SummaryA woman finds romance when she takes a job at an aircraft plant to help make ends meet after her husband goes off to war.
Directed By:Jonathan Demme
Written By:Nancy Dowd, Ron Nyswaner
Swing Shift
Metascore
Mixed or Average
60
User score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
60
50% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
50% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
80
This film is more known for being the one which introduced Goldie Hawn to Kurt Russell than anything else, which is somewhat unfair as at its heart lies a sweet romance, with good performances from both the leads and an Oscar nomination for supporting actress Lahti.
80
Mr Demme has a special talent for locating the humor and pathos within the commonplace experiences of American life.
75
This is a slice-of-life movie, the kind that director Jonathan (Melvin and Howard) Demme is good at.
50
Swing Shift has neither enough laughs nor enough sobs. [23 Apr 1984, p.80]
50
The film's nostalgic fixation on the ambiance of the war years seems to exclude any real interest in the lives of the women workers; this feminist fairy tale sees the characters as precursors of the women's movement of the 60s and 70s rather than as people.
50
Its elaborate and meticulously re-created period settings and moods prove far more interesting and diverting than the undernourished characterizations and love stories that flutter and sputter across the foregrounds. [19 Apr 1984, p.D6]
50
It offers a Life-magazine view of the home front, with adultery added--but the adultery is so unimpassioned that it might have come from Life, too. [30 Apr 1984, p.87]
User score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
67% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
33% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Apr 21, 2025
6
Charismatic leads, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, and Christine Lahti are the main attraction. Film works best when it focuses on the WW2 plane factory, The ending falls apart with needless silly soap opera hijinks. Movie features lots of director Demme's regular troop of actors.
Production Company:
- Warner Bros.
- Lantana
- Hawn / Sylbert Movie Company
- Jerry Bick Productions
Release Date:Apr 13, 1984
Duration:1 h 40 m
Rating:PG
Tagline:When America marched off to war the women marched into the factory. From then on...nothing was the same.
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
