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| Delivery Man |
David is your average, everyday guy who once made some dough onthe side as a sperm donor named Starbuck, fathering 533 kids. When 142 of them decide to file a lawsuit to find out the identity of their dad, David is put in a situation he's never been in before.
A meat delivery truck driver by profession, David Wozniak (Vaughn) is as nondescript as they come. Even his pregnant girl, Emma (Smulders) tells him to 'get a life'. His best pal Brett (Pratt) knows that David's a bit of a simpleton with an eccentric streak. Although David knows he is a loser, he is never short of an innocuous scam or two, to invest in some Ponzi scheme to get richer. David gets a shock when a lawyer tells him he is facing a paternity case of this magnitude. But David's shock quickly - and inexplicably - leads him to becoming some kind of benefactor to his anonymous kids. He goes about tracking them to prove to Emma and himself that he can handle fatherhood.
While this aims to be a feel-good movie, it also serves up mountains of mush. Vaughn does seem to do his damndest to inject some pathos into his character, which does at times elicit empathy and even sympathy. But playing the pitiful pater familias isn't all there is to it. Only his buddy Brett manages to emerge as a persistent voice of reason as well as his legal means of recourse.
Additionally, the subplot of David being in debt to the tune of $100,000 has no bearing on the movie other than to influence so
me legal decisions. Emma is the only female character of any significance. She seems to be out of his league, but like a true underdog slugger, he won't give up to prove his love, which among other things has him bringing her greasy cheeseburgers and stolen sunflowers.
Based on 2011's movie, Starbuck, this is Vaughn's vehicle all the way. All said and done, the movie has its heart in the right place.
