|| Still Frames || Korean Drama || version 5.0 ||

So theed and I have an ongoing theory that the Hong sisters are American, or were American at some point. They know Overboard (I'm as whitewash as you get and I didn't even know Overboard), and they know fluent English, or at least writing knowledge of it. They also reference a lot of American things, like Anna's, "911. No, what is it in Korea?" In My Girl, Ju Yoo Rin had a similar line when she said, "FBI. No, that's America." So this scene in FC was pretty much an exact remake, right down to the dialogue. You can see the hands on the hips, the chewing out, the backing up, the tool throwing, and of course, the pushing overboard. I especially like the third pic because each couple is in EXACTLY the same position. The women both have their arms slightly bent behind them and are looking up at the same angle to the men, who are hovering over them. I have no doubt HYS and OJH had to watch Overboard to get a footing for their characters, but this attention to specific gestures and postures was really just amazing.

BILLY PRATT and HA DEOK KU

"Billy Park" was probably a reference to this character, though in the original, he's the friend, not the foe. He was hilarious too, and I remember wondering why they didn't make Deok Ku as big a comic relief as his original character. This FC cap probably wasn't shot specifically to reference the Overboard cap, but I figured it was serendipity. Billy and Deok Ku are both leaning forwards while Dean and Chul Soo sit facing the camera. If they meant it, great, if they didn't, subconcious intuition.

SHITAKI and PRINCESS

Joanna has no pet in Overboard, this dog actually belongs to her mother, but I figured it was the original inspiration for Princess. Just look at that bow. *shudder* I hate it when people put bows and clothes on dogs. Anyway, Princess is much cuter, don't you think?

THE LADY IN RED

Yes, I'm shamlessly plugging my Fashion Police--I originally didn't like this hat on Anna in the first episode, but after watching the movie, I understood why they put it on her. And take a gander at that 1987 cell phone. :DDDDD These are also two great shots that really show you how alike Goldie Hawn and Han Ye Seul look. It isn't just the clothes and the haughty expression, it's the facial features too. They both have long noses, high cheekbones, and distinct eyes, which give them that death stare they both do so well.

THE RING

Gold versus silver, but other than that, the FC sequence was a very close remake. These shots of the wedding ring on deck and each woman reaching for it were the most similar. The mood and tone were completely different, though, because Overboard was more lighthearted in general. You got the sense that Joanna and her husband were in a very casual, disregarded marriage, but it was never anything like the serious arguing that Anna and Billy had. The only reason Joanna wasn't wearing her ring was because she had taken it off while she waited for her nails to dry. She wasn't drunk either, she was just off balance because of the natural sway of the yacht.

OVERBOARD

Another perfectly recreated shot, right down to the movements once again. The only difference in FC was that HYS was on the left third of the screen rather than the right. You'll see in the coming shots that the FC directors did a lot of flipping and mirror imaging to the original shots.

THE HOSPITAL PATIENT

Another comparison just to re-emphasize how great the casting was in FC. Han Ye Seul really embodied everything Goldie Hawn in this role, the hair, the blank expression, the drab hospital gown... everything's very finished and purposeful.

COME TO DADDY

And not to leave the men out, here's another recreated shot. Dean said, "Annie!" while Chul Soo said, "Honey!" And actually, this is one of the few instances where I like the FC version better because Oh Ji Ho had the extra effect of bursting through the door and then practically attacking Han Ye Seul. In Overboard, Dean was just sitting down waiting for Joanna to come in. He didn't hug her right away either, because she stopped him with her hand. He did grab her and kiss her a few minutes later, though, so I guess it evens out.

TRUCK RIDE

My favorite thing about this scene was the "Elk Cove Waste" on Goldie's outfit. In the movie, a garbage company pulled her out of the ocean, so it adds to the hilarity. But yes, they kept the riding in the back of the truck after the hospital, only, Anna had Chul Soo and Deok Ku with her. Originally, Dean drove and put his two dogs in the front seat with him.

STAIRWAY TO HELL

The design of the house set was also a great big nod to the original, as you can see here with the long staircase leading up to a small landing. They even kept the shirt draped over the banister. When Joanna first walked in the house, she took a long look around and when the camera panned to the staircase, all I could think was, Ohhh. Props to the FC set designers (no pun intended) for this one.

