Oh cheese and crackers; I’m gonna have to defend this thing, aren’t I? A classic “gift of low expectations,” this Overboard remake is hardly genius, hardly perfect, yet decidedly enjoyable, and I will tell you the moment when I put it in the “win” column: Leonardo (Eugenio Derbez) is a zillionaire playboy suffering from amnesia. Struggling single-mother Kate (Anna Faris) has suckered Leonardo into believing he’s her husband – it’s fairer than it sounds; you’ll see. After a frustrating battle with her troubled teen, Kate is taken aside by Leo to discuss parenting. Kate, frustrated now on another count that she’s getting a parenting lecture from an overgrown child exclaims, “You’re not even her father!” and Leo is genuinely hurt. No, he’s not her father … not in any way, shape, or metaphor. But in the days since Kate claimed him, he claimed fatherhood. And there’s something genuinely sweet about any man who fights for parental responsibility.
Don’t get me wrong, this film is a remake of a stomach-turning Garry Marshall original; I think you have to think long and hard before you decide to remake a Garry Marshall film. As a potential viewer, your first question should be, “Is it as bad as I imagine?” The answer is, “No.”
Neither turtle nor ninja, Leonardo is, perhaps, a bit of a cross between the beloved DiCaprio and a genuine reptile. Being the eldest son of an ungodly wealthy man, Leonardo has dedicated his life to hedonism; he sails his expensive toy yacht to sunny places and collects brunch bunnies in the process. Like many ultra-wealthy people, there are layers between he and common folk. The layers evaporate when Kate comes to clean the yacht carpets, soiled from extravagance and unapologetic behavior. Two years ago, I might have chastised the self-centered and hideously out-of-touch Derbez performance as over-the-top or unrealistic. Now? It’s pretty clear to me exactly how many ultra-wealthy people have no idea how the rest of us live. Failing to deliver Leo’s post-hangover snack, Kate “I only came here to clean carpets” is promptly tossed Overboard along with the cleaning machine she now owes her employer. Personally, I would hope that Kate could do better than a series of minimum wage jobs based on her bilingual abilities alone, but perhaps that’s just my California bias.
The following day, Leonardo gets inadvertently tossed Overboard himself and washes up on an Oregon beach. In a stroke of movie incredulity, the accident has also taken his memory. His jealous sister fails to claim him in the hospital and, in an act of revenge, Kate does claim him in order to get repayment for the carpet cleaning episode and some studying time for her nursing degree. See, it’s fair, right? He was a dick to her – unnecessarily so, I might add. And he’s an awful human being, so she’s getting some payback and maybe he learns something in the process, right? I have no problem with the leveling of offenses here.
So you see this is really a nature v. nurture argument, yes? If you take Leonardo away from his boatload of wealth, is he actually a good human being or a bad human being? And if you present him with the slightest bit of responsibility, does he step up and pitch in or is his true nature to slack and lie-about whether or not his income justifies it? Naturally, we see Leonard initially fail at working and parenting, for he has no experience with either – but is his true nature one of arrogance or humility? Is it just the wealth that created the monster or is it something else?
Eugenio Derbez lives for roles in which his comic boundaries include peacocking
and comeuppance. I’m not exactly sure how a comic decides this is his forte, but I daresay he’s not terrible at it. Anna Faris is an actress I have scorned in the past for her empty-headed delivery of all things; the days when cute blonde actresses could solve on-screen issues with an optimistic giggle have gone the way of Goldie Hawn, but being tragically older somehow works better for Faris. When you have three children, nobody expects you to be perpetually perky and clueless, so losing that particular façade is a good move no matter the circumstance.
All of this is to say that getting a Mexican playboy to go from supermodel soup to manual labor in a wardrobe of oversized Seattle Seahawks outfits doesn’t necessarily lend itself to humor, but I think it works here … and the key is not in the genuine transformation from prince to pauper, it is in the seemingly genuine transformation from douche to family man.
A zillionaire playboy of pleasure bought
Has to cede the plane, train, and yacht
Yet when shown affection
After all introspection
It’s really the money he sought
Rated PG-13, 112 Minutes
Director: Rob Greenburg
Writer: Bob Fisher and Rob Greenburg
Genre: Remaking Garry Marshall, that’s brave
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People with very low expectations
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People still trying to forget the Hawn/Russell version
