Review of Delivery Man (2013) by Rabih H — 11 Dec 2013

I never really enjoyed any of X's movies. His movies all tend to be run of the mill, generic romantic comedies or the like (The Intern's). I don't find him funny either, which can be a problem considering he stars almost exclusively in comedies. Usually I enjoy the films, but they are in spite of him due to a great script or great supporting cast rather than because of him.

But what about Delivery Man? Well first of all, this is not a film that aims to re-write filmmaking or revolutionize the industry. It is run of the mill, it is generic, and it knows it! That's actually a good thing. There is no artsy-fartsy-ness. No unnecessary depth that simply is not supported by the script. It's simple, it's cute, and for a full 90 minutes it works.

The story is ludicrous: Over a period of three months, our star masturbates over 650 times donating his sperm for financial gain and unintentionally fathers over 500 children. First of all that might actually be physically impossible; Let's do the math: Masturbating 650 times in a quarter = working the snake 7.25 times a day = choking the chicken almost once every 2 waking hours... While possible for short periods, keeping up that rhythm for over three months would kill all but the most powerfully endowed and trained men, but this movie is not about accuracy is it...

The cast all perform well. The script is decent enough not to get in the way of itself. The "children" (all are in the 20-ish year old range) do well enough I guess. It's all very generic stuff, but sometimes that's exactly what you need. Just 90 minutes of escape. Good job to everyone who worked on this to not over-extend your abilities and just stick to the basics.

Overall a very watchable and mildly entertaining film, great for a late night or rainy afternoon at home.