Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
David Wozniak is a perpetual adolescent who discovers that, as a sperm donor, he has fathered 533 children. He is advised that more than 100 of his offspring are trying to force the fertility clinic to reveal the true identity of "Starbuck," the pseudonym he used when donating his sperm. To make matters worse, his girlfriend Valérie is pregnant with his child, but doesn't feel that he is mature enough to be a father.
Starbuck has a genuinely singular premise — a man-child discovering he fathered 533 children through sperm donation — that sets it apart from most comedies of its era. The film handles this absurd setup with surprising warmth and emotional sincerity, earning a strong Novelty score for its distinctive voice and conception. The acting is competent and charming, with Patrick Huard carrying the film affably, though the supporting cast is largely functional. The cinematography is unremarkable, standard TV-movie-ish Quebec production work without much visual ambition. The plot is engaging in its novelty but follows a fairly predictable emotional arc toward redemption and maturity. The ending is sentimental to a fault, wrapping everything up too neatly and losing the tonal balance the middle section maintained, feeling unearned and overly tidy.