Geoffrey DeLeons In this WW2-era drama, Goldie Hawn is the main character, and she tries to keep pace with the changes in her life as she goes from demure housewife from Iowa to lead lineperson in an aircraft factory by day and some-time escort of a jazz trumpeter (with a motorcycle/sidecar, no-less) by night. An interesting unfolding of the individual takes place amongst the trials of war-time life. When she finally, after many months, succumbs to the jazzman's charms, I was sympathetic toward her loneliness and formerly-repressed need for expression. During her tryst, it was always evident that she still loved her husband, played by Ed Harris, who was away in the navy. The fine acting jobs by Hawn, Harris, Russel and Christine Lahti are not exactly wasted in Swing Shift, but I would have liked to have seen more of the inner persons exposed, especially in regards to their thoughts and questions about why the Japanese attacked. The movie is good, but the individuals portrayed in the movie accept the war and their roles in it somewhat robotically, in that there is very little dialogue regarding the U.S. military's presence in Hawaii and other foreign countries. I feel this kind of dialogue would have helped develop the characters more. A fine move, well-directed and well-produced. Some powerful acting by Hawn, who manages to seem scared, but dauntless at the same time. Not an easy thing to do.

jjnxn-1 Nice period feeling and an interesting premise that doesn't get a lot of attention, women's role in the workplace during WWII. They should have focused on that and left the weak love story out and would had a better film. The problem is that Goldie's and Russell's characters are not really people you can feel much empathy for, she's spoiled and selfish and he's really rather a jerk whereas the more interesting and relatable characters played by Ed Harris and Christine Lahti are kept too much in the background. Christine Lahti however steals every second she's on screen apparently pre-release tinkering cut some of her best work to throw the spotlight more Goldie's way, perhaps costing her a best supporting actress Oscar although she was nominated. You'll spot Holly Hunter early in her career as one of the factory girls. Not without its merits and attractions but less than it could have been.

Brian Wright This movie belongs to the women, particularly Kay Walsh (Goldie Hawn) and Hazel (Christine Lahti), who following Pearl Harbor Day were thrust into a change of life in obvious ways... then soon realized they were changing, as women, in ways that couldn't have been obvious to anyone at the time. World War II: Probably no event in history combined the collective awareness of a (arguably) free people into such an enormous scale of supreme cooperation for a cause. All the compulsions—from the draft, to rationing, to censorship—were generally accepted without question, and people voluntarily sacrificed of themselves in time, money, and energy to support the soldiers....For my complete review of this movie and for other movie and book reviews, please visit my site TheCoffeeCoaster.com.Brian Wright Copyright 2008

JasparLamarCrabb A great movie...and probably the last really good thing Goldie Hawn has done.During WWII, housewife Hawn is left to fend for herself when husband Ed Harris is shipped off. She gets a job at the local factory and has her consciousness raised after befriending tough Christine Lahti and hooking up with ne'er do well Kurt Russell. The film seesaws between comedy and drama without missing a beat. Hawn is wonderful and the supporting cast is first-rate: Lahti, Russell, Holly Hunter, Charles Napier, and in a cameo, Roger Corman as the factory owner. Look fast for Belinda Carlisle as a USO singer.