In the late 1980s, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell starred in a funny movie called Overboard and if there are two things Hollywood loves, it's remaking older movies, and flipping the genders to keep things slightly interesting. Although, it should be said that gender flipping Overboard is probably something that needed to happen if a remake was going to have a prayer of being made. It's certainly not without its funny moments considering its ridiculous premise. Check out the first trailer for Anna Faris' gaslighting comedy below.
Overboard sees Anna Faris as a working-class woman trying to get by when she meets Eugenio Derbez, a rich, entitled asshat who makes her life miserable. When Derbez's character gets amnesia, Faris gets the brilliant idea to claim he is her husband, a move which has the benefit of helping her around the house, while also putting him through the hell that is working for a living. Even though, he won't really learn a lesson, since he doesn't actually remember being rich.
Everything gets a bit over the top and ridiculous when you think about it. Not only does Anna Faris bring this guy home and get her kids to go along with the idea that he's "dad," but she also gets him a job working construction, and, one assumes, a bunch of people willing to act like he's been working there for a while. The scheme must get pretty elaborate in order to keep up the illusion. Of course, a comedy like this isn't looking to be a realistic story, it's about the comedy that comes from the extreme situation and the trailer does make Overboard look pretty funny. Anna Faris has proven her comedic skills over the years and she' looks perfect in the role. Though odds are that Eugenio Derbez actually has the harder job, as much of the comedy will be about seeing him go through the life he previously disdained.
In the 1987 original, the roles were reversed, and Kurt Russell got himself a fake wife by telling Goldie Hawn that they were married. There are a number of reasons that a straight remake of the movie probably wouldn't be accepted today. Gaslighting a woman like that being the primary one. Even so, the Overboard remake will need to be sure it doesn't go too far, well, overboard, to make the situation for the amnesia victim so terrible that the people who are lying to him still look funny rather than cruel.
The new Overboard is set for release in April and co-stars Eva Longoria and Swoozie Kurtz. Will it be able to stand-up to the original? We'll find out early next year.
