Gung Ho (1986)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Edwin Blum (story)
Lowell Ganz (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 March 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

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.

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | Friendship | Fight The System | Fiat | Culture Clash

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Working Class Man

Runtime:

112 min | USA:111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | Finland:S | Norway:11 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Beaver, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Ron Howard's first film shot in "scope" (2.35:1).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Hunt is talking to the workers at a union rally, he strikes up memories of the "high school state title basketball game in Pittsburgh". Pennsylvania's state title in basketball is always played in Hershey.

Quotes:

Kazihiro: [to Sakamoto] We could use another man on wipers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cars (2006)

Soundtrack:

BREAKIN' THE ICE

Were there some things that it didn't get into?

Focusing on a Japanese car company buying a factory in a Pennsylvania town, "Gung Ho" brings to mind the fact that in the '80's, the US was very much into the Japanese companies; obviously, things changed in the '90's. The movie also shows the company trying to bust the union, and one gets the feeling that Japanese workers are afraid to ever challenge their bosses. But it seems like there was more at which the movie could have looked. Oh well. It's a pretty funny movie overall. Michael Keaton is great as the all-American leader not about to let anyone stand in his way. You'll really like his trip to Japan, and the Japanese woman's attempt to say "hard place".