Delivery Man Movie Poster Image

Delivery Man

age 14+
(i)

 

Instant-fatherhood comedy features unexpected heavy moments.
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  • Review Date: November 20, 2013
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Release Year: 2013
  • Running Time: 103 minutes

What parents need to know

Positive messages

The movie has positive messages about the importance of fathers and the idea that family isn't limited to the traditional idea of a mother, father, and kids. David's story also indicates how fatherhood changes a man and makes him more aware of what he has to offer his children.

Positive role models

David "gets a life" beyond thinking about himself, growing pot, and occasionally contacting his girlfriend. He becomes more responsible and realizes fatherhood gives his life purpose. David's father helps him see that parents love their children unconditionally and would sacrifice everything they have to make their kids' lives better. A group of the kids each teach David something and he acts like an anonymous guardian angel who pops into their lives to make something good happen.

Violence

There's a disturbing scene when a young woman overdoses on heroin (she has a belt wound around her arm and a needle is next to her on the bed). Enforcers nearly drown both Dave and later his father in a bathtub looking for their boss' money.

Sex

While there are just a few kisses in the movie (straight and gay), there are plenty of jokes about sperm donation and masturbation. Before his identity is revealed, David is called "The Masturbator" in the press for donating more than 600 times to a fertility clinic. The masturbation jokes are frequent once the case goes public.

Language

Occasional language includes "s--t," "bitch," "what the hell," "damn," "loser," "idiot," "stupid."

Consumerism

Brands include: Isuzu delivery truck; Gourmet Garage supermarket; several references to the New York Knicks (including a game and an assortment of memorabilia); Apple products.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

David grows marijuana at home. One of his 533 kids is a young woman who's addicted to drugs; she overdoses on heroin and is rushed to the hospital. Grown-ups drink, and one of David's adult sons is so drunk he has to be physically placed in a cab home.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Delivery Man isn't your typical raunchy Vince Vaughn "frat pack" comedy. It's an American remake of a well-respected 2011 French-Canadian dramedy, Starbuck, about a 40-something slacker who discovers 142 of his biological children from anonymous sperm donation demand to know his identity. The movie, while mostly a comedy, contains some surprisingly heavy themes such as drug addiction, disability, and a potentially offensive abortion joke. The humor can be mature and sexual in nature (since Vaughn's character is famous for donating sperm more than 600 times, there are countless masturbation jokes), and there is drug use (a young woman overdoses on heroin) and marijuana plants (the main character tries to grow it at home) in the movie. Occasionally there's language ("s--t," "bitch"), but it's not overwhelming. Parents and teens who see it should be able to discuss parenthood and how it changes your life (hopefully for the better).

What's the story?

In DELIVERY MAN, Vince Vaughn plays David Wozniak, a lovable loser who spends his time working on get-rich quick schemes, delivering meat for his family's butcher shop, trying to grow marijuana, hanging out his his single-father pal Brett (Chris Pratt), and occasionally getting together with his cop girlfriend Emma (Cobie Smulders). One crazy day, David finds out he's not only about to become a father, but that he's already a father to 533 biological children thanks to a mix-up at a fertility clinic where he donated sperm (more than 600 times!) 20 years ago. One hundred forty two of the children are filing a lawsuit asking the clinic to reveal his identity, as all they know about him is his profile's pseudonym "Starbuck." Determined to get to know his kids without blowing his cover, David begins to visit a select group of his offspring and helps them in small but significant ways. But as David's baby's due date approaches, his identity grows more and more in jeopardy when one of his 533 kids figures out who he is and demands to spend time with him.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

Audiences expecting the typical Vaughn comedy will be disappointed with how serious this comedy can get. It tackles tough issues you wouldn't expect in a jokey movie about a guy whose overeager sperm donations resulted in hundreds of kids. What's more, the serious bits are off-putting and slightly shocking, from the casual way Brett -- in front of his kids -- tells David he should tell Emma to get an abortion and that his "kids know they're too old to be aborted" to the disturbing image of one of David's kids, Kristen (Britt Robertson), overdosing on heroin, and the fact one of his kids is severely disabled and non-verbal, to the unnecessary subplot about him owing some mobbed-up bookie $100,000. So a mega-family comedy this is surely not.

The trope of the unlikeliest bachelor becoming a father is a tired cliche, and unfortunately this film can't decide whether it's a serious look at how fatherhood changes even the most selfish and immature of men or a feel-good comedy about a masturbation-happy college guy discovering his 20-year-old "donations" had turned into hundreds of children. There are still some laughs, mostly when Pratt is around demonstrating how chaotic life is with four young children, but the movie never really clicks into place, and the predictable resolution is eye-rollingly maudlin, even for moviegoers who appreciate feel-good endings.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about the movie's messages about fatherhood and family? How does accepting his role as father change David?

  • Was the movie believable? Why or why not? Do plotlines have to be believable to work?

  • Is the movie what you were expecting or does it tackle deeper issues? How does it compare to other Vince Vaughn comedies?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:November 22, 2013
DVD release date:March 25, 2014
Cast:Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Vince Vaughn
Director:Ken Scott
Studio:Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Genre:Comedy
Topics:Brothers and sisters
Run time:103 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language

This review of Delivery Man was written by

Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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Teen, 15 years old Written byiPunk November 24, 2013
age 10+

Okay movie shows how people should be more honest

There was one of his children that was a drug addict, and she overdosed and had to go to the hospital. When she got better, the doctor told Dave (Vince Vaughn) that didn't know her at all but was the biological father that she could do their rehab program and that they have had great results. He goes too talk to this kid and she says that she doesn't need it. People deny that they need help all the time, whether their issue is anger, self injury or even suicide. People think that when they are getting help for their mental health they are admitting that they are crazy, but they are not. Everyone needs help sometimes, whether it's with your mental health or just moving a heavy couch. There are some sad scenes, but there is a message about honesty.
What other families should know
Great messages
Too much sex
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Teen, 14 years old Written bymovielover7271 December 13, 2013
age 12+

Very funny!

How would you react if you were told you are the biological father of 533 children? Well, delivery man is all about that. Vaughn is David Wozniak, an irrisponsable meat delivery man, sperm donor and pot grower, but when he recieved the message 142 of his 533 biological children are suing to find out who he is, taking him on a journey to meet as many as he can without spilling the beans. Delivery Man is very funny, but for what age group? I say 12 and up because the jokes would go over anybody younger's heads, and be a little to innapropriate for them. I highly reccomend it though, you'll be in for a good laugh!
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Teen, 17 years old Written bykenwi November 22, 2013
age 13+

JUST FOR TEENS!

I thought it is going to be okay! But not for little ones!
What other families should know
Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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