29 Most Memorable Goldie Hawn Movies Ranked Worst To Best

Although she's only appeared in less than 30 films, Goldie Hawn has been a beloved presence on the big screen for more than five decades. Part of the reason for her limited filmography is a 15-year gap between 2002's "The Banger Sisters" and 2017's "Snatched," but even before that, she's been extremely picky about choosing material.

Born in 1945 in Washington, D.C., Hawn shot to stardom playing a giggly flower child on the groundbreaking sketch series "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In," for which she earned two Emmy nominations. She became a movie star playing a similar character in "Cactus Flower," winning an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance.

Throughout the next three decades, Hawn became a major box office draw with a string of highly successful comedies, often playing a ditzy yet intrepid go-getter placed in an unexpected circumstance: joining the army in "Private Benjamin" (which brought her an Oscar nomination as Best Actress); coaching an all-boys football team in "Wildcats"; or becoming a blue collar housewife after suffering amnesia in "Overboard" (co-starring her longtime romantic partner, Kurt Russell). She took an active role in developing her material, often producing her star vehicles. Hawn is also a famous stage mother, since her children Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, and Wyatt Russell are all actors as well.

Let's take a look back at Hawn's 29 most memorable movies, ranked worst to best.

A career nadir for pretty much everyone involved, "Town and Country" was a critical and commercial bomb that grossed just $10 million on a $90 million budget and reaped a stinking 13% Rotten Tomatoes score. The lion's share of that budget went to its A-list cast and costly reshoots that delayed its release for years. 

Warren Beatty stars as a New York architect caught between his wife (Diane Keaton) and his mistress (Nastassja Kinski). Meanwhile, his married friends (Hawn and Garry Shandling) are having relationship troubles of their own, which creates more romantic entanglements for him. Hawn earned a Razzie nomination for her performance, while Beatty (who also produced) took a 15-year break from movies following its release.

One of the most forgettable entries in Hawn's filmography, "Lovers and Liars" pairs her with Italian leading man Giancarlo Giannini ("Seven Beauties"). Directed by Mario Monicelli, it centers on an American actress (Hawn) who hitches a ride with a married man (Giannini) while vacationing in Rome. 

There's not much else to this thinly written romantic comedy, which failed to make much of a dent when it was barely released in 1979 and has all but faded from memory ever since (and for good reason, based on its dismal 13% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes). For Goldie completists only.

Hawn didn't get many chances to show off her serious side, and when she did, it was often in ill-conceived star vehicles like "CrissCross." Set in Key West in 1969, it centers on a divorced mom (Hawn) who takes great pains to raise her 12-year-old son (David Arnott) after her Vietnam veteran husband (Keith Carradine) returns home suffering severe PTSD. 

Hawn takes up stripping to make ends meet, while her son takes an odd job transporting freshly caught fish, which has unexpected consequences. Considering it's directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Chris Menges ("The Mission," "The Killing Fields"), the movie at least looks good. But that's about all the praise you can give it.

To say Hawn is miscast as a Russian ballerina in "The Girl from Petrova" is a bit of an understatement. Credit to her for taking a risk, but when it comes to accents, she's unfortunately no Meryl Streep. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, it's a romantic drama about a love affair between Hawn's ballerina and Hal Holbrook as an American journalist. 

Their romance sparks the interest of the KGB, which makes sense considering the beautiful ballet dancer is in possession of some important documents. Barely seen upon its release, the film's reputation hasn't grown much since.

You wouldn't expect a comedy starring Hawn and Peter Sellers to be so forgettable, yet has anyone outside of their largest fans ever heard of "There's a Girl in My Soup"? Based on Terence Frisby's long-running stage show, it stars Sellers as a womanizing television host who falls under the spell of American hippie Hawn, who's just married a British punk rocker (Nicky Henson). 

Sellers tries to seduce Hawn by taking her on a wine-tasting trip through France, but his charms are no match for her. Their romantic and comedic shenanigans are nothing to write home about, which doesn't help if you're making a romantic comedy.

Goldie Hawn took a 15-year break from acting after "The Banger Sisters," finally returning with this Amy Schumer vehicle that made some people wonder why she bothered to come out of retirement in the first place. Directed by Jonathan Levine, it's a raunchy action comedy about a mother and daughter (Hawn and Schumer) who get kidnapped during an impromptu South American getaway. 

Though not exactly the heralded comeback Hawn was hoping for (it earned a stinky 36% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics), it still accomplished the goal of getting her back in front of movie cameras for what we hope will be a permanent stay.

