Overboard remake adds some new elements to the 1987 original

Movie Title:     Overboard

Grade:   B

Rating: PG-13, 110 minutes

In a Nutshell:   It has been many years since I saw the original Gary Marshall movie  Overboard starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, but I remember thinking it was a charming Rom-com.  

The good news is that there is some charm to this remake, but the bad news is that it's not a great movie.

There is a funny running gag about Mexican soap operas.  Now that I think of it, the movie kind of feels like a goofy 1980’s Mexican soap opera.

                                                     

Tips for parents: 

• Eugenio Derbez pulls part of his shorts down to reveal a tattoo on his butt cheek.
• There is a LOT of Spanish spoken, so there are a LOT of subtitles.  If you speak Spanish, you’ll hear some profanity.
• The plot of the movie is that the protagonist and her children lie to a rich man to take advantage of his amnesia, as well as get a little revenge. Not exactly the kind of example we want to set for our kids.
• Girls in bikinis.
• Some profanity in English and Spanish.
• Alcohol.
• There is some discussion about what the word “pervert” means, so your young kids are probably going to ask you about it.
• You see an unmarried couple in bed together.

Uplifting theme: 

• Follow your dream
• Motherhood
• Poetic justice
• “Life’s short and you don’t want to live with regrets.” -  (Anna Faris)

                                   

Things I liked:

• Eugenio Derbez is always delightful.  I first saw him in How To Be A Latin Lover.  He’s super popular in Mexico.  I can see why.
• Anna Faris is probably best known for her roles in the Scary Movie franchise.  Unlike her ex-husband Chris Pratt, she tends to choose movie scripts that end up bombing at the box office.  She’s extremely likable and capable, although her plastic surgery is a bit distracting.  I’m not talking about her breast implants, but it looks like she had something done to her lips. I keep staring at her face to see if I could figure out what she had done.
• Fans of The Last Man on Earth: Season 1 will get a kick out of seeing Mel Rodriguez.
• Keep watching when the rolling credits run at the end of the movie.
• My twin sister teaches nursing students, so I thought it was cute that Anna Faris' character listened to nursing audio books in the car to help her prepare for her big test.  Every summer, my sister takes nursing students to various Third World countries to offer free health clinics.  The program is run through International Service Learning.  I got to go with her one year as a Spanish translator when she went to Colombia.  It was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone in the health industry who is up for a meaningful adventure abroad! 
• There is a cute Jaws reference when you see the name tag “Brody” on a guy during a conversation about sharks.   Ha ha
• In a movie filled with wacky gags and slapstick humor, I thought it was insightful to include a short, yet deep scene where some men talked about how they felt like they were just a paycheck to their wives. 
• The youngest daughter, played by Payton Lepinski, is so adorable.  I’d like to see her in more films.
• It’s always good to see Eva Longoria.
• Director and writer Rob Greenberg was trying to bring something fresh to the remake by switching the gender roles and adding a Latino element to the story.

Things I didn’t like:

• The chemistry between Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris             isn’t very convincing.  Of course, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were an actual couple when they filmed the original Overboard, so their chemistry was undeniable.  
• Eugenio wears a lot of Seattle Seahawks t-shirts in the movie, but the location is supposedly somewhere along the Oregon coast.  I was just in Seattle last weekend, by the way.  It was my very first time there and I was so impressed!  My husband and I enjoyed perfect weather with blue skies and had so much fun going on tours, seeing the sites, and discovering cool restaurants.   I highly recommend the “Underground Tour”, “Free Walking Tours”, and Amazon headquarters tour!  What a cool city.

Interesting lines:

• “I don’t have time for fun.” – Kate (Anna Faris)

“Then you’re not doing it right.” – Theresa (Eva Longoria)

• “Land of the free, not land of the free lunch.” –  Bobby (Mel Rodriguez)
• “Mos of us only know the world we’re born into.”  - Colin (John Hannah) 
• “Act like a man!” – Godfather

                                          

                                             @trinaboice

Joy might inspire future women entrepreneurs

Movie Title:    Joy

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG-13, 2 hours

In a Nutshell:    

The movie informs you at the beginning that it was “inspired by true stories of daring women.”  It’s based loosely on the true rags-to-riches story of Joy Mangano, inventor of the “Miracle Mop” and “Huggable Hangers”, a business titan on QVC and HSN.   

