Eva Longoria predicts her ‘Overboard’ movie will be extra-fun ride for S.A.

South Texas-born actress Eva Longoria predicts the whole country will fall in love with her new movie “Overboard,” describing it as a diverse comedy remake reflective of contemporary America.

Aside from star Anna Faris, the film (which opens Friday) features numerous Hispanic characters and actors, including male lead Eugenio Derbez and supporting player Longoria. The film also includes a sprinkling of Spanish throughout and is full of references and punchlines that may be especially meaningful to Latino viewers.

All this adds up to the film’s potentially holding special appeal for San Antonio, Longoria noted in a phone interview.

“The San Antonio population being predominantly Hispanic will definitely understand a lot of social cues that are in the movie,” Longoria said, making “it an extra-fun ride.”

“Overboard” is a modern reboot of the 1987 screwball romantic comedy directed by Garry Marshall that went on to become a cult classic.

In the original, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell played the leads, whose strong dislike for each other turns into love after bizarre circumstances turn both of their lives topsy-turvy. Hawn stars as a spoiled, insufferable heiress who hires carpenter Russell to remodel a closet on her yacht. She’s abominable to him at every turn, refuses to pay him and eventually pushes him off the ship.

While sailing that night, she, too, falls overboard and a hit on the head leads to amnesia. Spotting her on the news, Russell, a struggling widower and dad, concocts a plan of revenge. He heads to the hospital, convincing the docs that she’s his wife and the mother of his four boys. She’s released to his care and after initial head-butting, the two begin to see the beauty in one another.

In the new “Overboard,” which comes from the directorial team of Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher, the genders are flipped, with Faris of “Mom” fame playing a version of the Russell character now called Kate and Mexican actor Derbez slipping into Hawn’s rich and rude persona as Leonardo.

Kate, a single mom who cleans carpets and delivers pizzas when she isn’t studying to be a nurse, boards the yacht owned by Leonardo, a playboy heir to his Mexican dad’s fortune. Hired to clean, she and her work are repeatedly insulted by Leonardo, who eventually tosses her into the sea with no compensation.

However, as in the original, Leonardo gets his comeuppance, thanks to a fall overboard and a bout of amnesia. At the urging of her more daring best friend Theresa (Longoria), Kate is persuaded to carry out a plan of payback, convincing Leonardo’s doctors that he’s her husband and dad to three daughters.

“Theresa is the friend everyone should have in their life to push them to do something they normally wouldn’t do,” Longoria said of her character..

A huge fan of the first “Overboard,” Longoria initially was skeptical that a remake would work.

“When I got the script, however, I thought it was so funny and makes so much sense. The gender-flip makes it contemporary — having Eugenio play Goldie’s part. And Anna Faris’ role of a single mom with three jobs, who’s struggling to make ends meet, is a reality in today’s world,” she said.

In his new life with Kate, Leonardo is hired by Theresa’s husband (Mel Rodriguez), who builds swimming pools. Leonardo’s soft hands and very limited practical skills prompt joke after joke from the rest of the construction crew, whose insults are mostly in Spanish with subtitles.

“I’m such a fan of Anna Faris and have known Eugenio forever,” she said. “He’s one of the biggest stars in Latin America, and my husband (international media mogul José “Pepe” Bastón) has known him for 25 years.”

“Eugenio does this great thing — you love to see him suffer. He does that very well. And when he does come around the corner to evolve into a better person, he does that beautifully as well,” Longoria said.

As for that other big event coming up — the birth of her first child, a boy, who’s due in June — Longoria said: “He has a little bit more cooking to do, but I’m so excited, and I can’t wait to meet him.”

With so many reboots on TV these days, the most successful being “Will and Grace” and “Roseanne,” what are her thoughts on bringing back “Desperate Housewives”?

Though ABC has yet to put out any feelers, Longoria said: “I’ve said it 100 times, and I’ll say it 100 times more, I’d love to be in that character’s shoes again. We love all those characters so much.”

Jeanne Jakle’s column appears Thursdays and Sundays in mySA. Read more of her columns here. | jjakle@express-news.net | @JakleJ