Though Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin's previous pairing, "HouseSitter," was far from a critical darling, it was slightly better received than their second collaboration. A remake of Neil Simon's 1970 comedy hit, "The Out-of-Towners" casts the comedic duo as a married couple who endure countless misfortunes during a trip to New York City. During their brief stay, the pair lose their luggage, get mugged, and even (gasp!) meet former mayor Rudy Giuliani. 

As Roger Ebert said in his one-and-a-half star review, the film "was not a proud moment in the often-inspired careers of Martin and Hawn," and the majority of critics agreed, resulting in a dismal 27% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Ms. Hawn goes to Washington in one of the actress's classic fish-out-of-water comedies. In "Protocol," she plays a ditzy D.C. cocktail waitress who inadvertently prevents an assassination attempt on the visiting Emir of Ohtar (Richard Romanus). The press is instantly charmed by her, leading the State Department to recruit her. 

You'd expect "Protocol" to be funnier, given it was written by Buck Henry ("The Graduate") from a story by her "Private Benjamin" scribes Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer, and Harvey Miller. But the film, directed by Herbert Ross, flails wildly between slapstick and Capra-esque sentiment. Critical consensus was overall negative, though it was a modest commercial success.

Perhaps the strangest film to take its inspiration from a Leonard Cohen song, "Bird on a Wire" pairs Hawn with Mel Gibson for some action comedy hijinks. Directed by John Badham, it's a pseudo-Hitchcockian man-on-the-run story where Hawn meets a former flame (Gibson) at a gas station. 

Turns out Gibson has been in the Witness Protection Program for 15 years, having informed on a corrupt DEA agent (Keith Carradine) who's just out of prison. With Gibson's cover now blown, he and his old girlfriend go on the lam, re-sparking their love affair. Like many Hawn films, this was a box office hit and critical dud, reaping a 27% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Hawn gave one of her rare dramatic performances in this critically panned thriller. "Deceived" is one of those movies where a happy housewife learns her husband isn't who he says he is (hence the title). 

In this case, Hawn is married to an art dealer (John Heard) who's placed under suspicion of forgery when a museum curator suddenly dies. When Heard turns up dead as well, Hawn discovers he was lying about his identity the whole time, leading her to dig further into the two murders and placing her own life in jeopardy. Critics savaged the film, which ended up with a 37% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

Michael Ritchie's "Wildcats" is pretty emblematic of what audiences expected when they bought a ticket to a Goldie Hawn movie: a light comedy where a plucky heroine is placed in an unlikely situation and rises to the occasion. This time, she's a boys' football coach at an inner city high school. While trying to whip the team into shape for the big game, Goldie also has to deal with her ex-husband (James Keach), who's trying to take custody of their two children. 

Critics weren't exactly sold on the premise (leading to a dismal 26% Rotten Tomatoes score), and its white savior narrative has come under scrutiny in recent years. But that Goldie sure is plucky.

"The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox" takes the fish-out-of-water premise to a whole new level, placing famous flower child Goldie Hawn in the Old West. Set in San Francisco in 1882, it stars George Segal as Charlie "Dirtwater Fox" Malloy, a bumbling gambler who steals $400,000 from a gang of outlaws. He's double-crossed himself by the Duchess (Hawn), a dance hall girl seeking a better life. 

When the gang Malloy stole from comes riding into town, he teams up with the Duchess to outsmart them, and the pair eventually fall in love. Despite a mixed critical reception, Hawn earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Comedy-Musical Actress for her performance.

"The Christmas Chronicles" was a surprise hit on Netflix, so it stands to reason a sequel would follow. Kurt Russell returns as old Saint Nick, while Hawn, who made a cameo appearance in the original, plays his wife, Mrs. Claus. The film, directed by family movie titan Chris Columbus ("Home Alone," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"), finds Santa teaming up with a cynical teenager (Darby Camp) to save Christmas, teaching his young cohort about the magic of the holidays in the process.

Critics were charmed overall by the film, mostly for the fun of seeing real-life couple Russell and Hawn play Mr. and Mrs. Claus, which would warm the heart of even the biggest Scrooge.

The better of the two Hawn/Steve Martin pairings, "HouseSitter" was still a tough sale to critics at the time of its release. That's not to say it's not better than its 38% Rotten Tomatoes score might reflect. 

