Delivery Man (2013)
Starring Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, and Cobie Smulders
Directed by Ken Scott
Therein lies the story of Delivery Man and the simplicity of it is both welcoming and a detriment. Unfortunately, in order to flesh out the tale, writer-director Ken Scott has David go on a mission to try and secretly meet each of the teenage kids named in the lawsuit and this episodic nature of the film's middle act wears thin after a while. After he meets Kid #3, you can't help but to find yourself waiting for this never-ending meet-and-greet to conclude.
Delivery Man does have a surprising amount of heart and that's due in large part to Vince Vaughn's performance. Although I grew tired of David's insistence on meeting his spawn, I never disliked Vaughn's ability to show a bit of heart -- a quality I typically haven't seen before from the comedic actor. Unfortunately, Vaughn's success with the role isn't enough to elevate Delivery Man beyond something simply average.
The RyMickey Rating: C
I liked the version this is a remake of, but did not like this one. Maybe I watched them too close to one another? They are almost shot-for-shot the same. I'm a little removed from watching them now as I saw the Vince Vaughn one in theatres--but what I remember not liking, was Vince Vaughn in the role. He plays so many likeable-jerk-with-hidden-soft-heart roles, that he didn't come across as the asshole I thought he needed to be at the start. Again, probably because I watched the two versions close to one another.
ReplyDeleteVaughn's character wasn't a jerk at all throughout, but I didn't really think he needed to be (at least in this script). Yes, he was kind of a loser (hence his baby mama trying to abandon him), but by no means could he be qualified as an asshole. This certainly didn't bother me, but maybe it would've played better if he played someone who was touched by these sweet kids he unsuspectingly fathered and made him a nicer guy. As it stands now, there really wasn't a huge arc for his character.
ReplyDelete