Delivery Man (2013) Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Andrzej Blumenfeld Movie Review

Delivery Man (2013)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Vince Vaughn in Delivery Man (2013)

Vaughn's a Starbuck

David (Vince Vaughn) is not only not the most reliable of people he also has a habit of doing the wrong thing, which is why his pregnant girlfriend Emma (Cobie Smulders) is planning on going it alone and also why he has debt collectors coming after him for a loan he hasn't got the money to repay. But it is one of his past mistakes which comes back to haunt him, in fact over 500 of them as when he was younger he donated sperm to raise money and as it turns out his sperm was used again and again with a group of the children lobbying to find out who there biological father is. Despite his best friend and lawyer Brett (Chris Pratt) advising him not to become involved David sets about secretly tracking down his kids to act as a guardian angel to them.

There is a real art to balancing comedy with heartfelt drama/emotion and whilst "Delivery Man" tries to get the balance right the end result is uneven. And the thing is that it is every part of the movie which has its ups and unwanted downs and not just the comedy or the emotion of the drama. As such you will get something funny such as when David finds himself cheering on a son who is a professional basketball player but then a joke about him riding a push bike in to some police falls flat on its face. The same when it comes to the emotion as the joy of seeing David sharing a moment with his kids is then muted by a forced moment of bonding.

But here is the thing; I don't think that "Delivery Man" could have worked any better, well not with Vince Vaughn in the lead role because his comic styling is out of kilter with the more sensitive side of the story. Yet Vaughn is perfect for delivering the sensitive side and watching him go from man child to a caring family man is great. And trust me whilst "Delivery Man" also features Cobie Smulders and Chris Pratt this movie is all about the two sides of Vince Vaughn as an actor.

What this all boils down to is that for the most "Delivery Man" is a charming comedy which finds the sensitive nature and emotion of the story. But every now and then the comedy ends up forced and even worse it fails which sadly spoils the movie.


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