Directed by Frank Oz, it's the story of an architect (Martin) who's heartbroken after his fiancee (Dana Delaney) breaks off their engagement and refuses to move into the dream house he built for her. Hawn plays a conniving waitress who decides to move into the house herself, which complicates Martin's reconciliation with Delaney. Despite the negative reaction, the film did have its supporters, most notably Roger Ebert, who called it "a sweet and funny movie, rather than a comedic masterpiece."

As with many Goldie Hawn movies, the charm of "The Banger Sisters" comes more from its leading lady (or in this case, leading ladies) than from its script, which was reflected in its mixed critical reception. Hawn and Susan Sarandon star as Suzette and Lavinia, aka the Banger Sisters, former rock groupies who reunite after 20 years apart. While Lavinia has settled down, Suzette is still living like it's 1969, and together they learn valuable life lessons from each other. 

Hawn, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, took a 15-year break from acting after the movie's release, returning with 2017's "Snatched."

Many writers mine their own lives for material, and that's certainly the case with "Best Friends," which took its inspiration from screenwriting duo Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin's own marriage and divorce. 

Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds star as the Curtin and Levinson surrogates, a successful writing team who decide to make their professional relationship personal. But the honeymoon doesn't last long. The film, directed by Norman Jewison, received generally positive reviews from critics, and Hawn earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, which sees her comedic persona taking on some more mature shadings.

Hawn cemented her flower child screen persona with her starring role in Milton Katselas' comedic drama. Adapted by Leonard Gershe from his own play, "Butterflies Are Free" centers on a young blind man (Edward Albert) who moves out on his own in defiance of his overprotective mother (Eileen Heckart, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar). 

He soon becomes friendly with his next door neighbor (Hawn), a quirky, free-spirited actress who clashes with his mother when she comes to visit. The film garnered generally positive reviews from critics, and Hawn received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Comedy-Musical Actress.

Hawn and Chevy Chase struck gold with "Foul Play," so it makes sense that the two would reunite for another film. While "Seems Like Old Times" fails to recapture the magic of their previous outing, it still received decent reviews and box office. 

Directed by Jay Sandrich from a script by Neil Simon, it's a frothy comedic bauble about a novelist (Chase) who gets kidnapped by a pair of criminals and forced into a bank robbery. He goes on the lam and seeks refuge from his ex-wife (Hawn), whose husband (Charles Grodin), a California district attorney, is holding a party for fellow law enforcement officers — and is no fan of Chase's character.

It takes a certain kind of charm to make the icky concept of "Overboard" work (as witnessed by the critically reviled remake), and thankfully Hawn and her onscreen-offscreen partner Kurt Russell have charm to spare. Directed by Garry Marshall, it centers on a spoiled heiress (Hawn) who hires a blue collar carpenter (Russell) to repair her yacht, only to stiff him on payment when he doesn't use the correct kind of wood. 

He gets his revenge when Hawn falls overboard and suffers amnesia, leading Russell to convince her she's actually his wife and mother to his four kids. A critical flop upon its release, it's since gained a cult following thanks to home video and cable TV.

Though it was written and directed by Old Hollywood workhorse Richard Brooks, "$ (Dollars)" is anything but old-fashioned. It's a crackerjack entertainment with a New Hollywood sensibility, casting Hawn and Warren Beatty as a sort of Tracy-Hepburn for the modern age. 

Beatty plays a bank security expert who enlists a prostitute (Hawn) to help him steal $1.5 million in criminal assets from safety deposit boxes in Hamburg, Germany. Though the pair successfully pull off their heist, they quickly have to go on the run from the crooks they stole from. Reviews for the film were outstanding, with critics like Roger Ebert saying Beatty and Hawn were "weirdly interesting together."

Woody Allen's first (and so far, only) foray into movie musicals is a delightful romantic comedy about upper class Manhattanites who can't help but express their emotions through song. Allen and Hawn star as Joe and Stefi, a divorced couple whose extended family deal with various romantic entanglements across New York and Europe. 

Though Stefi is happily married to her new husband (Alan Alda), she and Joe nevertheless share a romantic dance on the banks of the Seine, where she literally flies from joy. The film earned strong reviews, particularly from Roger Ebert, who said that during that romantic dance scene he wondered if it was "the best film Woody Allen has ever made."

One's appreciation of "Swing Shift" largely depends on which version you see. Production on the World War II drama about a sheltered housewife (Hawn) who joins the workforce when her husband (Ed Harris) goes off to fight was famously fraught between the star and director Jonathan Demme, leading to massive reshoots. 

