For a few weeks now, as I scrolled through lists of films in my various streaming services, I noted the remake of Overboard (2018), starring Anna Faris.  I have been tempted to watch it because, based on the brief summary and trailers, it shows a rich person responding well to being humbled.  Humility is a virtue, by the way, one Catholics pray for whenever they say the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.  If that sounds counterintuitive the you might not be a Catholic.  Humility is close to Godliness (a take on a classic saying, I know), and that idea is Scriptural.  As such, whenever there is a movie speaking to these notions, it will have my interest.  I did not immediately pick it because I knew there was the original, which I have yet to see.  I have done a lot of scanning of menus on Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Netflix over the years, and I am not aware of ever coming across the 1987 Overboard.  When I finally spotted it, and I saw similar themes in the previews, I knew there was only one choice to make: to watch it.  Maybe one day I will come back around to the updated version.

When we first meet Joanna Mintz (Goldie Hawn), the only thing Overboard about her is her attitude.  She is a spoiled heiress married to a dope of a husband, Grant Stayton III (Edward Herrmann), who obviously cares more for her money and their massive yacht.  The boat is currently docked in a tiny Oregon fishing village when suddenly she decides she needs a new closet built in their cabin.  The person called upon for this task is Dean Proffitt (Kurt Russell), a carpenter and local handyman who recently moved to the area.  She looks at Dean like an insect and treats him like one.  Once he completes his task, she complains that he made it of oak instead of cedar and refuses to pay him.  When he stands up to her and does not put up with her outrageous behavior, much to the crew’s delight, she pushes him into the water and throws his tools in after him.  The loss of these items is crucial for a variety of reasons.  First, he is hoping to open a miniature golf course (because what else is there to do in this town?) with his friend and business partner, Billy Pratt (Michael Hagerty).  Secondly, he has four boys at home who need to be provided for, which is made harder by the loss of his implements.  The children do not make life any easier as demonstrated by Principal Adele Burbridge (Doris Hess), who comes to the Proffitt home to prepare the kids for school.  An exasperated Principal Burbridge asks where their mother is and this is how we learn that she passed away a few years ago.  Meanwhile, back on the high seas, Joanna realizes that her wedding ring is missing.  Grant refuses to fetch it for her, forcing her to go alone.  Groping around on the prow of the ship, the vessel hits a few taller waves and plunges her into the Pacific Ocean.  She is picked up the next morning by waste management and taken to the hospital.  Her face appears on the laughably low budget local access television news program claiming that she has amnesia and looking for anyone to claim her.  Eventually, Dean sees the story and comes up with an idea to gain some restitution for his labor.  This is my working theory anyway since this is never stated.  What I am about to describe to you will sound like slavery, and Dean, at one point, refers to it in this manner.  This is not comfortable for this Catholic as the Faith does not condone human bondage, but what can I say but the 1980s, I guess?  Dean decides to pose as Joanna’s husband, calling her Annie.  This will be the name I use from now on, and you will see why.  For now, if there is anything that remains of her, it is her haughtiness.  Because of her snobbery, the authorities at the mental health center (called something different then!) are eager to see her out the door.  The same can be said for Grant, who had come to the hospital to see her but escapes when he sees an opportunity with her memory loss.  Dean brings Annie back to his house, which is run down and full of unruly boys.  Though none of it seems right to her, he insists that she is in the right place and gets his sons, now their sons, to go along with the charade.  He also convinces her to do all the chores of an overworked mother while he goes out with the guys at night.  You have to give her credit because despite feeling out of sorts, she commits to being a mom and doing the work.  There is a steep learning curve, and this is where the comedy comes in as she figures out on the fly how to be a part of a functioning family.  It only starts to feel that way to Dean when he overhears her dealing with negligence on Principal Burbridge’s part towards the boys.  Annie insists Dean pay more attention, especially to Joey (Jeffrey Wiseman), the youngest, who cannot read. Her anger is abated, however, when she discovers that Dean’s evening excursions are actually him working at the docks to make extra money.  As they begin to fall in love, she helps him by giving drawings and other ideas for their putt-putt course, which ultimately opens to as much fanfare as the area can muster.  You know this all had to come to an end, right?  Well, Edith Mintz (Katherine Helmond), Annie’s mother, finally convinces a partying Grant to look for his wife.  He gets to the Proffitt residence immediately after the grand opening.  Annie walks past him and says “Hello, Grant” as she normally would, showing the return of her memory.  Her immediate reaction is to leave, feeling only the betrayal.  Yet, as she tries to get back to her old life, it is clear that the time she spent with Dean and the boys has changed her. Thus, she gets the crew to turn around and, with her family chasing in a United States Coast Guard (USCG) vessel, jumps into the water to meet Dean swimming towards her.

Speaking of being Overboard, the final revelation in the film is that the vast fortune that made her life of luxury possible before belongs to her.  This is the last scene, and as the credits role I began to wonder how wealth would change the dynamic of this new family.  That is the point of the movie, after all, that rich people are spoiled and need to learn what “real life” is like.  There is a cliché and stereotype that says that people are simply who they are and they can never change.  That is not the Catholic viewpoint, and this film underscores why this is the case.  In other words, nurture triumphs over nature.  To be sure, God created all of us with some intrinsic similarities, not just biologically speaking, but primarily with a desire to be with Him.  Our culture and society have misinterpreted this fundamental part of us, at best, as love.  I try not to be overly critical, but while I appreciate at least acknowledging the universality of love, such sentiments are incomplete without referencing the source, that being God.  The film puts a neat exclamation point on this idea, albeit in different circumstances, when Dean says that “there is a God and that He loves me.”  This is completely true.  Still, he is saying it regarding the gift he sees with Annie’s amnesia.  It is the bond of love that forms between Annie and the children, and eventually with Dean, that transforms her.  The technical Catholic term for what she realizes is her vocation, and it is found by loving something bigger than herself.  The same can be said for female and male religious that are called that way, but in either case, it all leads back to God.  Annie’s previous life used to be all about doing what pleased her.  God tells us that real happiness and love is found in serving others as He would do.

Overboard is a fun movie, if a little predictable.  Its comedic beats are familiar enough that you can count the seconds between Annie seeing Grant and when she realizes her memory has returned.  There is nothing wrong with it, though, and I hope the remake has the same quality morals.  Dean’s decision is sketchy, but he makes up for it.  I give this one a warm recommendation.