Released in 1987, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s Overboard is not a critical darling, as evidenced by its 46% Rotten Tomatoes rating and 6.9/10 IMDb score. However, as the years have passed, it has become a bit of a comfort watch, as well as a cult favorite with a story that touched hearts. A closer look at the movie reveals that it is much more than just the average rom-com, and it defined several future movies in the genre. Overboard depicts a curious love story between Dean Proffitt, a lowly carpenter, and heiress Joanna Stayton, who are at loggerheads when they first meet on her luxury yacht.
Joanna refuses to pay Dean for his work on the boat, and he leaves in a huff, promising to get payback, and payback does come. One night, as Joanna’s boat is leaving the shore, she falls overboard while looking for her wedding ring, and neither her husband nor her crew notices. She loses her memory due to shock, and when no one comes to get her, she is taken in by Dean in a rather comical manner. While Overboard has some quirky (and questionable) bits, it actually has many things that work in its favor. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s rom-com may not be highly rated, but it endures because it did something right.
Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s Performances and Chemistry Are Dazzling
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell sit on a beach in Overboard (1987)Image via MGM
Overboard has a bit of a risky premise, as Dean basically pretends to be the husband of a woman with amnesia, with the intention of making her work for him for free. He convinces Joanna that she is his wife, calls her Annie, and tells her that she has four children with him through various photographic manipulations. While Joanna resists at first, she slowly starts to enjoy taking care of Dean and his home. However, there is no doubt that the plot as a whole has some creepiness. Yet, nearly four decades later, the film has taken on a curious afterlife.
It has been adapted several times, both in Hollywood and globally, and has become a staple in weekend marathons and cable TV reruns. It is clear that the main reason for this is the natural ease and chemistry between Hawn and Russell, who give convincing performances of their respective characters. The perfect cast is what makes this rom-com so successful. Hawn walks a tightrope between caricature and humanity as Joanna and Annie, capturing both meticulously during the movie.
As Joanna, she is over the top, haughty, vain, and snobbish, full of dismissive sneers and some world-class delivery of dialogues. She is a billionaire heiress, completely out of touch with the real world, and she makes the audience hate her almost from the moment she waltzes onto the screen. On the other hand, when Hawn transitions from arrogant Joanna to Annie, she is completely different: Still mighty, but lost about who she really is. It is heartbreaking to see her adjust to a reality she has never seen, and be told that she has been doing domestic work her entire life. Slowly, she comes around and learns to love Dean’s children as her own, and be his wife in every sense of the word.
Similarly, Russell too goes through evolution, but his is much more subtle. At the beginning, he is rough, callous, and immature, leaving his children in a complete mess as he tries to earn money. His plan to trick Joanna into being his wife and unpaid domestic slave was also questionable, and he didn’t seem to have any moral objections to it until much later in the movie. However, his softer side shines as he works for his children and feels guilty for manipulating Joanna.
His roguish charm and weary vulnerability, paired with Hawn’s impeccable acting and comedic timing, transform a story that could have been grotesque into a screwball comedy with a lot of heart. The push-pull dynamic between the two characters is electric and amusing, and when they finally align, there are fireworks. Putting these two together in a rom-com like this one is genius in itself.
Roddy McDowall and Goldie Hawn in Overboard 1987Image via MGM Studios
The reason why Overboard transcends time is that it has a solid foundation of themes and ideologies under the seemingly fun and fluffy plot, and it is one of the funniest satires out there. It may be comically exasperating to watch Joanna live in her bubble, where closets are made only of cedar, but it is also a telling commentary on the class divide of the time. The ’80s saw a widening chasm between the rich and the working class, as the latter had to make do without basic food and housing, while the wealthy enjoyed excessive riches. This was clearly evident here, where Joanna saw remodeling her closet as an emergency and then denied Dean his wages after he had done honest work.
His rundown house, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and beat-up truck were a sobering contrast to Joanna’s massive yacht and staff on hand. Forcing Joanna into Dean’s world was a typical inversion of privilege, where she was stripped of the wealth that protected her from the consequences of her actions. She experiences helplessness and then becomes resilient and joyous when she pushes ahead. It is only when she is forced to live a working-class life that she begins to appreciate the humanity of the people she had once dismissed.
The satire here is not subtle at all, with the rich being portrayed in an almost comically villainous way. Through slapstick humor and some twisted romance, Overboard sneaks in a social message in nearly two hours of back and forth. Joanna herself goes through a change when she experiences life on the other side, learning to enjoy the smaller things and interact with everyone equally, irrespective of their social class and standing.
While Dean hardly goes through a transition, Joanna’s redemption is absolute and very satisfying to watch. She achieves her true, authentic self once she gets out of her little world of privilege.
Even With a Questionable Heart, Overboard Is a Beloved Movie
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell during a scene in Overboard 1987Image via MGM Studios
It is hard to ignore the central premise of the film and how exploitative it is for Dean to take advantage of a woman the way he did. Even if she had wronged him in the past, it did not entitle him to use her as unpaid labor and lie to her about being her husband. They even got intimate because of this lie, which was quite morally murky on Dean’s part. None of this can be refuted, but Overboard continues to have an enduring appeal of its own. Whether it is the fantastic comedy (some of the dialogues are amazingly sharp) or the vibrant and fast pace of the movie, it has become a classic in its own right despite its obvious flaws.
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s real-life love spilled into their acting, and the way they bounced off of each other was fun to watch. They sparred, fell for each other, and then compromised to find each other through the chaos for a triumphant and romantic end. Similarly, the movie also offered some depth within its antics, which was deeply satisfying to watch for fans. The rich and the poor coming together is pure fantasy, and that was what Overboard offered.
Overboard is also a time capsule to a highly romanticized era, the eighties, which is why it has become a nostalgic watch that fans enjoy greatly. Sure, there are some outdated nuances, but it largely offers some great escapism with great themes underneath it all. Part screwball comedy, part melodrama, and part fairy tale, this romance is unconventional but one that focuses on reinvention. Joanna finds new purpose, new love, and genuine joy when she loses her memory and finds herself with Dean; even a return to luxury doesn’t make her content anymore. The movie is a blend of charm and discomfort that is fluffy and weighty at the same time, and these paradoxes are what keep it endlessly entertaining.
So, while it may not have garnered intense critical acclaim or box office success, it has found renewed appreciation, long after its release, as a nostalgic hit that follows a different formula. Overboard works its magic slowly but surely, and that is why the Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn rom-com is so memorable to date.
Overboard
Release Date
December 16, 1987
Runtime
112 minutes
Director
Garry Marshall
Writers
Leslie Dixon
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Goldie Hawn
Joanna Stayton / Annie Proffitt
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Kurt Russell
Dean Proffitt
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Edward Herrmann
Grant Stayton III
