Delivery Man

COMEDY

Potency

6.75 out of 10 | Rental

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Rated: PG-13  Thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language
Release Date: November 22, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes

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Director: Ken Scott
Writers: Ken Scott, Martin Petit
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Bobby Moynihan, Adam Chanler-Berat, Britt Robertson, Jack Reynor

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SYNOPSIS:  An affable underachiever finds out he's fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity.

REVIEW: Writer and director Ken Scott takes his own 2011 film Starbuck and remakes it with American sweetheart Vince Vaughn. Scott did have help from co-writer Martin Petit the first go-around but seems to have found his own way this try.

David Wozniak (Vince Vaughn, The Internship) lives a carefree and responsibility free life as a meat delivery driver for his father's business. He owes money to the wrong people, can't seem to keep from getting parking tickets, and has all but abandoned his girlfriend Emma (Cobie Smoulders, The Avengers). When he learns that his sperm donating years ago has resulted in him fathering over 500 kids - and that over 100 of those offspring are petitioning to discover David's identity. He must make the impossible choice whether to reveal himself to the enquiring kids or stay anonymous no matter what. While deciding David has to juggle work, his newly pregnant girlfriend, and serving as a guardian angel for the kids he wants to be close to.

Vince Vaughn takes a more dramatic turn in Delivery Man. His wingman Owen Wilson is absent from the story, replaced by mediocre lawyer and best friend of twenty years Brett (Chris Pratt, Zero Dark Thirty). The normal silly hi-jinks are replaced by something more akin to a possible dramatic edge. Dealing with over one hundred kids who want to find out their sperm father's identity can be a logistical nightmare.

Unable to include all of the kids, Vaughn and his character Dave focus on just a few of them. From a barista who want to be an actor, to a girl at the end of her rope, to a handicapped young man living in a group home, the story tries to give a little slice of all the lives that David had created. Unfortunately some of the dramatic elements that come with telling these individual tales leads to one child left out by the end. Understanding that it is difficult to tell so many stories in a hundred minute film, some threads start and do not really end to satisfaction.

Delivery Man is a Vince Vaughn movie with dramatic potential, but the story really doesn't offer enough of either the drama or the company to know what it wants to be when it grows up. There are loose ends used strictly as a device to get to the next point of the story, Cobie Smulders is underused and forgotten through much of the film, and the brothers in the Wozniak family, including Tommy Moynahan, don't get enough screen time to really make a difference. Chris Pratt does the flick proud as his typical Parks and Recreation self, his character mugging and scratching his head throughout.
Delivery Man, based on the story Starbuck, could have been an utterly chaotic slapstick comedy or a straight heart tugging drama. Vince Vaughn does all he can to straddle and blur the line between them. At the end of the day Delivery Man is what you would expect from a father of over five hundred children - exhausted and confused.

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The Watch

There Goes The Neighborhood

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Rated: R  Some strong sexual content, sexual references, pervasive language and violent images.
Release Date: July 27, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 42 minutes

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Director: Akiva Schaffer
Writers: Jared Stern, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Cast:  Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Will Forte, R. Lee Ermey, Doug Jones

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SYNOPSIS: Four guys in a suburban neighborhood form a patrolling watch groups, but find themselves ill-prepared to face an intergalactic alien threat.

REVIEW: Saturday Night Live writer and director Akiva Schaffer, who directed Adam Samberg in Hot Rod, leaves the comfort of weekly last night television behind to take on the task of the Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet), Jared Stern (Mr. Popper's Penguins) and Evan Goldberg (Goon) written R-rated comedy involving bored suburban family men and and aliens - not from south of the border, but from south of the Milky Way.

Evan (Ben Stiller, Tower Heist), a married man living the American dream in suburban Ohio, has worked hard his entire life and has risen to the position of manager of the local bulk warehouse Costco.  When a co-worker turns up dead and missing his skin, Evan takes it upon himself to start yet another club to go along with his elderly Spanish courses and running group. Starting a neighborhood watch program, Evan is joined by fun-loving Bob (Vince Vaughn, The Dilemma), police force washout Franklin (Jonah Hill, 21 Jump Street), and tall accented Indian-type Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade, Bunny and the Bull). After getting their feet wet taking down mischievous kids, the quartet thinks its got the hang of patrolling. When the hunt for the Costco co-worker killer turns into the finding of strange energy sources and come face-to-face with an actual alien creature, they realize that they may be out of their depth, but continue on in order to keep their streets safe.

