In the new movie "Delivery Man," Vince Vaughn plays a sperm donor who learns he's fathered more than 500 kids.

In the past, that kind of scenario might have been the set up for a film with adult humor, given the actor's portfolio. But "Delivery Man" is decidedly family-friendly fare, and reflects the stage of life where the 43-year-old married father of two finds himself these days.

"I think that this is a whole other level, in that the movie, in a real non-sentimental way, takes you on a journey. That is a little bit about family, sure — connection," he said in a recent interview. "But also I think a little bit about accepting yourself, forgiving yourself. Being open to being who are, and having people accept you and interact with you, whatever that may be."

Vaughn, whose films have included "Wedding Crashers," ''Swingers," ''Old School" and "The Break-Up," married Kyla Weber in 2010 and the couple has a young son and daughter. When asked how fatherhood has changed him, he pointed to his relationship with Weber.

"It's made me realize for myself how important it is, my relationship with my wife," he said. "I think the best thing you can do, on some level, as a father is to love their mom. I think there's something very simple in that, but it also really touches on a lot of different aspects.

"It is very profound. My wife for example, just me and her, as I see that when I work it falls on her," he added. "I was fortunate, I took some time off and I've been able to be around. You realize how important it is to try to make sure that you're taking time for each other. To have some fun and to connect. To laugh and do something that you both enjoy."

Vaughn, who is also in the next month's "Anchorman 2: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," has been more involved behind the scenes, in the past, producing filmslike "Couples Retreat" and "The Break-Up." But now that he's a dad, having his hand in multiple aspects of filmmaking isn't a priority anymore.

"I don't know, it just depends. It was so fun to come and do another movie. I could just show up and be an actor and go home," he said. "(I) think with the kids now it is not as motivated necessarily."

 

ility ?rt?? ?ampaign. Santorum quit the race in April of that year, ceding to eventual nominee Mitt Romney, but his surprising performance in the hard-fought primaries left him, at least for the moment, as a prominent social conservative voice.

 

"After the campaign, I had this newfound gift: fame," he said. "People knew who I was, all across the country. And I thought, well, how could I take this gift and help God and country?"

Santorum says he's a big movie fan. (Asked what his favorites are — besides "The Christmas Candle," of course — he mentions "It's A Wonderful Life" and says he also plans to see the "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.") But there's a lot about current fare he doesn't like.

"Look, violence for the sake of violence is not a good thing," he said. "Sex for the sake of sex is not a good thing. That doesn't mean there can't be sex or violence or language in a movie if it's put in the context of what it is and the effect of it, the consequence of it. But if it's just gratuitous, that's another thing."

At the Manhattan screening, Santorum shook the hands of filmgoers and chatted about the film. Though the invited guests were upbeat, critics have been mixed.

The Tulsa World called the film "stiff when it needs to be alive, colorless when it needs to be shiny." The Washington Post, on the other hand, said that "in spite of hammy histrionics requisite for the genre, it is not at all a turkey." The Hollywood Reporter noted its "positive message," but also its "hopelessly stodgy execution." It also called Boyle "hopelessly stiff."

EchoLight is distributing the film in the United States, but did not produce it. Santorum says he and EchoLight did suggest several changes, some of which made it in, but not all. There's a moment toward the end that personally irked him, he said, but his artistic opinion on that point did not win the day.

Santorum says his studio is now working on several new movies, with three scripts in development. His tenure hasn't been entirely filled with peace and goodwill: Soon after taking over, the new CEO clashed with two former executives at the studio over financial and other issues. The executives were fired, and EchoLight subsequently sued them for breach of contract, among other things.

As for his own timetable, Santorum isn't certain, and that's partly because he hasn't ruled out the possibility that he'll be on the campaign trail again sometime soon. He offered a quick "Sure!" when asked if he's open to running again.

A lot will depend on personal factors, he said. "You put a wife and seven children through a run for president — particularly the run I made, which was a lot of grass-roots knocking on doors — and the time away from your family is pretty taxing. And there's the financial aspect of it. I've got seven kids, three in college, three more on the way, so it's a big financial commitment to do that for me, because running for president doesn't pay."

He does seem to have strong opinions on other potential GOP nominees. Without naming names (though the question was about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie) Santorum said: "We need someone who's an authentic conservative." Some potential candidates, he said, "tend to be apologists for certain positions that Republicans hold, instead of being advocates for those positions."

As for his future, he says, "We'll see where we are a year from now. But in the meantime, I am all in with this (movie-making), and we'll see how it goes."