OVERBOARD: A Modern Update Of A Neo-Screwball Classic

When the original Overboard came out in 1987, it didn’t make very much at the box office, but it was well-liked. Remaking a film with a fond, yet smaller fan base is a smart way to remake a film. Ben Greenberg directs this from a script he and Bob Fisher wrote based on Leslie Dixon’s script for the original film. Anna Faris stars as Kate Sullivan, a single mother working two jobs and studying to become a nurse, while raising her three daughters. Eugenio Derbez stars as Leonardo Montenegro, an international playboy yachting in the Oregon town of Elk Cove.

When Leonardo has a party that gets a little out of control, Kate is sent to clean the carpets. The two hate each other instantly, resulting in Leonardo throwing her and her carpet cleaning equipment off the yacht and refusing to pay for her services. Later that night, Leonardo stumbles around his yacht and falls off the boat. He shows up on the shore of Elk Cove with retrograde amnesia. With the help of her best friend Theresa (Eva Longoria), Kate decides to tell Leo that he is her husband to get back at him for how he treated her.

Overboard utilizes the structure and screwball inspired story of the original film to offer something updated for a modern audience. At times, the updates help stand the film apart from its predecessor, but during many scenes in Overboard, you are reminded of how little actually changes.

Updated Ideas in a Familiar Package

Deciding to reverse the gender of the original story is a nice way to separate this remake, but so much of the film feels too heavily connected to the original. At certain moments in the film, I would hear a line spoken and automatically be able to picture that exact same line in the original.

Even though some scenes felt like they were too close to the source material, other scenes were a joy to watch and see how they changed a moment in order to fit with the reversal of the characters. Having Derbez play the character out of their element worked well for the film, but I kept wondering how well Faris would have done in that type of role, if the film had not been reversed. Anna Faris does a wonderful job of making Kate likable and endearing, even though she just kidnapped the amnesiac Leo and is giving him a long list of chores.

After his film Instructions Not Included did well in US theaters, Derbez is becoming more of a name outside of Mexico. He plays both the narcissistic and thoughtless parts of his characters as well as the sweet and thoughtful parts with talent and charm.

The scenes where Leo starts to work and realizes this life he never would have known can be fulfilling are some of the best of the film. Mel Rodriguez stands out as Bobby, Leo’s boss and the husband of Theresa. I was pleasantly surprised in how few characters only spoke English. A realistic percentage of the film is in Spanish with English subtitles, and I feel this is just as much of a modern update as the gender reversal. Both the gender reversal and the diversity give this remake a slight push into memorable territory.

I see the highlights of the jokes of the film never being too cruel, even though this story line lends itself to that. Even when jokes were at someone’s expense, most often Leo’s, I never felt like the film went too far. Everything felt balanced between the comedy and the moments of family bonding and emotional growth.

Overboard would be a more memorable film if the comedy came more from the updates and less from dialogue and scenes directly pulled from the original film. Some of these scenes are strong, but when watching the film, you feel how closely connected they are to the original. The moments I enjoyed watching the most were the moments that felt the most unique to this film.

A Slightly Different Tone

One aspect of the film which felt different was the home life of Kate. Having her three daughters be fairly well-behaved, other than a few instances of teenage angst gave the film a different tone than the original. This version felt both more family oriented, but I also felt like the bonding between the newcomer and the children was a little toned down. Her home life was a little more polished. She had a hole in her ceiling, but the inside of her house was clean and organized. These little details help show the differences between her character and her equivalent in the original film.

Less of the story surrounded this newcomer having to take care of children, and more came from having to work a construction job and interactions with the children were more often after the hard day of work. When the children did have moments with him, they were mostly sweet and simple. I felt the film did not spend enough time showing the change in feelings between the children and their new fake dad.

Making the children more well-behaved somewhat makes the film a little bit more realistic and grounded, but I kept wondering if they were only written this way because they were daughters, and if the film dealt with sons, the story would have gone with the fire-starting portrayal of the children in the original film.

Overboard: Conclusion

Overboard takes the basic structure of the original film and gives it a modern update, while not losing all the screwball charm of the original. Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris both give enjoyable and endearing performances. Nothing will top the chemistry of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, but Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez did a wonderful job of creating a sweet and thoughtful romance. Overboard doesn’t offer too much new to the original, but it is still an entertaining take on the small sub-genre of amnesia-fueled rom-com.

Have you seen Overboard? Tell us what you thought in the comments below!

Overboard was released on May 4, 2018 in the US. For all international release dates, see here.