Goldie Hawn's career
Goldie Hawn got her break on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, playing a sort of late-'60s Tweety Bird with body paint. Behind the brainless persona, though, was a hardheaded actress who wanted more than anything else to be a movie star. That's just what she became, too, in a career whose trajectory can be traced on video.
The Free Spirit
Cactus Flower (1969)
This May-December-December triangle showed
that Hawn's flower-bimbo shtick could support a movie — with help from
Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman. She won an Oscar, but the movie
creaks today. B-
There's a Girl In My Soup (1970)
Aging London swinger Peter
Sellers meets his match in sour American Hawn. As leeringly dated as
The Dating Game. D
Butterflies Are Free (1972)
In the best of her hippie-chick roles,
Hawn this time gives herself to blind Edward Albert despite his
overbearing mother (Eileen Heckart). B
The Actress
$ (Dollars) (1972)
Hooker Goldie and security expert Warren Beatty
heist a Hamburg, Germany, bank in a complex, stylish, funny caper
flick. B+
The Sugarland Express (1974)
A scalding road movie, directed by
some kid named Spielberg, with Hawn as a fierce Texas mom who takes a
cop hostage to get her baby back from the state. Far and away her
best performance. A+
The Girl From Petrovka (1974)
American journalist in Russia Hal
Holbrook falls for a blond Red. The leads' chemistry is as wobbly as
Goldie's accent, but for a nice cry, you could do worse. C+
Shampoo (1975)
As Warren Beatty's latest lover (she thinks), Hawn
goes from in-the-dark sweetness to hell-hath-no-fury outrage. Pretty
impressive considering the competition is Julie Christie and Lee
Grant. B+
The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976)
Goldie's a hooker (again)
and George Segal's a lighthearted con man in the 1880s West: What's
wrong with this picture? What's right with it? Stupid, loud, vulgar.
D-
Foul Play (1978)
Genial Hitchcock imitation shows its '70s stretch
marks (Barry Manilow sings the theme), but it's nice to see Hawn and
Chevy Chase back when they still seemed hungry. B
Lovers and Liars (1979)
A typical stinky Italian comedy — right down
to the bad dubbing and Giancarlo Giannini — except that it costars
Goldie Hawn. Bizarre, to say the least. D
The Superstar
Seems Like Old Times (1980)
Neil Simon's throwback to '30s farce is
good synthetic fun — and Goldie's transformation to full-fledged movie
queen is complete. B+
Private Benjamin (1980)
Executive producer Hawn gave star Hawn a
tailor-made role as a JAP in the Army, and the golden Goldie formula
was struck. It still looks smarter and funnier than anything she has
done since. B+
Best Friends (1982)
Pleasant, noncaloric comedy about a
screenwriting couple who marry. Goldie and Burt Reynolds are so
lightweight here they practically disappear when costars like Jessica
Tandy show up. C+
Swing Shift (1984)
The cut that was released wasn't the one
director Jonathan Demme wanted, but this heartfelt World War II
drama is still a fine and underrated piece of work. A reminder of
acting talents untapped. A-
Protocol (1984)
or: Goldie Goes to Washington. The script's that
original too. As a cocktail waitress who causes State Department
snafus, Hawn backslides into her dumb-ditz routine. 'Tain't funny. C-
Wildcats (1986)
or: Goldie Coaches Inner-City Football. Her
character has brains this time, which is a relief, but you've seen it
all before, and with a laugh track. C+
Overboard (1987)
Surprisingly charming, with a wild performance by
the star as a rich twit. Perhaps because she's playing opposite
real-life honey Kurt Russell, the emotions seem real. B
Bird On a Wire (1990)
The Goldie formula ossified: a big-budget
action comedy so familiar you don't have to see it to have seen it.
Even Mel Gibson looks desperate. D+
