Overboard (1987)
Real-life couple Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn star in this loopy comedy, their third (and, thus far, final) time, in sort of a variation on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, with an amnesia twist that makes the shrew forget that she is one. It would be an old-fashioned setup, even for its era, pulling from Capra-esque comedies stemming all the way from Hollywood in the 1930s, where a rich and unattainable woman would get knocked down to size by a rambunctious working-class gent who refused to kowtow to class differentials.
Hawn plays the ultra-disdainful Joanna Slayton, who hires a carpenter, Dean Proffitt, while stopping off for repairs in their luxury yacht off the coast of the small town of Elk Cove, Oregon (Mendocino, CA substitutes), with her snobby hubby Grant, in order to remodel her closet space for her extensive designer clothing collection. The two don’t see eye to eye on his work, and Joanna refuses payment, leaving him walking away miffed, especially as she also tosses him and his pricey tools overboard. When Joanna ends up falling off the yacht, she ends up drifting ashore with amnesia. Grant sees this as his opportunity to sow some wild oats, while Dean, seeing her story on the news, sees a way to get payback by claiming she is his wife Annie and making her do all of the household chores for him and his four bratty boys. Annie knows nothing about such matters but soon settles into the role Dean tells her she has always had, but as the two grow feelings for one another, there will be a reckoning should she ever remember where she actually came from.
Overboard would mark an early screenplay credit for Leslie Dixon, granddaughter of famed photographer Dorothea Lange, her second feature in 1987 alone, coming after the comedy, Outrageous Fortune. The film, based on a real incident in which a woman in Florida washed ashore with amnesia but which some have compared to the Italian romance called Swept Away, is essentially a battle of the classes as to which one is the road to happiness, though it obviously chooses the path that there is more merit to being a working-class parent and spouse than there is in just basking in the sun enjoying one’s inheritance. The script isn’t anything remarkable, and possibly the biggest element that hasn’t aged as well, given the old-fashioned assertion that women are deemed as better people when they’re nurturers and are willing to let the boys have all the fun, becoming the glue that turns a house into a home. What sells this notion at all is that Joanna is shown as being such an intolerable bully that she deserves some comeuppance, but even then, it is only because of the acting by the two leads that allows for us to stand by the perpetual shaming going on to have a few chuckles, and even hope for a happy resolution for them in the end.
The biggest asset of Overboard is the natural chemistry of the two leads, with Goldie Hawn delivering one of her best comedic roles, especially in how her personality begins to shift in subtle ways from beginning to end to show the progression of her character arc from overbearing snoot to someone who actually begins to enjoy life when it isn’t tethered to catering to only herself. I’ts refreshing to see that she is still the royal pain in the ass at first, despite not remembering who she is, and her gradual ability to actually find meaning to her life beyond money works for the piece. Good-ol’-boy Kurt Russell doesn’t change throughout, as the passive parent who still hasn’t accepted the role of father well, beyond bringing home the bacon, but even he exhibits changes to go from vengeful to sympathetic in a way that feels like it is genuine when it occurs, and learns a thing or two himself about how to be a better father than he had been to that point.
Garry Marshall directs another successful rom-com while still in his prime, partially successful because of his ability to tell his stories from a point of view that is sympathetic to the woman, even if they are not what anyone might consider to be feminist treatments. His films don’t become classics for their era because of his art, but his films are usually have impeccable comedic timing, and his willingness to let his actors improvise is able to draw out solid physical and personality driven performances by all around to make it click, both as a comedy and as a romance. His handling of the character actors, as well as drawing out funny performances from children without becoming overly toxic is a gift. Even if it is predictable and treads little new ground, Overboard passes the litmus test for any winning romantic comedy: it is funny, and we genuinely do want to see the protagonists end up together somehow. The late Marshall has often stated that Overboard ranks as one of the funniest films he ever directed.
Overboard would be a modest disappointment at the time of its release, garnering lackluster reviews and failing to rise above seventh place in any of its weeks of release, resulting in only a $26 million overall take on a reported budget of $22 million, not counting marketing. Despite this, it would go on to become a fan favorite once it his home video and cable showings, where its sitcom antics feel much more at home. Nowadays, it is generally well-regarded for fans of 80s comedies, and even garnered a 2018 remake (to which Leslie Dixon gets a screenwriting credit, even though she was not directly involved), this time with the genders reversed, possibly to temper the gas-lighting that does date the film in terms of gender dynamics.
Qwipster’s rating: B
MPAA Rated: PG for brief nudity, sexual references, and language (I’d rate it PG-13)
Running time: 106 min.
Cast: Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond, Roddy McDowall, Mike Hagerty, Jared Rushton, Brian Price, Jamie Wild
Cameo: Hector Elizondo, Garry Marshall
Director: Garry Marshall
Screenplay: Leslie Dixon