Starbuck

“Sperm donor discovers he’s the father of 533 children.” Sounds like a ribald Blake Edwards flick from the mid-1980s. And with a little less attention, Starbuck could have been pulled clumsily down that path. But the Québécois comedy is ultimately a little more sophisticated and a lot more kindhearted than that. David (Patrick Huard) gave of himself nearly 700 times at a sperm bank down the street. Two decades later, he’s an unwitting father of hundreds of kids, 142 of whom are suing the clinic to find out his identity, and his curiosity is piqued enough to want to meet them on the sly. This is one of those cases where driving in the middle of the road pays off. Taken any more seriously, Starbuck would lose the edge that comes from being so preposterous. If it’s any looser, the joke’s not strong enough to last two hours.