Jennifer Lawrence does it best when she plays an underdog with natural talent and hope.

Your heart will sink and soar with Joy as she journeys through the perilous business world.  This movie will make you want to take a leap of faith and invent that thing that’s been in your head for years…or hide from the world, watching soap operas all day.   

Uplifting theme: 

• “Hope springs eternal.” – Grandma Mimi
• “You can’t let the practical get you down.  You got to keep moving to what you love.”  - Tony (Edgar Ramirez)
• Persistence, determination, hard work, hope.
• “We got here from hard work, patience, and humility.  Don’t think the world owes you anything, because the world owes you nothing.” - Joy

Things I liked:

• It’s always great to see Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, and Virginia Madsen.  It’s impressive how they were able to deliver some of their ridiculous lines with straight faces.
• I love the soap opera that is layered throughout most of the movie.  (Director and co-writer David O. Russell should have brought it back in the end.)  I especially love that it features the queen of all soap operas, Susan Lucci.  It’s cute how it showcases the decades through their clothing and hairstyles.  It made me laugh because my mother used to “tape her shows” and watch them every day.
• I liked the comparison of the cicada hiding for 17 years, like Joy did.
• The music gave the movie a magical story feel.
• I love that sisters Joy & Peggy looked like sisters.  Nice casting.
• Even Joy’s loved ones put down her ideas, but she never gives up on herself or them.  Life keeps pushing her down, but she never gives up.  I admire that tremendously, because I’m often too quick to quit.
• I admire how she keeps control of her temper. 
• In the scene in Texas, Joy follows a great rule of negotiation: stop talking and let the other guy make the first offer.
• It paints a fairly realistic picture of the business world and how difficult it can be to begin and maintain a successful business. 
• Joan Rivers was played by her rea life daughter Melissa Rivers.  That must have been so much fun for her.
• Drena De Niro plays Cindy.  She is the adopted daughter of Robert De Niro and has played bit parts in several of his films.

Things I didn’t like:

• Jennifer Lawrence is the bright star in this movie.  You kind of don't care about any of the other people.  They're too over-the-top "characters" to feel real.
• I never like watching families fight.
• Joy’s mother gets sucked into soap operas and spends her life in front of a TV, rather than truly living her life.
• I don’t like it when kids call their parents by their first names.
• The trailer didn’t explain the movie very well.
• Director Russell starts with an interesting style in the beginning of the movie and then drops it completely mid-way.   
• While Russell is great at creating damaged characters, they’re often one-dimensional.
• Jennifer Lawrence speaks Spanish a few times, but there aren’t any subtitles.  Her accent is pretty good!

Interesting lines:

• “When someone sees a weakness in me, I turn that weakness into a strength.” – Danica – (Susan Lucci)
•  “The funny thing about hiding…you’re even hidden from yourself.” – young Joy (Isabella Crovetti-Cramp)
• “We’re doing an invention.” – Joy’s daughter

“Why?” – Grandma Mimi

“Because we are.” – Joy

“It’s very serious.  It’s priorities.” – Joy’s daughter

• “There’s no shame in hard work.” – Joy
• “Everybody starts out with some kind of dream about what life will be.” – Grandma Mimi  

Morris’ 4 questions of financial worthiness:

1.      Where did you go to high school?

2.      Who were you in high school?

3.      Are you prepared, within 6 months of financing this venture, to show adequate returns?

4.      You are in a room and there is a gun on the table and the only other person in the room is an adversary in commerce.  Only one of you can prevail, yet you have protected your business and Morris’ money.  Do you pick up the gun?

Tips for parents:   

• This isn’t a movie that young children will enjoy or understand very well.  Teenage girls may be interested and inspired by Joy’s tenacity to live their dream.
• Some profanity and fighting.