Maybe I'm a purist... but at the Seattle International Film Festival, we soooo loved "Starbuck," the French Canadian original of this movie, that we were pretty hostile when we heard about a remake. This time we are in luck. Writer/director Ken Scott ("Starbuck" ...smile...) used Martin Petit's original screenplay as his source, so we know this beloved script is in good hands, AND they didn't exaggerate or overplay anything as so often happens in American remakes. Whew!
Briefly, a young man made over 500 anonymous donations to a sperm bank a couple of decades ago because he was paid for each deposit (wait until you figure out how he used the money). Then, through a technical bungle, his were the only donations used for a year. Now, 142 of his offspring have filed a class action lawsuit to identify their father, who had used the name "Starbuck" for anonymity.
Here is the cast:
This has a very, very large cast: we meet David's father and two married brothers, and then, when he takes a peek in the envelope that identifies the parties to the lawsuit, we meet a number of those offspring. The casting director for this one did a great job!
Rated PG-13, we see absolutely no sweaty bodies, hear no gunshots, endure no vehicular mayhem and suffer through no blowie uppie stuff. (See my original review of "Starbuck" for other comments and observations.)
This film is absurd, heartwarming, funny and great entertainment. I am so relieved they kept the original Canadian team and didn't screw this up.