What a waste of my time!!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Olivia de Havilland is Smokey, a "Government Girl" in this 1943 look at wartime Washington. We clearly see the role of the working woman, the housing crisis, the problems getting a hotel room, and the bureaucracy. de Havilland plays a young woman with no plans to get married, because she has her career - a prevailing attitude in those days.While at a wedding of her friend/roommate May (Ann Shirley) and her soon to be husband (James Dunn) in the lobby of a Washington hotel because their suite was given away, she encounters one Mr. Ed Browne (Sonny Tufts). He has the aforementioned suite, and Smokey can't get it away from him. Later she finds out that he's her new boss. As unpleasantly as their relationship started, she sees that he knows how to cut corners to get bombers built and get things done.This is a forced comedy which proves that even the remarkable acting and presence of Olivia de Havilland can't save the sinking ship named Sonny Tufts. If it hadn't been for the war, this man would never have landed in front of a camera, but let's face it, Hollywood was desperate! And he's proof of it.The rest of the cast is very good, and "Government Girl" certainly gives us an interesting look of the U.S. in wartime. De Havilland works hard, perhaps too hard, overcoming the deficiencies in the production. Or perhaps I should say, the deficiency.

Have watched Government Girl and enjoyed the interaction between the two stars. Although Sonny Tufts career was short lived, he is fun to watch. As an actor who was 6'4" he at times seems to fill the room he is in. His costar shines. Having seen her in To Each His Own,it is fun to see her in a lot of funny situations. The scenes in the bedroom and the lobby of the hotel really show her comedic talent. The part about the different initials of the different departments is really funny. Even funnier to that many of the departments really did exist during the war. A lot of bright and fluffy movies were made to lighten the days during the war and this was one of them.

For over a decade, I have been favorably impressed by the work of Olivia de Havilland. That said, I had no high hopes for this film; I wanted to watch this film just to say I had, and to see de Havilland in a comedic role. I was pleasantly surprised, and I found myself rather taken in by the humor. Having seen Miss de Havilland in her Academy Award winning performances and many other dramatic roles, I was impressed by her comedic timing, facial expressions, and sharp sarcasm, which is also very prominent in her portrayal of Amy Lind in THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. I by no means consider this film one of Hollywood's best, but it isn't all that bad and is definitely worth a watch - particularly if you want to see de Havilland in a different kind of role.

I must disagree with the person who first commented on the rating of this movie. I've seen this movie many times. True, it has some scripts that could have been better written, particularly for such a wonderfully and already famous actress Olivia De Havilland, but I don't think it was a bomb. It's really not such a bad movie--not the greatest in the world, but--worth watching if you're an avid fan of De Havilland! :o)