The Watch, formerly Neighborhood Watch, is a silly, foul-mouthed tale of discovery, both of the terrestrial and extraterrestrial varieties. From the trailers, you can put together the gist of the entire film, but what you do not see in the trailer are all of the hilarious moments that occur in between what was plastered on Youtube.com and television commercials. If an alien invasion isn't enough to whet thy appetite, a troubled marriage between Evan and his wife Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister) and dad Bob's tribulations of a daughter Chelsea (Erin Moriarty) coming of age adds a little bit more dimension to the story. With all that said, The Watch is still a semi-serious silly story with less akin to Will Smith's Independence Day and more like Old School. 

What makes the film over all is the actors. Ben Stiller assembles a new team of misfits for The Watch, making more promising choices than the results of the not as funny Tower Heist. I was disappointed in the missed opportunities with Eddie Murphy and Matthew Broderick. Vince Vaughn embodies the up-for-anything father who loves his kid as much as having an avenue to blow off a little extra steam with his brothers-in-arms - just like his role in Old School. Jonah Hill, still holding off most of the weight he lost for 21 Jump Street, throws his weight around as the police squad dropout with Jonah's Superbad confidence and a butterfly knife. Ben Stiller continues his uptight, calculating ways as Even, channelling his work from any of the Focker films. Rounding out the neighborhood watch is Richard Ayoade as Jamarcus, a fresh as a penny lanky import character with the sense and sensibilities of work from shows like Flight of the Conchords. Every character is based on the strengths of the actor that portrays him. Like a well oiled machine, each brings his comedy A-game.

The members of the neighborhood watch break out of every scene. Vaughn goes over the top with his physical loud comedic presence. Hill commands with double-takes and wide-eyed stars. Ayoade quietly makes the audience laugh out loud. Stiller plays the straight man as well as he ever does. In addition, there are other characters to acknowledge. Evan's workplace, Costco, is a pivotal piece of architecture. The inept police department, led by Sgt. Bressman (Will Forte, Rock of Ages), makes you wonder how they stayed in a job at all. R. Lee Ermey's, (Toy Story 3) Manfred is fun to watch, if only for his well-practiced drill sergeant antics. Evan's neighbor Paul (Billy Crudup, Almost Famous) makes you want to believe in otherworldly life. And not to be forgotten, Doug Jones (Legion) is wholly responsible for bringing the biggest alien to life.

The practical and special effects are surprisingly slick and cool. I was impressed by the alien creature design and execution. Director Akiva Schaffer balances perfectly the straight situational comedy with the science fiction extraterrestrial action. Throw in a couple of personal dilemmas for half of the watch squad, and you have a solid effort.

The Watch is funny throughout, sometimes surprising with its wit and humor. Not for all moviegoers because of its raunchy and foul language and brief sexual content, for those who are fans of Old School and similar films, The Watch will delight and bring a tear to your eye... from laughing!

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD

The Dilemma

The Truth is Painful

[Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah]

image from ripitup.co.nz

RANT: I talked to Annette behind the glass at the Regal Theater box office today. She is usually doodling and drawing when I see her between giving out tickets. You can check out her skills at www.pockets1217.deviantart.com.

SYNOPSIS: Ronny and Nick are best friends and business partners. When Ronny discovers that Nick's wife is having an affair, he is put in a difficult position as to how and when to tell Nick.

The opening sequence sets the stage for the entire film. One of the ladies at the table asks Ronny (Vince Vaughn) if you truly can know someone completely, whether it is your best friend or your wife? Ronny responds with stories of men with families in separate cities, and a husband who take up archery and "accidentally" shoots his wife in the neck with an arrow, twice! Of course, he is right. We can never know another person wholly, no matter how confident we are. And this dry comedy sets out in the pursuit and upholding of the truth.

Director Ron Howard brings us a comedy from Allan Loeb. Ronny Valentine (Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (Kevin James) are business partners trying to capture a large automaker bid on their electric engine technology that would rumble in muscle cars. While Nick struggles with finishing the technology, Ronny discovers that Nick's wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) is having an affair with a young tattooed stud named Zip (Channing Tatum). Forced with keeping the truth from Nick in order to finish the project on time, Ronny takes it upon himself to confront Geneva to fix the problem. But everything that Ronny tries to fix the problem, the worse things get.

Although Vince and Kevin are funny, their manic styles tend to cancel each other out in The Dilemma. On the plus side, Queen Latifah as auto liaison Susan Warner gives a few giggles with her enthusiasm for the duo and their engine concept. And it's always great to see Clint Howard working. But on the more dramatic side, Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder keep the outing somber, further slanting the film to the serious.

The film is slated as "a comedy that pulls no punches". The Dilemma may have not pulled any punches, but because of it most of the comedy may have thrown in the towel. Even for most avid Vaughn or James fans, the truth is that you will be happier watching The Dilemma in the comfort of your living room.

Worth: Netflix

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