Overboard Movie Poster

Overboard (1987) was a funny, romantic comedy that starred Goldie Hawn as Joanna Stayton/Annie Proffitt and Kurt Russell as Dean Proffitt.  The movie was loosely based on a 1974 foreign film called Swept Away.  The movie received mixed reviews back in the day, but was liked by Roger Ebert among others.  The movie was profitable, and continues to be a huge hit with new old fans alike.

In this movie, Russell plays the role of Dean, a small town carpenter who has been hired to renovate the closets, on a ship in port, owned by the uppity Joanna Slayton (Hawn).  Joanna is a spoiled, haughty, and generally unlikable heiress.  After he finishes the job, she refuses to pay him due to the wood he choose, and he pushes him overboard along with his tools.  That evening, she falls off the boat, gets a bout of amnesia, and ends up in the hospital.  When her husband comes to pick her up, he quickly realizes her mental state will give him a certain amount of tantalizing freedom, so he denies knowing her and instead anchors up the boat for a big party.  Widower Dean, on the other hand, hears about her plight, and decides to get even by making her think she is his wife, and mother to his four boys.

At first, Joanna, who now thinks she is Annie Proffitt, has a hard time acclimating to taking care of four energetic boys and keeping house.  As time goes on, Joanna and Dean begin falling in love, but Dean is afraid to tell her the truth for fear she might leave him and his boys.  When her husband finally returns for her, Joanna gets her memory back, and is not only hurt by Dean's deception, but also disgusted by her previous life.  In the end, she realizes her husband is a ditz, and Dean is her true love, so they reunite and end up living happily ever after.