Overboard – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1987
Director: Garry Marshall
Writer: Leslie Dixon
Cast: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond, Mike Hagerty, Roddy McDowall

Release Date: August 24th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 112 Minutes 18 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: PG
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD Mono Spanish, DTS-HD Stereo French
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $24.95

"A snobby yacht-owning socialite (Goldie) whose accidental amnesia presents the perfect opportunity for a widowed local carpenter (Russell) to convince her she's his wife and mother to his four out-of-control kids." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "scanned in 2K for the first time ever."

Overboard comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38 GB

Feature: 33.6 GB

The source used for this transfer is in very good shape and it is a noticeable improvement over MGM’s 2011 Blu-ray release. Colors look correct, black levels fare well and though details generally look crisp, there are several instances where the image lacks clarity. Also, though grain is present throughout, at times it looks heavy.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English, a DTS-HD stereo mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD stereo mix in French. For this review I listened to the English language track. The audio sounds clean, clear and balanced throughout. Also, ambient sounds and the score are well-represented. Included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a slipcover, a trailer for Overboard (1 minute 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an interview with screenwriter Leslie Dixon titled Writing Overboard (14 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Summary:

Though Overboard has many elements that are synonymous with Rom-Coms. The result is a film that actually owes more to screwball comedy films like Bringing up Baby, My Man Godfrey and His Girl Friday. That said, influences aside, Overboard is a perfect fusion of these two sub-genres.

From its opening moments Overboard firmly establishes a farcical tone that you either fully embrace or you quickly tune out. Sure the premise and the situations the characters find themselves in are absurd. And yet that’s what makes Overboard so much fun.

When discussing Overboard one cannot overlook how great the entire cast are in their respective roles, especially Goldie Hawn (Private Benjamin) in the role of a spoiled heiress who gets amnesia and Kurt Russell (The Thing) in the role of a working class widower who was stiffed on a job he did for the spoiled heiress. Needless to say, their onscreen chemistry is off the charts.

Another strength of Overboard is how effectively it takes elements from 1930’s/40’s screwball comedies and modernizes them for the 1980’s. Also, Garry Marshall’s (Pretty Woman) direction is solid and the humor always hits its mark.

Overboard gets its best home video release to date from Severin Films.

Written by Michael Den Boer