Starbuck
Entertainment One | Release Date: March 22, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
8
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
NPRStephanie ZacharekMar 28, 2013
There are certain plot points in Starbuck, it's true, that either don't make much sense or are simply underexplained. But the picture is so breezily warm, without being too insistently ingratiating, that those flaws don't matter much. Read full review
80
EmpirePhilip WildingMar 8, 2013
A French comedy that pitches for wit over broad comedy, it's successful in salting what could be a over-sugary confection with healthy dose of wryness. The result is always entertaining and rarely mawkish. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanApr 25, 2013
Scott keeps the story from becoming cloying and sentimental. He is aided by smart, low-key work from his cast, especially Huard, who easily embodies the persona of an adult slacker, instilling him with a warm charm. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMar 18, 2013
It’s a smidge too cute and a bit too long, but Huard and Scott make this comical journey (in French and “Franglish” with English subtitles), a trip from indifference to kindness, incompetence to responsibility, a most rewarding reinvention of what “family” can mean. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen ColeMar 8, 2013
Starbuck is unapologetic genre filmmaking with a winning performance from its lead, Huard ( Bon Cop, Bad Cop), a shambling, likeable comedian who can flip, flop and fly off a diving board while maintaining his sex appeal. Read full review
70
VarietyJohn AndersonMar 15, 2013
A potent comedy of genetic chaos, Starbuck is pointedly contemporary and occasionally cloying, but guaranteed to draw attention for its premise and central character. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 8, 2013
A lovable underachiever unwittingly spawns his own village in Starbuck, Ken Scott's crowd-pleasing comedy exploring various meanings of fatherhood in the modern age. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSteven BooneJun 11, 2013
Starbuck is one of those high-concept yet formulaic, sitcom-like comedies that gets by on charm and speed. It is manipulative and ingratiating but totally worth your time if you manage to pass one crucial test: Does French-Canadian actor Patrick Huard's smile make you happy? Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMay 3, 2013
A high-concept comedy that peddles some slapstick laughs and life lessons but little insight. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 28, 2013
It’s silly and a bit sappy, but it works, in a crowd-pleasing way. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith PhippsMar 19, 2013
What could have been one long, smutty joke ends up turning into a moving slice of midlife. Read full review
60
Total FilmSimon KinnearMar 8, 2013
Huard’s charm offsets the plots contrivances, while Ken Scott’s finely balanced direction humanises the high concept. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasMar 27, 2013
By showing up and not embarrassing itself too much, the film far exceeds the standards established by the likes of the Shelley Long/Corbin Bernsen team-up "Frozen Assets" and 2012’s dire sperm-heist comedy "The Babymakers." Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithMar 22, 2013
You do have to give Starbuck credit for engineering perhaps the largest group hug ever put on film. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesAmy NicholsonMar 21, 2013
As amiable art-house fluff, it's a passable way to kill time. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 21, 2013
Five or 10 children might have led to comedy; 533 of them make for farce. All the same, Mr. Huard is endearing in the role of a perpetual adolescent who finally wants to stand up to his responsibilities, which include the one baby he has fathered the traditional way, and in his own name. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 21, 2013
A high-concept goof that’s hard-pressed to surmount its twee preposterousness. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 8, 2013
Almost all the charm of the real story is lost through the contrivances and overacting. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyMar 28, 2013
Bertrand does his jelly-belly best to keep Starbuck a comedy. But even the broadest shtick can’t prevent a movie that features a Busby Berkeley-style group hug from becoming a male weepie. Or a testimonial to Planned Parenthood. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineTomas HachardMar 16, 2013
Yet another example of modern-family predicaments getting stuffed into the traditional-family-values message of conventional comedies. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenApr 17, 2013
What begins as a cute idea grows annoyingly sentimental before it is through. Read full review
30
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMar 21, 2013
Starbuck is up to its eyeballs in mush. Read full review
30
Village VoiceJon FroschMar 19, 2013
The humor here is sitcom broad, and Scott displays little sense of rhythm; the film runs under two hours, but feels considerably longer. Read full review
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