City and Los Angeles on 22 March 2013.
The film was released in China on 12 April 2013 on more than 2,000 screens.
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Canada the week of 26 November 2011.
Reception
Box office