For the first time in my life, I just watched
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. A very broad, slapstick comedy adventure, in the traditions of vaudeville.
A little long, but funny. I'd recommend it.
On the minus side, I just learned that
Overboard (1987, with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn) has been
remade as
exactly the same film, except for a gender flip. In the original, Hawn as the rich and beautiful heiress falls off her yacht, loses her memory and becomes the unwitting wife of the brutish-but-charming Russell, who takes her to his simple home in Oregon. The question is: can they fall in love, and stay in love, before Hawn is found by her uncaring parents and married to a vacuous-and-unloving husband-to-be?
In the remake, the exact same thing happens (down to the home in Oregon), but this time, it's the man who falls overboard, loses his memory, and is rescued by the woman.
Exact. Same. Film.
Now, the original was fairly mediocre, but it was redeemed by Hawn's charisma and charm, by Russell's "he-man" act, and by the obvious chemistry between them. That said, it's still not a great film. It's a nice, comfortable, middle-of-the-road film that's become a cult classic, and I like it. But it's no "Citizen Kane", Soylent Green", or "Schindler's List". (Nor does it have to be).
A remake would've been OK if it had something new to say (it doesn't), if the two leading actors have on-screen chemistry (they don't -- the leading man has all the charisma and charm of a limp hot dog), or if anything is changed or added to the plot (it's not). So there was no reason to remake this film, and no reason to watch it.
Sorry to spoil the film, but look on the bright side -- now you don't have to waste two hours of your time on this monstrosity.
