Overboard Review

PG-13: Suggestive material, partial nudity and some language.

Lionsgate Films, MGM, Pantelion Films

1 Hr and 52 Minutes

Dir:  Rob Greenberg | Writers: Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg Leslie Dixon

Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris, Eva Longoria, John Hannah, Mel Rodriguez

Remakes are happening everywhere. But I’ve never seen an American comedy remade into a Spanglish comedy. Also, I’ve never seen an Eugenio Derbez movie until now, so I’m working with a lot right now.

A spoiled, wealthy yacht owner is thrown overboard and becomes the target of revenge from his mistreated employee.

THE GOOD

Since this is my first film ever seeing Eugenio Derbez and I can see why people in the Mexican community love him. He has a lot of charisma and charm to him, even if his character is a total douche. “Overboard” is a fish out of water story, where we follow this guy who treats everyone like garbage and has never heard of the word “no” before. So when Kate [Faris] gives him a piece of her mind, you easily side with her. Then, when he gets amnesia and Kate uses that to her advantage, you go along with it because of Leo’s assholishness. Even after he doesn’t remember who he is, the dude still acts like a brat so seeing Kate fulfilling her revenge by putting his ass to work is satisfying. This is also a Spanglish comedy where the majority of the dialogue is split between English and Spanish. 

“Overboard” may be a movie, but everything about it is telegraphed, predictable, and never gets past the brink of sitcom level of quality. Yet, if it wasn’t for these two comedic leads being charming and charismatic, I would’ve completely written this off. Faris and Derbez both make a fun, dynamic duo that have enough individual screen presence and bounces jokes off each other quite well. Then you have other side characters played by actors who dabbled with comedic roles such as Mel Rodriguez from “Last Man on Earth” and Eva Longoria from “Desperate Housewives.” You have this cast doing their best to be entertaining for their audiences and they all bring enough energy to make this very bland remake rather entertaining and oftenly charming. Because of their energy there are plenty of moments where I’m not laughing out loud, but rather chuckling which is still a form of laughter.

THE BAD

So who is this movie for? This is rated PG-13 and starts off pretty risque, but then as the film progresses it becomes far more tame and more family oriented where it would shift focus on Leo helping Kate’s daughters with little subplots that are either followed through or abandoned. Yet, at the same time they throw in words like “shit” ever so often that it gets me confused. I can’t say this is fun for family audiences or teenagers so I guess adults? This is a movie that could've easily went straight to Netflix because you can throw anything on there.

If you’ve been reading my reviews, you might realize that I have a major rule when it comes to comedy movies.

NO COMEDY NEEDS TO BE DAMN NEAR TWO HOURS!

THE RENDY

It’s odd that in a scene in a hospital after Leo gets his amnesia, a doctor points out that this same situation has happened in the 80s as if there's an “Overboard” cinematic universe and this is a spinoff remake sequel?!  At that point just give me either a Kurt Russell or Goldie Hawn cameo… but looking at the budget I know you couldn't afford either one of them. That inclusion the most should’ve not been in there because it just confuses audiences. I’M TIRED OF REMAKES DOING THIS! Just be true to yourself and don’t try to establish yourself as a sequel.

Is this movie funded by the Seahawks? The reason I question this is because throughout the entire movie nearly every character wears Seahawks mememborilla and watches nothing but their games and I was just baffled by how much of the wardrobe is nothing but Seahawks jerseys. What’s even worse is that throughout the entire time, I just kept thinking of Chris Pratt because... well,

Yeah, nothing else needs to be explained. And then principal photography was shot while Faris and Pratt were still together and now I kind of feel second hand awkwardness. There’s a scene where Derbez is wearing a large Seahawks jersey that doesn’t fit him and then the first thing I thought of was, “That must’ve been Chris Pratt’s jersey.” Oh well. I’m going to go back to listening to Anna Faris’ podcast because it’s the best. This review is over. See ya!

LAST STATEMENT

Though it is harmless and feature charismatic performances from the ensemble, “Overboard” is a generic remake that is entertaining at best, but tediously bland nonetheless.

Rating: 2.5/5 | 57%

uper Scene: Kate tries to tell Leo the truth.