Hal Burton

Overboard -- A wealthy, obnoxious woman hires a carpenter to do some work on her yacht. When the two don't see eye-to-eye, the carpenter is left unpaid, while the woman, Joanna, sets sail. The following day, after falling overboard, Joanna's fished out of the sea. When she is diagnosed with amnesia, the carpenter sees a great way to regain the money she owes him...he tells Joanna she's his wife; that way he gets a free housekeeper and mother for his four kids.

A kind of African Queen gone berserk, "Overboard" chronicles the misad-ventures of a bitchy society queen (Goldi Hawn) who lives on a luxury yacht with her class-conscious husband (Edward Herrmann) and put-upon butler (Roddy McDowall). When the yacht docks for "repairs" (that is, for more closet space), Hawn refuses to pay the local carpenter (Kurt Russel) because he used oak instead of cedar for the closets. The post-refusal argument results in Hawn pushing Russel overboard. Hawn falls overboard herself and is rescued by a garbage scow. However, she remembers nothing of her pampered past. Through a series of high-energy, high-wit escapades the two protagonists find each other, the kids turn into lollipops and all is well that ends well. Garry Marshall directed with aplomb.

An amusing spoof of the good 'ole westerns back in the halcyon days when all the cliches were held up as icons, this parody by Hugh Wilson works best for savvy audiences. Rex O'Herlihan (Tom Berenger) is a singing cowboy with a wardrobe straight out of the Hollywood westerns of the '40s he worships his horse, and has a trusty sidekick too. Every town he wanders into has a sheriff on the dole, a shady cattle rancher, a prostitute with a heart of gold, an innocent young damsel, a town drunk, and the standard bad guys in black hats and long coats (Spaghetti-western style) who brutalize the poor sheep ranchers. After setting things straight in each identical town as he goes, Rex is beginning to feel like a re-run junky when he saunters into a town that is slightly different and the parodies continue.

An amusing spoof of the good 'ole westerns. Rex O'Herlihan, The Singing Cowboy, enters a cliche-ridden town, in which the evil cattle baron (Andy Griffith) and the new Italian cowboys join forces to get him and the sheep ranchers to leave the valley.