I like movies that:

1) trip me the f out/make me think about the meaning of life
2) have me on the verge of a panic attack for two hours
3) make me laugh so hard my sides hurt and all I want to do is make jokes for the next few hours

My mom enjoys Hallmark.
So, we don’t always do the whole movie thing together. But yesterday was Mother’s Day and we decided to hang out, and she bought us tickets to the remake of the Goldie Hawn classic, Overboard (1987) The basics are rich guy (girl in Goldie’s case) is an ass to a cleaner, then through a freak accident gets amnesia and tricked into becoming the cleaner’s provider.

I’m not going to go crazy here, these movies aren’t made to be anything but light and entertaining. When you buy into a rom-com, especially a remake of a rom-com, you have to suspend your disbelief for a little bit and enjoy.

Gender/nationality fluidity done right
Any time a conservative base is drawn out to a movie, things can get a little preachy real quick. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to educate the people, but I think movies like Overboard can make a lot of headway by not drawing attention to those things. The rich people were Mexican, one of the daughters liked suits more than dresses. A group of Mexican construction workers were real life people with real life problems who joked around with each other. There wasn’t an us vs. them mentality. Kudos.

Anna Faris stole the show in the wrong way
There were so many scenes with the “star” of this movie that were just painful. I left the theatre legitimately worried for her health and happiness. The essential ingredient in a goofy rom-com with a ridiculous plot line is a lead who is so cute you don’t care that he/she is being manipulative or shallow or whatever else you need them to be (I mean, think about it – have you ever even thought about the romantic motivation of Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan?). The ensemble cast is the only reason I didn’t say “Sorry, mom.” and walk out of the theatre.

This movie was sponsored by the NFL (and you’ll definitely notice)
I mean, as someone who collects paychecks from productions – I am not too weary about corporate sponsors for movies like Overboard because there’s not a TON of artistic integrity to be protected. I think the writers did a pretty good job of wrapping the overall football-loving vibe into the script, and Mel Rodriguez (Bobby) is such a loveable guy that I could easily buy into his overtly Seahawks-centered lifestyle.

 

Overall: Wait for this one to come out on DVD. I wouldn’t say it’s worth the money for the ticket.