Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez to Star in ‘Overboard’ Remake
A gender-swapped remake of a 1987 rom-com starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn as a mismatched couple? Sure, why not. It’s not exactly the most inventive idea, nor is Overboard the sort of movie begging for a contemporary remake, but that’s what sort of makes this news unsurprising: Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez will star in a new remake of the classic Garry Marshall film.
According to Deadline, Faris and Derbez are set to star in a remake of the 1987 rom-com, which starred Kurt Russell as a carpenter who takes his revenge on the spoiled heiress who slighted him (Hawn) by pretending to be her husband when he discovers she’s suffering from amnesia. In the new remake, from MGM and Pantelion Films, the roles will be reversed, with Derbez playing a wealthy Mexican playboy and Faris playing a single, working-class mother who pretends to be his wife after he falls off a yacht and loses his memory.
The plot of Overboard certainly might not be as well-received today (man takes advantage of amnesiac woman), so the gender-swap seems like a change understandably born out of contemporary necessity than anything else. Rob Greenberg (How I Met Your Mother) and Bob Fisher (We’re the Millers) will write and direct the remake, which will probably be enjoyable enough with Faris and Derbez on board.
Derbez is best known for writing, directing and starring in the 2013 film Instructions Not Included, which was a massive hit at the box-office and remains the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. He stars next opposite Salma Hayek in How to Be a Latin Lover, from director Ken Marino.
Listen, this Overboard remake will probably be fine and all, but this news is, first and foremost, a reminder to watch the original, which is still great.