FIRST COOKING ATTEMPT

Pyro's united! This is another flipped, recreated shot, and very well done in my opinion. Joanna (who is now "Annie") was trying to light the very old-fashioned gas stove by holding a match to the burner, but burned herself, in contrast to Sang Shil, who had spitting oil. The original also had the boys spraying Annie with the fire extinguisher, which I'd like to say was the original inspiration for Chul Soo's nephews spraying and swatting at Sang Shil when she had a bug on her. Seems a bit far fetched considering the different plot points, but still possible.

MAKE A MOVE

Ah, the first night together under the lie. Both Dean and Chul Soo tried to make a move, but when Annie and Sang Shil refused, they both got sent to the couch. What I really would have liked to see was Sang Shil cornered on the bed like Annie was. Alas, that didn't pass the K-drama Puritan rules. If they had made Oh Ji Ho shirtless for this scene... *whistles*

SLEEPING ON THE COUCH

Not even talking about the couch and the surroundings yet, let's applaud the props department just for the PLAID BLANKET. It looked almost exactly like the original, right down the colors. The side table and walls are also very similar. The only possible nitpick for FC was that it was very obviously placed clutter. In Overboard, the set dressers really did a great job with making it look genuinely run down.

MIRROR, MIRROR

Recreated shot but in different plot points with different reasons. Annie was starting her first day of chores and went to the bathroom to wash her face, brush her teeth, etc., but came across the boys' pet frog in the sink. Now we must nod to the make-up and hair department, because Han Ye Seul looks like a car wreck, but very purposely so when it comes to recreating Goldie.

DINNER! MANDOO! DINNER! MANDOO!

The children! I loved both sets of 'em, they were all so great. But I will admit that, as characters, Overboard used the boys much better, simply because they were more central to Joanna eventually coming back. They really did become her sons, rather than just little boys she had to look after. Above is the sequence where the four (yes, FOUR boys origially) of them were pounding on the table, shouting, "Dinner! Dinner!" Chul Soo's nephews did the same with "Mandoo! Mandoo!", but they were much less rowdy.

HOUSE CHORES

Most of the chores were exact recreations, with FC actually leaving out a few. The first cap is the table clearing, where they both carried the dishes in the table cloth like a big sack. With the second pic, the actual dish washing, at least Sang Shil took the table cloth OUT of the sink. As you can see, these were both flipped recreations as well. And who could forget the possessed washing machine. Overboard didn't have as clear a shot of it as FC did, but you can see Annie on the right side of the screen with the white machine behind the rack. She didn't kick it either, she took a hammer (or maybe it was an ax) and smacked it a few times. I personally like Sang Shil's kicking better--really makes it more frantic and panic-y. And lastly, the gum! I don't find it surprising that FC took the gross factor further by making it stick to Sang Shil's hand rather than the bottom of her shoe; Korean farce loves vomitable moments. So they can be liberal when it comes to grotesquery but not sexual innuendo? Somebody write me an editorial explaining that.

THE DUNKING

FC made us laugh a little more by making Chul Soo do this to Sang Shil while she was perfectly conscious and in her right mind. Annie, on the other hand, was delirious from her back-breaking labor and justifiably needed a dunk in the water. Dean wasn't being as malicioius as Chul Soo, I guess you could say. And it happened only once in the movie, whereas poor Han Ye Seul got dunked twice and partially a third time if you count the clothes washing.

REMEMBRANCE

Another comparison just to really drive home how alike these two look. Annie was remembering a tidbit of Dean fixing her closet and Sang Shil was reminding Chul Soo that she only remembered that tidbit where he once caught her. I really just included this because they both have the same wonder in their eyes.

THE HOUSE

This one goes to the location scouters! They really picked the perfect house for the exterior shots, right down to the triangular roof and front porch. And look at that tree on the right side of the yard! The gnarled limbs, the shape--it's almost exactly the same.

