Review of Going Overboard (1989) by Drew E — 18 Sep 2012

Sandler stars as Shecky Moskowitz, a cruise ship waiter who dreams of being a successful comedian. He wants to be the comedian for the cruise but is passed on in favor of Scott LaRose's Dickie Diamond. After Dickie supposedly falls overboard and drowns, the ship needs a new comedian and Shecky steps in hoping he can finally make other people laugh.

Being an Adam Sandler fan, I knew I wanted to watch this movie since it was his very first. However, while I was watching the movie I slowly became less interested, never found myself laughing, and felt indifferent once the movie was over. One of the problems with this movie was its interludes showing a montage of swimsuit clad women. I do not mind interludes in movies because even if they do not advance to the plot they can be enjoyable. However, these interludes became a drag to watch after the first one and they kept being shown a few more times. There was also a five minute "mini-concert" where a rock star character portrayed by Dan Povenmire sings his band's "hit song," a song that is only known for being in this movie. This concert along with the interludes are merely used for filler using time that could have been used for some character development or laughing moments. Also, because of no character development, it is really difficult to like any of the characters and to get invested into the movie. The audience is supposed to get behind Shecky hoping he can succeed in becoming a comedian, but there is not much effort given to show why we, the audience, should care especially because Shecky keeps messing up. However, the one character I disliked most was Dickie Diamond. Dickie is meant to be an antagonist for the film since he is the thing that is keeping Shecky from fulfilling his dream. However, rather than acting like an interesting antagonist, Dickie just acts like a bully, a kind that Adam Sandler movies have become infamous for. Dickie drops f-bombs whenever he pleases and he has no reason for most of his actions other than just being a jerk. In one scene, for example, Shecky asks if he can be an opening act for Dickie for one night, but rather than just saying no, Dickie just keeps telling Shecky he does not care what he is saying. I realize life is not like the movies, but how does repeatedly saying "I don't care" rather than just saying "no" make the movie or character more interesting? The character wasn't funny, doesn't say anything funny, and only makes this poor excuse for a film more unbearable.

For a hardcore Sandler fan, maybe someone could enjoy it because of the fact that it is Sandler's first movie. Other than that, I really cannot recommend this movie to anyone else because half the time, it does not even feel like a movie. The characters are unlikeable, not fit for their roles, or both, the plot is not taken entirely seriously, and the ending just happens in a snap.