“Overboard” Movie Review

“Overboard”, a romantic comedy released in theaters May 4, has been added to the list of remakes of Hollywood’s classics.

The movie is a remake of the 1987 version with the same title and was written by Leslie Dixon, who participated in the screenwriting of the new version.

The story is about Kate, portrayed by Anna Faris, a single, hard working mother of three girls who is studying to become a nurse. Kate is hired to clean the carpets on an extravagant yacht. The yacht belongs to billionaire playboy Leonardo, portrayed by Eugenio Derbez, who has no consideration for anybody other than himself.

Leonardo fires Kate out of the blue. This greatly frustrates her, because she knows Leonardo has never done any labor in his life.

When Leonardo falls over the boat and is found on the shore, he wakes up with no memory of who he is. Kate visits the hospital to take his vulnerable state to her advantage by stating that the pair are actually married.

Kate is able to get her revenge by telling Leonardo he is in charge of doing manual labor, which she knows he will have a rough time adjusting to. But as he comes to find his place with the family, Kate starts to wonder how long she can keep up the plan. Her idea soon turns into romance as she and the kids start to get attached to Leonardo.

The movie includes in its supporting cast Eva Longoria portraying Kate’s friend Theresa, and John Hannah as Colin.

One of the main differences between the 2018 version and the 1987 original is the gender swap of the main characters. In the original, the wealthy character was heiress Joanna Stayton, played by Goldie Hawn. Whereas in the new one, it is Leonardo who is the rich, spoiled person with amnesia.

Movie goer Michael Hannigan, who has seen the classic, compared it to the remake.

“The overall difference is the gender role, like in the new Ghostbusters; it seems to become a common thing when Hollywood tries to reboot a classic,” shared Hannigan.

The chemistry between Faris and Derbez can sometimes feel off at certain places, except when it came to the comedy aspect. There were some funny, cross-cultural remarks and outstanding hilarious comedy from the main characters. Faris and Derbez did an outstanding performance when portraying the characters that have dissimilar backgrounds and outlooks on life.

The plot of the movie stays true to the original without any major differences.

“I thought it was good, funny, like another romcom, but it didn’t seem to have much of originality,” said Hannigan.

The remake received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $43 million worldwide.

The New York Times’ Glenn Kenny stated that the remake is sweeter than the original and praises it for being hilarious.

“I’ll probably even go home to watch the classic to catch which has more comedy, but for the remake, it was sweet-natured, with a spin of Spanish dialogue and I would definitely see it again. It’s comedy done really well,” shared Hannigan.