- TITLE | Swing Shift
- RELEASE | April 1984
- DIRECTOR | Jonathan Demme
- STARRING | Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Ed Harris, Christine Lahti
- TAGLINE | "When America marched off to war the women marched into the factory. From then on...nothing was the same."
Pearl Harbor has just been bombed and men across the country have enlisted in the war including Jack Walsh (Ed Harris). Lost without her husband to take care of, Kay Walsh (Goldie Hawn) goes to work in a rivet factory on the swing shift where she meets Lucky (Kurt Russell), a smooth talking musician who is both charming and adorable.
Kay bonds with the other ladies in the factory, all the while attempting to stay faithful to her husband, but eventually she succumbs to Lucky's advances. The days are filled with dancing and laughter, and in the evenings, Kay is promoted to Lead Man, making a space for herself in a man's world.
And then her husband comes home on leave, and the life Kay has made for herself slowly starts to unravel.
The Swoon Factor |
Emily's Thoughts - While I have some serious issues with a man knowingly seducing a married woman whose husband is off to war...there is the Kurt Russell factor. That man's dimples are just too much - seriously adorable and the two definitely have chemistry (not Overboard chemistry, but we'll talk about that at a later time).
Watson's Thoughts - I second the dimples. He was adorable playing trumpet in the jazz club. It did feel a little creepy the way he was constantly hitting on a married woman. He did look fantastic in a pink housecoat. I always like Ed Harris, ever though he usually plays a bad guy.
The Feels Factor |
Emily's Thoughts - There were more feels then I was expecting. Watching woman go into the workforce and make a difference, working alongside men who didn't want them there, and then watching it get taken away from them at the end of the war tugged at my heart. Ed Harris was also very sad, and while his early misogyny was a little rough, he seemed to really love his wife and be affected by the war. Life had changed for them both.
Watson's Thoughts - All the feels from the supprotive female friendships. I loved Kay and Hazel bonding and looking out for each other. I think my favorite moment was a blink=and-you'll-miss-it moment where Kay saves a few new female employees from falling for a chauvenist's prank.
The Skeez Factor |
Emily's Thoughts - Relatively skeez free! No one was overtly creepy or awful, so go you Swing Shift!
Watson's Thoughts - There was a lot of sexism, but it was period apprpriate for what the Rosie the Riveter girls went through, rather than something that just aged poorly.
The Re-Watchability Factor |
Emily's Thoughts - Probably not. Been there. Watched that. Moving on.
Watson's Thoughts - I could rewatch this. I'm a sucker for besties that help you get in and out of trouble.
Does this movie receive the Total Weirdos stamp of approval?
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