SPRAY IT

Different plot points again, but I figured this was the inspiration for the ironing scene in episode 5. Annie was fed up with doing everything for Dean and boys, so she took the hose and sprayed them all to kingdom come. Sang Shil's reign with the water bottle wasn't nearly as fun but they adapted as well as they could. And where Chul Soo took it out of her hand and sprayed her back, Dean just sent the boys after Annie, and all four of them chased her into the yard...

QUALITY TIME

... and straight into the woods near their house. Annie got much more contact with the boys than Sang Shil did with the nephews, which is probably another social commentary in itself, but that's another editorial. Here, when the boys caught her, they wrestled her to the ground and tickled her. The closest parallel in FC was Anna chasing Geun Suk around after the museum. It was all very, very cute.

TAKING CARE OF THE BOYS

This is another instance where I liked the FC version better, but it's really just because drama speaks louder. In Overboard, the boys (and Annie, later on) all got poison oak because they wrestled around on the forest floor, so she had to nurse them the following night. In contrast, when Chul Soo's nephews came down with fevers, Sang Shil's whole situation had much more tension and worry because she was all alone and wasn't nearly as capable as Annie by this point.

In the second pic, Sang Shil taught Geun Suk how to count, a pretty direct reference to Annie teaching Joey, the youngest boy, how to read.

THE KISS

Looking at the screen caps, you'd think the FC one was better, wouldn't you? But trust me, it was purely the choice of shot. The Overboard kiss had very sweet buildup and result, whereas FC's came out of nowhere like a torpedo. I like both in their contexts, but in general, Korean kissing can't even compare to American kissing. There's another editorial.

PICNIC TABLE

Another small detail that made it onscreen thanks to the set designers. Nothing huge ever happened here for FC, but for Dean's sons, it was the point where they wanted to keep up the lie forever and make Joanna stay.

LEAVING THE HOUSE

Another perfectly recreated shot of the women about to leave the house. The original was actually a lot sadder because Annie had just remembered who she was and now knew that she'd been lied to and used, but she was still heartbroken about leaving. Sang Shil was heartbroken too but hadn't regained her memory, so you were sitting there thinking, "What? Where the heck does she think she's going?" instead of "Noooooo! Don't leeeeaaave!! It started as a lie, but now they all love you like their own!" Again, it's the peeve I had about how close they made Annie and the boys but not the nephews and Sang Shil.

THE BOYS CHASING AFTER

Speaking of that, here we have my favorite scene in the movie, hands down. When Joanna left with her real husband, the limo was just about to drive off but all four boys chased after it and knocked on the windows, yelling, "Mom! Don't go!" It was without a doubt the saddest, sweetest, most touching scene ever, and my heart just broke in two. Inside the limo, you saw Joanna reach out to the window, but she didn't open it. I was hoping for an exact recreation in FC, something like Anna getting in her fancy imported car and driving off with the nephews running after her, but nope. The scene we did get was very touching and sad, no doubt, but it didn't have the same level of heartbreak. It all goes back to the development of their relationship, which Overboard made much, much closer.

JOANNA RETURNS

Not an exact shot recreation, but definitely a parallel. When Joanna came back, they boarded the yacht again and set sail north. She stood at the railing and looked back at Elk Cove. Anna did the same at the resort, standing at the railing of the balcony.

BEER and RICE WINE

Not as prominent a symbol as Sang Shil's rice wine, but Joanna did get used to beer and barbeque during her days as Annie. The night she came back, the butler was serving fancy champagne but she asked for a beer instead. She then uncapped it expertly and took a long swallow while her mother, doctor, and husband looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Afterwards, she went down below with the yacht crew and threw back some tequila shots, probably a direct inspiration for Anna playing cards and drinking rice wine with her maids.

THE END

Maybe I wouldn't call this an exact recreation, but they have their obvious similarities as ending shots. Dean and Annie were reunited on the boat while Chul Soo and Anna had their pet outing on the beach. The horizon, particularly in the original, was beautiful, and I really liked the parallel concepts.

So now if you've never seen Overboard, hopefully you'll want to after reading this. And hopefully you'll see, just like I did, why FC has the particular quirks it does. But of course the original is better. The themes of love and family come out much more prominently, and yet Joanna's internal transformation is still emphasized. All in all, FC was a good adaptation, but when you have a great original movie and the Hong sisters, there's little to complain about.