Movie Review: Starbuck

Warning: The title of this film might confuse you, but Starbuck is not about coffee.

By usually skipping over foreign films with subtitles, I would have missed Starbuck, which turned out to be a highly enjoyable and universal story. For me, reading the subtitles can be very tiring and ruin the relaxation and enjoyment when adventuring into the movie theater. While it is a foreign (Canadian) film in French, it’s a story about growing up and taking responsibility while trying to keep your life from falling apart.

In the 80s/90s, David Wozniak made some easy money by donating sperm over 500 times. Flash forward twenty years and David learns that over 100 people are suing the clinic to learn the real identity of Starbuck, their biological father. After learning about the lawsuit, David sets out to meet his children while keeping his identity a secret. He learns that his children range from famous athletes to drug addicts. His journey is complicated by his best friend, a lawyer, trying to help him hold on to his secret identity to protect his life after the press find out about Starbuck. Life for David is further complicated by his pregnant girlfriend.

I felt that Starbuck had a similar charm to that of Kevin Smith’s Clerks. It was filmed in a way that was simple, without too much flash. Although there were subtitles, after the first few minutes you don’t even really notice that you’re reading. The film flowed really well and didn’t feel rushed or too slow. There were some parts that were humorous, but I wouldn’t refer to the film as a comedy because it wasn’t constant laughing.

This Canadian import as left me with two thoughts. One, Canadians are about a decade behind Americans in fashion and technology. And two, foreign language films shouldn’t be passed over just because of subtitles. If I had stuck to my pattern of skipping movies that required reading subtitles, I would not have seen this gem.

There are rumors that Vince Vaughn is remaking the film in English. These rumors are verified by a page on imdb.com for a new film called “The Delivery Man” scheduled for an October 2013 release. Even if you want to see the Vince Vaughn version when it comes out, I recommend seeing the original.

Starbuck will be released nation wide on April 5, 2013. Check out my weekly post, Making Cents with Cori, on Cinemit for weekly specials on tickets and concessions.

Movie Rating for Starbuck

The passes for this pre-screening was received as a blogger to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% my own. Check out my information post for more information about free movie screenings.