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IMDb > Gung Ho (1986)
Gung Ho
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Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   4,550 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ron Howard
Writers:
Edwin Blum (story)
Lowell Ganz (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Gung Ho on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 March 1986 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
When East meets West, the laughs shift into high gear!
Plot:
When a Japanese car company buys an American plant, the American liason must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Discuss: Ron Howard, H.P. Lovecraft and 'Gung Ho'
 (From Cinematical. 26 March 2009, 4:15 PM, PDT)

Before the Oscars, They Belonged to Us, Part 1
 (From Dread Central. 24 February 2009, 3:04 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Welcome Back to the Lost World of the 80's. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Michael Keaton ... Hunt Stevenson
Gedde Watanabe ... Oishi Kazihiro
George Wendt ... Buster

Mimi Rogers ... Audrey

John Turturro ... Willie
Sô Yamamura ... Mr. Sakamoto (as Soh Yamamura)
Sab Shimono ... Saito
Rick Overton ... Googie

Clint Howard ... Paul
Jihmi Kennedy ... Junior

Michelle Johnson ... Heather DiStefano
Rodney Kageyama ... Ito
Rance Howard ... Mayor Conrad Zwart

Patti Yasutake ... Umeki Kazihiro (as Patti Yasuiake)
Jerry Tondo ... Kazuo
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Working Class Man
more
Runtime:
112 min | USA:111 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Filming Locations:
Beaver, Pennsylvania, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Assan is a name-play for Nissan Motors, although they are based in Yokohama, next to Tokyo more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Hunt and his girlfriend are driving home from the airport they pass the same parked school bus at least twice without having ever made a turn. more
Quotes:
Mr. Sakamoto: [to Hunt] I like you. You make me laugh. more
Movie Connections:
References High Noon (1952) more
Soundtrack:
WORKING CLASS MAN more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 17 people found the following comment useful:-
Welcome Back to the Lost World of the 80's., 22 October 2002
8/10
Author: NJ_jimcat (jimcat@panix.com) from Darkest New Jersey

Sherman, set the wayback machine for... 1986. The United States was just climbing out of its worst postwar recession, while Japan was enjoying an unprecedented industrial boom. Manufacturing industries were still a significant part of the US economy, and factory workers were a good example of the "average American". The word "downsizing" hadn't entered the general vocabulary yet, but everyone knew the phenomenon. Bruce could be heard on the radio singing, "Foreman says these jobs are going, boy, and they ain't coming back to your hometown." Chrysler had just been bailed out by Uncle Sam. Bumper stickers could be seen saying "Buy American -- the job you save may be your own."

"Gung Ho" does a better job of capturing the mood of the American industrial workforce than just about any other popular movie made during that period. Certainly the movie has its flaws -- some loose plot threads and mediocre acting jobs by everyone except Michael Keaton and Gedde Watanabe. But the story really is about the meeting of East and West: Keaton's Hunt Stevenson personifies America, brash and confident on the outside yet insecure underneath. Watanabe's Kazuhiro personifies Japan, on top of the heap with a successful system, but wondering if there is more to be learned from their Western rivals. The movie's plot, flawed as it is, simply provides a framework for the conflict, and eventually synthesis, of their two personalities.

Keaton's acting overshadows everyone else's, and practically makes the movie by itself. I've always admired Keaton for his ability to deliver lines that feel improvised, no matter what script he's following. His character, Hunt Stevenson, is a likable, affable everyman, a natural leader with a wise-ass streak. But he has a fatal flaw common to many of us: he doesn't want to disappoint anyone. He'll distract the crowd with inspirational anecdotes, and even lie, rather than point out the ugly truth.

Kazuhiro is the mirror image of Stevenson: shy and introspective, but also, because of his Japanese upbringing, reluctant to be the bearer of bad news. The scene in which Stevenson first comes to Kazuhiro with the employees' grievances captures perfectly the Japanese approach to workplace conflict. Kazuhiro replies to Stevenson's complaints with "I understand what you are saying," but won't refuse his requests out loud. Stevenson misinterprets this as agreement, and goes away saying, "Okay, we've got that settled." (This is still a problem in Japanese-American business relations in the 21st century!)

Ultimately, Kazuhiro and Stevenson have the same problem: get the factory working smoothly, meet production goals, and fulfill their responsibility to the workers under them. In working towards this goal, they each have to take a page from the others' book. Kazuhiro's family becoming more "Americanized" is an obvious example. Also note that Stevenson thinks it's odd when Kazuhiro explains how he had to make a public apology to his workers for failing them -- and yet, later in the movie, Stevenson does exactly that himself.

The plot and its resolution are a little cornball, but hey, this is a comedy. If you can overlook the movie's flaws, there is a great story about self-realization and open-mindedness here.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
New interview with actor Rodney Kageyama Filmrob
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Underated movie about slovenly American mentality... nosnoozen
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