Overboard (1987) Review:

The wealthy and the middle class have always been too different worlds. A rich person's concerns are on a separate scale to that of someone of lesser financial status. Yet the two distinguished classes live among each other for the most part without bothering one another. However, when the factions clash, they tend to clash hard. There are also times where the mixing of the two work out, but it’s usually a tossup. Which is kind of how this movie plays out. Stories that rely on such improbable events to happen can be a real stretch at times and this film tries hard to convince its audience that it couldn’t. Luckily, there are redeeming qualities, but its best to keep in mind how unlikely this story is.

Goldie Hawn & Roddy McDowall

The plot is about average widower carpenter Dean Proffitt (Kurt Russell) trying to make ends meet by working for a living. His four sons, Charlie, (Jared Rushton), Joey (Jeffrey Wiseman), Travis (Brian Price) and Greg (Jamie Wild) are rowdy, need proper parenting and education. Making matters worse is when Proffitt is called to a job for rich snob Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn) and is then fired after doing the job not according to her standards. Shortly after though, Joanna accidentally falls off her yacht and when recovered, suffers from amnesia. This gives Proffitt the idea for payback by claiming her as his wife. Directed by Garry Marshall and written by Leslie Dixon, this movie is an okay comedy for its time. What helps in this story is its cute narrative and characters, but there are still issues with it.

First of all, wrongfully claiming someone as your own is kidnapping. Dean Proffitt is already making a bad move. Also what kind of name is that? I would expect a little better naming convention for our protagonist coming from the future writer of Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Pay It Forward (2000), Freaky Friday (2003) and Limitless (2011). The direction is also generic. Viewers can see from a mile away how events will play out, which makes this a very clichéd story. Again, coming from a director who would later helm Pretty Woman (1990) and The Princess Diaries (2001), seems strange they would be at this level to start. Aside from the initial misstep on Proffitt's behalf, the story is cute because the development of the Joanna and Dean are likable. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have the required chemistry to make it work. It's just the surrounding Proffitt family that make it feel not as special.

There's several scenes with inappropriate dialog spoken by Dean's kids. Whether they're looking at playboy magazines, spouting out curses or making rude remarks about other women just feels wrong. Fine, the audience is supposed to see how uncontrollable Dean's kids are, but visuals are enough. On top of that, some of those lines are meant for laughs, which they do not produce one. That's not to say this film isn't funny, but the child actors are not the highlight. However, the performances from Edward Hermann as Joanna's original husband, Katherine Helmond as Joanna's mother, and Roddy McDowall as Joanna's butler all give funny showings. Even Mike Hagerty and Hector Elizondo have small roles.

"Watch,....she and I will be together forever after this...."

The cinematography was adequate for the film. John A. Alonzo who handled the cameras has various shots that cover interiors of the yacht Joanna lives on, to the utter squalor that is Dean Proffitt's house. Considering Alonzo's best known work was for Chinatown (1974), it's good that he maintains the right look for this film. There's a bunch of neat visual gags involving little contraptions that do things in the Proffitt household too. Cheesy but again, cute. Lastly there's an early film score from Alan Silvestri who makes the most of the music even with only a couple synthesizer instruments. The main theme is catchy and the more sentimental scenes that use piano are also easy on the ears. For an early work, it is still a great listen.

Story wise, it is fairly predictable in every way possible no thanks to the direction. The script also includes scenes that are rather in bad taste involving the protagonist's offspring. However, the overall execution is cute, the main leads are credible and the music is catchy.

Points Earned --> 6:10