What would you do if you found out your husband had fathered a child or two because of some youthful sperm donation? What if it was more than a child or two? What if it was over 500?
Disney's Delivery Man is based on this premise (after a Canadian film called Starbuck) and stars Cobie Smulders and Vince Vaughn. Less straight-up comedy and more "dramedy," the story centres around hapless David Wozniack as he finds out that his prolific sperm donation in the early 90s (more on that in my interview) lead to him inadvertently siring over 500 kids.
I got to see the movie a few weeks ago and speak with its leading lady, the lovely Canadian actress Cobie Smulders. As per usual, Lauchie was my helper (I'm going to be so sad for the days when I can't take him on interviews anymore):
Cobie is also a mum and quite possibly one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in real life before. It was interesting to get her take on the movie, which you can listen to in my interview, embedded below.
The movie surprised me both with how cute it was and how funny AND sad it was. Dare I say that the movie had pathos? Am I even using that word correctly? One of the nice things about the movie that really tugged at my heartstrings was watching his character go from childless to loving father seemingly overnight. It was like watching my own husband go from single dude to dad on the day Henry was born. And I wonder, what would I do if I found out that Matt had inadvertently fathered over 500 kids? I'm not sure I'd even be mad. It's not like he's a lothario!
This movie would be fully acceptable to see with older kids (early teens) as one of those holiday at the movies sort of Sundays, and in fact, I think you SHOULD go see it with your (older) kids. It's a hyper-realized version of what parental responsibility looks like and if that doesn't keep their child making years at bay for another two decades, I don't know what will!
Delivery Man also made me really want to see the original Quebec-made version, although, I think the two films are very similar as the writer/director of the original were heavily involved here. And while this movie wasn't perfect, it's definitely a good little premise for anyone looking for some escape this holiday season.
Delivery Man has me wondering: What would you do if you found out your partner had fathered a number of other children—besides yours?
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