While Demme envisioned the film to be a story of women's liberation focused on Hawn and best friend Christine Lahti, Hawn and the studio hoped to twist it into a romantic comedy between her and Kurt Russell, who had fallen in love during shooting. The result was received well enough by critics, but the lost director's cut has long been hailed as a masterpiece, one that might have placed even higher on this list.

Hawn had one of her biggest critical and commercial hits when she teamed up with Chevy Chase for this comedic mystery. She plays Gloria Mundy, a lonely San Francisco librarian who suddenly finds herself involved in an intricate plot to assassinate the pope. Pursued by a rogues gallery of oddballs, she seeks help from a hapless detective (Chase), and the two fall in love. 

Writer-director Colin Higgins stuffs the film to the brim with eccentric touches, including a hilarious appearance by Dudley Moore as a randy swinger who sets his sights on Gloria. The film earned an Oscar nomination for its original song and seven Golden Globe bids, including two for Hawn and Chase, who later reunited with "Seems Like Old Times."

Having shot to stardom playing a flower child on television in "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," Hawn became a movie star playing a similar character in "Cactus Flower." 

Walter Matthau stars as an unmarried dentist unwilling to commit to his much-younger girlfriend (Hawn). When she attempts to take her own life, Matthau reconsiders marriage, but that's complicated since he's fabricated a wife and children to keep from marrying her. He recruits his nurse (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as his wife, who'll demand a "divorce," but they end up falling in love with each other instead. Hawn won an Oscar and Golden Globe for her supporting performance, making for a true "star is born" moment for the young actress.

Critical assessment of "Shampoo" varies wildly, with some finding its satire spot-on and others finding it downright spotty. Directed by Hal Ashby from a script by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty, it's the story of a randy Beverly Hills hairdresser (Beatty) struggling to balance his professional ambitions with his personal entanglements. 

Cheating on his girlfriend (Hawn) with an older, married woman (Oscar-winner Lee Grant), Beatty soon finds himself falling back in love with an ex-girlfriend (Julie Christie) who's having an affair with Grant's wealthy husband (Jack Warden). It's all set against the backdrop of Richard Nixon's 1968 election, which quickly brings the good times to an end. Hawn earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, which plays with her naive hippie persona.

Like many Goldie Hawn films, "The First Wives Club" was critically dismissed when it was released but has gained in popularity as the years have gone by. Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton star as three college friends who reunite after 30 years at a friend's funeral. When they learn she took her own life after her husband left her for a younger woman, the trio decide to take revenge on their own awful exes. 

Although reviewers criticized the film's script, audiences celebrated the wickedly funny performances by Hawn, Midler, and Keaton, who have long teased fans with a potential reunion (which we might be getting sooner than later).

Dismissed by critics in its time as technically impressive but thematically hollow, "Death Becomes Her" has been rediscovered as a camp classic, with its gothic fashions further popularized by "RuPaul's Drag Race." Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it's a pitch-black fantasy comedy about a pair of lifelong rivals (Hawn and Meryl Streep) whose feud escalates over a man (Bruce Willis). Things get spooky when Streep and Hawn discover a magic potion that grants immortality, which comes with some unintended consequences. 

The film's eye-popping visual effects — which take their inspiration from Looney Toons cartoons – won an Oscar, but the real special effects come from Streep and Hawn's diva-tastic performances.

Hawn lent her star power to Steven Spielberg's theatrical feature debut, and he in return provided her with one of her most critically acclaimed films. 

Based in part on a true story, "The Sugarland Express" stars Hawn as Lou Jean Poplin, a young housewife desperate to reunite her family after her husband, Clovis (William Atherton), is incarcerated and their son is put into foster care. She helps Clovis break out of jail and together they snatch their son, kidnapping a highway patrolman (Michael Sacks) in the process. A caravan of cop cars chases them throughout Texas, but the pair soon find themselves bonding with their hostage and becoming sympathetic figures to a captive audience.

"Private Benjamin" might not be the best film Goldie Hawn ever made, but it is the best example of a Goldie Hawn movie: a fish-out-of-water comedy where the plucky heroine perseveres through sunny determination and charms everyone around her. 

This time, she's Judy Benjamin, a sheltered socialite who's tricked into joining the Army after her husband dies on their wedding night. Expecting a restful vacation, she's rudely introduced to the realities of basic training by her tough-as-nails drill instructor (Eileen Brennan). But Judy quickly rises to the challenge and gains a little self-worth along the way. The film earned Hawn Oscar and Golden Globe nominations as Best Actress, and cemented her leading lady status for decades to come.