Gung Ho
by Ron Howard
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, John Turturro, Michael Keaton, Mimi RogersDirector: Ron Howard
Producer: Babaloo Mandel
Writer: Babaloo Mandel
Producer: Deborah Blum
Producer: Jan R. Lloyd
Producer: Lowell Ganz
Writer: Lowell Ganz
Writer: Edwin Blum
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-07-16
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Gung Ho
Movie Review: Michael Keaton between two cultures: the good laughs can prompt a lot of thinking
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Keaton gave one of his best performances in this film about the Japanese takeover of a closed auto plant in Pennsylvania. It is a "comedy" that has a serious side too. This 1986 film reflected the anxiety Americans then felt about economic competition from Japan. That the anxiety has now passed should not keep anyone from watching, laughing, and enjoying the film -- and thinking about its themes.
One theme is "us" vs. "them": The new Japanese managers and the American workers both think everything will be fine when the others change. This moderates (for the characters in the story, and for the film viewer) as the story unfolds. It diminished by the end of the film when the Japanese managers and the American workers have come, at least part way, to understanding one another.
It is now more than 20 years since the film was released. Japanese companies have now built and managed many American auto factories. American businesses have now embraced many "best practices" they learned from Japanese management. And Americans buy Toyotas, Nissans, and Hondas because of the Japanese commitment to quality and zero defects that sparked conflict on the assembly line in the film.
"Gung Ho" has a number of verbal and sight gags -- like the town of Hadleyville turning out (Chinese) dragon dancers to greet the new Japanese management team at the airport. Another is Japanese managers saying one thing, with Michael Keaton hearing something different. Murray Chapman's screenplay was quite skillfully written.
To my mind, though, the most interesting dimension of the plot and Michael Keaton's performance was to highlight the difficult situation of the person who moves (or negotiates or mediates) between cultures, especially at the beginning when the two cultures/companies/parties don't know much about one another. In the plot, Keaton tried to finesse the differences with the force of his own personality. It worked for awhile, but it wasn't sustainable in the end. The film could be profitably viewed in training sessions that deal with intercultural negotiation, change, binational meetings, and joint ventures.
-30-
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