An Iconic 1979 Song Is Being Adapted Into A Movie, And It's The Genre You'd Expect

Rupert Holmes' "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" is being adapted into a movie. The 1979 song, which was the final No. 1 hit of the 1970s, tells the story of a man who is unsatisfied with his relationship who answers a personal ad in the newspaper, only to realize that it was posted by his girlfriend. The song has been used frequently in movies and on television and has appeared on the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack in addition to its use in projects including Deadpool 2, The Nice Guys, Better Call Saul, Argo, House, Shrek, and Six Feet Under.

Per Deadline, Alloy Entertainment is adapting the Holmes hit into an upcoming romantic comedy movie. The company has previously been best known for mounting film and television adaptations of novels, including The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Sun is Also a Star, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and Pretty Little Liars. The new project, which does not yet have a writer attached, is being produced by Alloy Entertainment's president Leslie Morgenstein and executive vice president of film Elysa Koplovitz Dutton. Holmes himself is on board as an executive producer.

What This Means For The Piña Colada Song Movie

It Is An Unusual Adaptation

Although songs being adapted into movies is uncommon, it has happened multiple times in the past. This includes Kenny Rogers’ 1978 country hit “The Gambler” being adapted into the 1980 Western movie of the same name, which spawned four sequels between 1983 and 1994. Other movies that have had their stories ripped from the contents of song lyrics include the 1985 Barry Manilow musical Copacabana, based on Manilow's 1978 hit of the same name, and the 1988 Jeff Goldblum sci-fi movieEarth Girls Are Easy, based on the 1984 Julie Brown comedy song of the same name.

However, the closest that the romantic comedy genre has come to something like "The Piña Colada Song" is likely the 2019 Emilia Clarke movieLast Christmas. The project, which was directed by Paul Feig and written by Emma Thompson, was inspired by the music of George Michael and featured a major plot twist inspired by the opening line of the 1984 Wham! Christmas song that gave the movie its title.

Our Take On The Piña Colada Song Movie

It Speaks To A Wider Trend

While it makes sense to adapt the story of "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", given how clearly the lyrics lay out an intriguing scenario that ends with a major plot twist, it is still a somewhat unusual piece of IP to bring to the screen. However, in the wake of the massive box office success of 2023’s Barbie, it is likely that even more uncommon sources of IP will be explored in the near future on top of the many toy and game-based titles in development such as the upcoming Matchbox Cars movie.

Source: Deadline