A Japanese auto company is persuaded to take over an abandoned factory--and abandoned U.S. workforce--in a small rust-belt town in Middle America. Alas, this wonderful idea for a culture-clash comedy goes pretty much to waste in Gung Ho. Michael Keaton gives his most relentlessly obnoxious performance as the fast-talking shop foreman who never stops BS'ing his Japanese employers, his work buddies (George Wendt and John Turturro among them), his girlfriend (Mimi Rogers), and himself. There's a trumped-up crisis in every reel, and a great deal of double talk about whether the Japanese are workaholic freaks or the new, true inheritors of the old American get-up-and-go. Director Ron Howard and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel had made the enchanting comedy-fantasy-romance Splash only a couple of years before; they probably thought they were concocting a Frank Capra-style fable here, but, far from having a beautiful mind, this movie is strictly sitcom mentality from top to bottom. --Richard T. Jameson
From the Back Cover When Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice, Batman) persuades a Japanese auto firm to reopen his hometown's auto factory, he's a hero. But when the Japanese hire him to enforce their policies among his American co-workers, he goes from hero to zero in seconds flat. It's manpower vs. horsepower on the assembly line. Salami vs. sushi in the cafeteria. And a head-on cultural collision that's enough to upset the world's balance of laughter. See how really crazy things can get when Michael Keaton's in charge in Gung Ho--another great comedy by director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Night Shift, Cocoon, Parenthood).
(15 votes)
2.
To save jobs in a small Pennsylvania town, cocky Hunt Stevenson (Michael Keaton) goes to Japan and asks the owners to re-open the auto plant where he used to work. Hunt gets what he asks for, but gets a curve ball thrown at him when the Japanese bosses agree to his proposition only if the the plant will be run by the Japanese--who have a far more strict work ethic and expect undying loyalty from the workers. The concept of seven day work weeks and mandatory free overtime doesn't go over big with the American employees, leading to a constant clash between the workers and the management. This amusing culture clash comedy was the directed by Ron Howard.
(15 votes)
3.
When East meets West, the laughs shift into high gear!
When Michael Keaton persuades a Japanese auto firm to reopen his hometown's defunct auto factory, he's a hero.
But when the Japanese hire him to enforce their policies among his American co-workers, he goes from hero to zero in seconds flat.
It's manpower vs. horsepower on the assembly line. Salami vs. sushi in the cafeteria. And a head-on cultural collision that's enough to upset the world's balance of laughter.
See how really crazy things can get when Michael Keaton's in charge in Gung Ho - another great comedy by director Ron Howard.
(15 votes)
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