Swing Shift

director's cut bitchesssss

There's a kernel of an interesting idea here for a sprawling, Altmanesque overview of life on the 'home-front' for the spouses in WWII, but this lumpy, dull and unfocused mess isn't it; the movie feels like it's running at disorienting cross purposes, with the Hawn-Russell romance clumsily injected to perhaps form a more conventional narrative (it doesn't help that they display none of their usually winning charisma). An excellent supporting cast is given little to nothing to do.

Watched the 'Goldie Hawn' edited version and it's a bit of a mess. In its heart it has a solid plot and a very interesting WWII-setting. You get this awesome cast of actors, but it all feels disjointed. I didn't really buy the whole love triangle for the most part and the attraction didn't feel real. I wish I had realized earlier that there's also a Director's Cut of the movie because it seems to be preferable based on what I've read online. It's not a bad movie, just a bit drawn out and messy.

I'm surprised by how stilted some of this feels. There are small glimmers of Demme's quirky sense of humor, and of his realistic portrayal of the American lifestyle, and there are some gorgeous tracking shots that I have to assume are his doing. This cut is watchable, but everything I've read suggests that Hawn hacked away at all of Demme's wonderful subtleties, so I hope the legendary Director's Cut shows up online one day.

NOT ONLY DID THAT BITCH FUCK UP THE FILM BUT SHE CALLED NAPIER FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonathan Demme goes Hollywood and gets burned

74.500

Rating is for director's cut.

Director's cut is one of Demme's best films, and it's a fucking tragedy that it barely exists (but a miracle that it does at all). I still can't believe he's gone...

75.000

I have a soft spot for Goldie Hawn, as she always entertains. Christine Lahti and Kurt Russel also performed well. Fred Ward played a convincing bad-boy who ultimately made good. Ed Harris was just OK. The story was interesting and felt authentic. The middle of the movie was the best part, and there were a few memorable moments. The acting was fairly good and the story engaging although a bit old fashioned, and the ending was fairly predictable.

I think it's fairly clear that Hawn got cold feet about playing a woman who experience of independence lead to her having an extramarital affair that she didn't regret, so she recut the film to make her more remorseful and just return to Harris and the status quo. It ends up robbing her character of growth and the film of meaning.

There is still a levity and life to the studio cut of Swing Shift that is unmistakably the work of Demme. Unfortunately, much of it is abrupt and full of missed opportunities. What should have been a focus on female friendship is turned into a poorly orchestrated love triangle.