Patrick Huard in STARBUCK (Entertainment One)

The high concept for Starbuck sounds like a wild news story or an extended sitcom episode. David Wozniak (Patrick Huard), a 40-something slacker, finds out that sperm donations he made as a young man, under the alias “Starbuck,” have resulted in him being the anonymous biological father to 533 children, and now over one hundred of them wish to know the identity of their father. So sets the scene to a wonderfully funny and touching story from French-Canadian director Ken Scott. The idea may be a little farfetched, but with a great cast Starbuck manages to walk the fine line between drama and comedy.

David works at his father’s butcher shop, but isn’t much good at delivering meat. It’s clear his schemes outside of his job get him into a lot of trouble, too; he is threatened at the beginning by some stern looking men about $80,000 he owes them. His girlfriend, Valérie (Julie Le Breton), has just revealed to him that she is pregnant and is considering raising the child without him since he’s been impossible to track down. And complicating his life more, a lawyer appears, telling David he is being sued by 142 of his biological children who want to know his identity.

His best friend, who also happens to be his lawyer (played by the scene-stealing Antoine Bertrand), is a stressed father of four and, only partially joking, advises David not to take on Valérie’s baby, let alone 500 more. When David is given a file with personal profiles of each participant in the lawsuit, his lawyer suggests he doesn’t peek, but David can’t help himself. The first picture he pulls out is of a professional soccer player. David and his lawyer then attend a football match where his “son” wins the game for his team. This sparks something in David, who subsequently visits two more of his children, a struggling actor and a heroin addict, but this time anonymously interacting with them and actually affecting their lives quite profoundly.

In short, this is the story of an immature man finding his purpose through a crash course in how to be a kind-of father to an eclectic bunch of young adults. His anonymous run-ins with his children enable him to act as their mysterious guardian angel, and he does everything from gather an audience to watch one of his kids play guitar in the Metro to spending time with a son who is severely disabled. David’s relationship with his own father, which isn’t examined closely until later in the film, is particularly moving. But it would have been beneficial to have a little more screen time between David and Valérie. While her pregnancy and their floundering relationship is certainly meant to be a huge worry for David, it is almost completely overshadowed by everything else going on.

The larger issues the film addresses make Starbuck more than just a sentimental and dramatic comedy. While I’m calling David’s children his “children,” are they really? The film makes a bold statement from the get-go (and drives the point home later on) that it’s up to David regarding how much of a father he will be to these curious young adults. He may not be related to them in any way other than biologically in the beginning, but his interest and actions in their lives could change that. Meanwhile, the half-siblings, who band together in the lawsuit, become a family of their own. Both they and David are learning to define family for themselves.

Starbuck is currently being remade in an English language version, starring Vince Vaughn and also directed by Ken Scott, coming out later this year. The original film was very popular in its native Canada and it’s easy to see why and why it would be quickly adapted for American audiences—it definitely has roots in Judd Apatow-type comedies. Here’s hoping its heart and daring translate in addition to its humor.