Going Overboard

"In the world of comedy, it's sink or swim."

1989 1h 37m EN

💀

2.4

SKIP

★2.4TMDB · 166

Comedy

Synopsis

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A struggling young comedian takes a menial job on a cruise ship where he hopes for his big chance to make it in the world of cruise ship comedy.

“In the world of comedy, it's sink or swim.”

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Cast

Adam Sandler
Schecky Moskowitz
Scott LaRose
Dickie Diamond
Tom Hodges
Bob / Schecky's Mother
Lisa Collins
Ellen
Adam Rifkin
Croaker / Miss Spain
Peter Berg
Mort Ginsberg
Billy Zane
King Neptune
Burt Young
General Noriega

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Valerie Breiman
Writers: Valerie Breiman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Valerie Breiman, shot by Ron Jacobs. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Steven Scott Smalley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Randy D. Wiles shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Adam Sandler and Scott LaRose and Tom Hodges carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In the world of comedy, it's sink or swim.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0096870 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Valerie Breiman directs. Ron Jacobs behind the camera. Steven Scott Smalley scores. Randy D. Wiles cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Valerie Breiman, shot by Ron Jacobs. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Steven Scott Smalley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Randy D. Wiles shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Adam Sandler and Scott LaRose and Tom Hodges carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In the world of comedy, it's sink or swim.".
8IMDB entry: tt0096870 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "friendship", "rock star", "dictator", "narration".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ron Jacobs
Original score: Steven Scott Smalley
Editing: Randy D. Wiles
Production design: Alex Tavoularis
Makeup / hair: Michael Spatola
Sound: John J. Stephens
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Going Overboard (1989)

Also by

Valerie Breiman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Gonzales2023-05-20
★ 2/10
Only this movie and Punch Drunk Love, were the dumbest Adam Sandler movies I've ever seen. This movie is even funny. Adam Sandler looks more like an idiot then a star in this movie.
sunopako2024-12-14
★ 4/10
Adam Sandler's acting debut. He did not participate in writing or directing the script, and did not even come up with the idea for the movie. He just played the main character, an unfunny comedian who dreams of becoming funny one day (on a ship). Adam's acting was bad and inept... although it's not that striking, given the sheer awfulness of everything else in the movie. It's badly filmed, the writing is even worse... The movie is only valuable because Sandler was in it. Going Overboard tries its best to seem like a comedy, and this is probably its main weakness. The Room with Tommy Wiseau, which is similar in many aspects, became a cult movie because of how badly it was made, but The Room is a drama. The badness of the plot conflicts and the broken tension became the foundation for the audience's mocking pleasure. In Going Overboard, the dramatic elements are very rudimentary, and this makes it difficult to treat the movie with a sense of humor, but it is possible! I don't recommend this movie to anyone except scholars of Adam Sandler's work. For those who do decide to watch it, I advise you to try to accept the film's inconsistencies and laugh at them. This is the best that Going Overboard can do.