It's not coming out until November, but the next Vince Vaughn movie, Delivery Man, would be the perfect Father's Day flick.
Based on the excellent French-Canadian movie Starbuck, it's the story of David Wozniak, a hapless loser who finds out a mistake at the fertility clinic that he made deposits at for cash in the early 1990s used his sperm to father 533 children. The kids, many of them now young adults, have found out and have joined together to file a lawsuit to demand the clinic release the true identity of their dad (only known by his nickname of Starbuck).
This startling news arrives at the same time Wozniak is informed by his girlfriend she's breaking up with him for being such an inconsiderate loser... and she's pregnant.
The result is a poignant coming-of-age movie about a man who still hasn't grown up, even though he's north of 40 years old. He works in the family business as the delivery man because his father and brother can't trust him with any real responsibility.
Wozniak wants to remain anonymous, of course, but his curiosity gets the best of him so he gets to know of few of his kids surreptitiously after looking at the files on them provided by the clinic to his lawyer.
For anyone looking for a great Father's Day movie (and a sneak preview of Vaughn's next movie), Starbuck is a wonderful film about the blessings and pitfalls of fatherhood. It makes a powerful argument in favour of the old saying that any idiot can be a father (or a sperm donor, as more than a few single mothers refer to the biological father of their kids) but it takes a man to be a dad.
While moms tend to bond with their children in a far deeper and emotional way (something about carrying the child to term and giving birth does that), dads are no more vulnerable to a baby's big curious eyes, especially when they see themselves reflected back in those eyes.
Father's Day (and Mother's Day) is a good time to reflect on parenthood and the relationship (or lack thereof) adults have with their parents and their children.
Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Brandle-McCall gave her notice this week that she will be leaving her job to spend more time with her children. Her brave and noble decision speaks to her character as a woman and as a mother. She is also fortunate enough to be in a personal situation that allows her the flexibility to put her career on hold while she focuses on parenting.
An increasing number of men are making the same decision as Brandle-McCall. As women rise to more and more powerful positions in greater numbers than ever before, their male partners now have the option, if they make less money and their job/career is less rewarding than their spouse, to take the lead on parenting.
For more than a few men, this isn't happening by choice. Women have made up the majority of college and university graduates for many years and most job sectors still enjoying consistent growth are either female-dominated already or soon will be. Manufacturing, construction, resource extraction and trades, long the lucrative domain of men, have been blown to bits by globalization. More men than ever now work on an as-needed basis, moving from job to job, with no labour security past their current contract, while women are the ones snapping up most of the remaining permanent full-time jobs still left in the economy.
The growing social and economic power of women isn't just changing the workplace, it's altering every aspect of society. Women now set the ground rules of every public and private relationship, forcing men to adapt. Working well with others, effective communication, negotiation skills, tactful management and leading by example are now the essential tools for success in every workplace and every family. It's no accident these are also traits that women, in general, master more quickly and thoroughly than men.
David Wozniak steps up in the end, once his girlfriend tells him she doesn't need him or his money to raise their child. He becomes a dad not just to his baby but to the hundreds of children he inadvertently fathered because he realizes he's a better man to have them in his life and his children are better to have him in theirs.
Thanks to all the dads, who left their boyhoods behind and became men for their children's sake.
