Jessica Alba will star in and produce the true-life comedy The Fun Lady about the entrepreneur Linda Brewer, who turned her life around when she began selling sex toys. Highland Film Group has begun sales in Toronto.

Andy Tennant, director of the romantic comedies Sweet Home Alabama, Fool’s Gold and Hitch, will helm the project from a screenplay by Shameless and Mozart In The Jungle writer Mark Steilen.

When Brewer’s life fell apart she returned to her parents’ small Arkansas town and reinvented herself, learning about pleasure and launching a sales business that brought sex toys into the homes of Southern women who quietly endured a lack of intimacy.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the US in early 2027. Steilen is producing for Long Walk Studios alongside Alba’s Lady Metalmark Entertainment, Signet Studio, K. Jam Media, and Highland Film Group. Signet Studio is the financier.

Alba, whose acting credits include Sin City, Fantastic Four and Machete, recently collaborated with Highland on Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark in which she stars alongside Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky.

Highland is in Toronto talking to buyers on Nimród Antal’s sci-fi action thriller Bluefly starring Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas; and continues sales on Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda with Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen.

“The opportunity to tell Linda Brewer’s story of reinvention and believing in oneself is something I can’t wait to dive into,” Alba said. Highland CEO Arianne Fraser said, “Jessica is a great partner and a phenomenal talent with superlative creative instincts.”

Highland COO Delphine Perrier added, “The Fun Lady is an irreverent comedy about sex, family, and the liberation that comes from finally being honest about who you are.” Said Tenant: “A script with this much heart and this many laughs doesn’t come around very often, and I feel very lucky to have been invited to the party.”

By Jeremy Kay, Screen