New in Theaters
Delivery Man
(Playing at the Durango Stadium 9)
In the 17 years since “Swingers,” Vince Vaughn has cultivated the comedic persona of an obnoxious and insensitive boor, so it may come as a surprise to learn that “Delivery Man” reveals a softer side entirely. As David Wozniak, the world’s most fertile sperm donor, the star plays someone who’s overwhelmed as opposed to merely overwhelming. It’s a welcome change, though a significant marketing challenge as well, considering DreamWorks has almost no way of letting audiences know that “Delivery Man” is virtually nothing like a Vince Vaughn movie, but rather a heartfelt celebration of the act of parenthood presented under radically exaggerated circumstances.
Such sincerity comes easy for Canadian writer-director Ken Scott, who’s already told this story once before in the charming French-language hit “Starbuck.” Now, working in Hollywood, he demonstrates the good sense not to mess with success, engineering what amounts to a scene-for-scene remake of that earlier feel-good outing – with the notable addition of Chris Pratt in his funniest supporting performance yet.
Transplanted from Montreal to Manhattan for the benefit of this new version, Wozniak drives a deli-meat truck, but even that task proves too much responsibility for his stunted abilities. Vaughn’s character may not be the sharpest blade in the family butchery, but he has a good soul, which comes through the instant he receives news that would send any normal man into panic mode.
Nearly 20 years earlier, he donated dozens of times to a fertility clinic, which, through an administrative fluke, used his sperm to foster 533 children, 142 of whom are demanding to know the identity of their biological father. More shocking for Wozniak is the revelation that his policewoman g.f. (Cobie Smulders) is pregnant, though neither revelation is particularly easy to process for a man who grows marijuana in his apartment and has more parking tickets than dollars to his name.
Presented with a packet of information about his children, Wozniak draws one page at random and decides to pay the kid a visit, eavesdropping on a professional basketball game where his son scores the winning shot. For a split second, the film allows audiences to think that perhaps this sub-average shlub could be responsible for fathering 533 exceptional offspring: a mix of athletes, stars and world leaders.
That’s the beauty of Scott’s script, which supplies precisely the emotional uplift moviegoers want, while still managing to surprise at every turn. The circumstances may be contrived, but the characters feel refreshingly genuine.
“Delivery Man” skips over all the diaper changes and sleepless nights and gets to the essence of parenthood, when fathers must learn to put aside their preconceived expectations and accept their children for who they are. Life is well underway for most of them when Wozniak enters into the picture, and the movie celebrates the diversity of possibility, presenting him with offspring of all colors and personalities.
The film’s biggest surprise comes at a perfectly conceived moment set at a conference that steers what could have settled for farce into far deeper territory. Where so many laffers rush to dismiss raw emotion with an ironic wink, Scott isn’t afraid to get sentimental.
It would be no stretch at all to interpret “Delivery Man” as a pro-life movie, illustrating as it does the miraculous range of individual personalities that can result from the same set of paternal genes, each one special in its own way. But Scott’s warm-hearted humanism extends further than family, as if to remind that we are all brothers and sisters, with more in common than could possibly separate us. Even if your soul can’t stand the thought of Vince Vaughn at the center of a 143-person group hug, there’s no denying this marks a turning point for the star. With Scott’s help, he has delivered a rare and special package indeed.
“Delivery Man,” a Disney release, is rated PG-13 for “thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language.” Running time: 105 minutes.
By PETER DeBRUGE, Variety
Still Showing
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Five Dances. (Wednesday only.) Collaborating with choreographer Jonah Bokaer, writer-director Alan Brown took five gifted New York dancers and fashioned a story about Chip (Ryan Steele in his first film role), an extraordinarily talented 18-year-old recently arrived from Kansas who joins a small downtown modern dance company. In his first weeks of rehearsal, Chip is initiated into the rites of passage of a New York dancer’s life, where discipline and endless hard work, camaraderie and competitiveness, the fear of not being good enough, and the joy of getting it just right, inform every minute of every day. Not rated.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Katniss goes on a victory tour after her “Hunger Games” victory but there’s no time to rest before the next round. Rated PG-13.
The Best Man Holiday. A reunion of the cast from 1999’s “The Best Man.” Didn’t see it? You’re not alone. Rated R.
Thor: The Dark World. If Thor had a hammer...oh, wait – he does. And he uses it. Rated PG-13.
Free Birds. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) In this buddy comedy, two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history – and get turkey off the holiday menu for good. Voices include Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson and Amy Poehler. Rated PG.
Last Vegas. A group of aging pals played by aging actors head to Vegas for a wild weekend. A “Hangover” for the “Matlock” crowd. Rated PG-13.
Ender’s Game. Youngsters play life-and-death games for the amusement of some aliens with the fate of humanity on the line. Rated PG-13.
Gravity. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) George Clooney and Sandra Bullock star as astronauts stranded in space after a devastating accident in orbit. Rated PG-13.
Gaslight Cinema
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
12 Years a Slave. A free black man in pre-Civil War America is duped into a life of bondage and servitude. Not cool. Rated R.
About Time. On his 21st birthday, a man is told he has the ability to travel back in time. So he does, in the hopes of landing a good girl. That’s Rachel McAdams, and the ensuing events make for a textbook romantic comedy, if you’re into that sort of thing. Rated R.
Animas City Theatre
(128 E. College Drive,
799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com)
Enough Said. James Gandolfini’s last film is a semi-romantic semi-comedic vehicle in which he finds an unlikely pairing with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Rated R.
Back Space Theatre
(1120 Main Ave., 259-7940)
Rotating Holiday films: Beginning Sunday, the Back Space will show “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Sound of Music,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “White Christmas” in rotation. One show per night Monday through Thursday, two shows on Fridays and Saturdays, through Dec. 29.
Ted Holteen and Associated Press
