CODA is a delightful film about a fishing family in Gloucester, Massachusetts in which only the daughter is not deaf. The film, a remake of a 2014 French film, and directed by Sian Heder, recently won three Oscars, including Best Motion Picture. Heder won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and Troy Kotsur won for Best Supporting Actor. In many, if not most years, I would not agree with the Best Film selection. This year however, I am in hearty agreement. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The film’s title comes from an acronym that stands for Child Of Deaf Adults.
The close-knit Rossi family is comprised of father Frank, played by Oscar winner Troy Kotsur (CODA), mother Jackie, played by Oscar winner Marlee Martin (Children of a Lesser God), brother Leo, played by Daniel Durant, and the music loving Ruby, played by Emilia Jones. Frank, Leo and Ruby support the family by fishing, beginning their days at 3am. The family particularly depends on Ruby as the only speaking member of the family, as she has spent her whole life interpreting for them. Much of the film utilizes subtitles, depicting the dialogue of the three deaf members of the family.
Jones as Ruby is the heart of this film. She is a bit of an outsider at school. She is shy and is made fun of – first for the way she spoke when she first entered school and now for the way she smells like fish, as she leaves the fishing boat and rides her bike directly to high school. Continue reading →
Overboard, is a surprisingly entertaining gender-reversed remake of the 1987 film which starred Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. The film was directed by three-time Emmy winner Rob Greenberg (Frazier), and written by Greenberg and Bob Fisher (Wedding Crashers), adapted from Leslie Dixon’s original story.
Anna Faris (Mom) plays Kate, a single mother of three young girls living in Elk Cove, a small Oregon coastal town. She delivers pizzas and cleans carpets to try and make ends meet while also studying for a nursing exam. She is assigned to clean the carpets on a huge yacht owned by Leonardo Montenegro, played by Eugenio Derbez (Instructions Not Included, How to Be a Latin Lover). Montenegro is a playboy billionaire and heir of the third richest man in the world. Leonardo is obnoxious and has never worked a day in his life. He denies Kate her pay, insults her looks, and pushes her and the $3,000 carpet cleaning equipment she was using overboard. On top of having to repay the cost of the carpet cleaning equipment, Kate receives an eviction notice from her home.
Later we see Leonardo himself go overboard and wash up on the beach with amnesia. He has no knowledge of his identity. When Theresa, Kate’s boss at the pizza shop ~ played by Golden Globe nominee Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) ~ hears about this, she tells Kate she has a plan to get back at Leonardo by making him work for her while she studies for her exams. Kate talks to the girls about their plan and they reluctantly agree. We then see Kate go to the hospital where she pretends to be Leonardo’s wife of 15 years. Leonardo is stunned to see that he is poor, sterile and works construction, where his soft hands earn him the nickname of “Lady Hands”. Quickly, Kate has “Leo” learning how to cook the family’s meals. He is told to sleep on a cot in the shed. He is told that he’s a recovering alcoholic, so no more alcohol or sex for now. Most of the above can be picked up from the film’s trailer. But what happens after Leo gets settled in the home is what makes this film worth seeing.
A side plot has Leonardo’s father Papi, played by Fernando Lujan near death. With Leonardo apparently dead, his sister Magdalena played by Cecilia Suárez tries to gain control of the family business.
Some of the dialogue is in Spanish, with sub-titles. Content concerns include brief rear male nudity (played for laughs) and Leonardo’s partying with young women in bikinis. There is some adult language and several abuses of God’s name.
Themes include deception, positive messages about family, hard work, friendship and responsibility. Overboard is not a great film, but it was surprisingly entertaining and included some good messages about family, particularly the importance of a father.
CODA, rated PG-13
Overboard, rated PG-13