Gung Ho (1986)

"We're going to have to do what the Japanese do!"

Director

Ron Howard

Cast
Michael Keaton - Hunt Stevenson
Gedde Watanabe - Takahara "Kaz" Kazihiro
George Wendt - Buster
John Turturro - Willie, another worker, also Hunt's friend
Mimi Rogers - Audrey, Hunt's girlfriend
So Yamamura - Mr. Sakamoto
Sab Shimono - Saito
Rick Overton - Googie

Clint Howard - Paul

Rance Howard - Mayor Conrad Zwart

There are two comedies from the 1980s that stand out in my mind above other 80s comedies as being underrated. One is "Throw Momma from the Train" (1987) with Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito which is also directed by Danny DeVito. 

The other is "Gung Ho" with Michael Keaton and directed by none other than Ron Howard. 

They're two totally different comedy movies, and they're by no means perfect. But they're both highly enjoyable, hilarious, memorable, and appealing. I'm sure there's other underrated comedies from the 80s. These two just stand out at least to me.  

The movie "Gung Ho" centers on an Assan Motors car manufacturing facility (a fictional company) that's the primary source of jobs for the fictional town of Hadleyville, Penn. Unfortunately, the plant has been closed for nearly a year and residents desperately need jobs. 
The movie starts as Hunt Stevenson (Michael Keaton), the car plant's former foreman, is on his way to Japan to meet with Assan Motor execs to try and persuade them to reopen the Hadleyville plant. 

After meeting with the executive board and giving a presentation, he doesn't think he succeeded in convincing them, but the execs later agree to reopen. 

They send Takahara "Kaz" Kazihiro (Gedde Watanabe) to the U.S. to oversee plant operations upon its reopening. This is Kaz's chance to redeem himself as he has been failing miserably in his current career, due to his leniency towards employees in the eyes of his corporate higher-ups. 

To redeem himself, he's expected to operate a 100 percent successful car plant and, basically, do what his superiors tell him to do and how to do it.

When Kaz and a bunch of managers from Tokyo arrive in Hadleyville, they implement their own work ethics workers are expected to follow and take advantage of the desperate situation the workers face. 

Michael Keaton and Gedde Watanabe in "Gung Ho."

Employees are given low wages, are not allowed to form a union, and are moved around within the plant to learn how to perform each and every job. They're also expected to perform at a greater standard than they're used to. 

The quality and number of cars they have to produce are deemed unreasonable. The managers, however, boast how their workers back in Japan can out produce Americans with ease. They don't believe that any of theirs demands are unreasonable so long as the workers perform as expected. Job first! Everything else second. 

Hunt, however, knows none of this will fly well with his workers. They need better pay, to begin with. Income is an incentive, obviously. 

The more both sides clash, the more Hunt loses the confidence of his workers. 

So, to remedy the situation, he makes a deal with Kaz. If his workers can manufacture 15,000 autos in one month, they can earn a raise, and the managers will open up more positions for the remaining unemployed workers. But if they're short even one single car, the deal is off. 

Hunt calls a worker's assembly to try and sell them on the deal. But to them, 15,000 cars in a month is asking too much. 

Under pressure, Hunt leads them to believe that if they can make 13,000 cars, they can at least obtain half a pay raise. His workers are o.k. with that. 

Regardless, he desperately tries to encourage them to shoot for the full 15,000. However, they catch wind that the deal is 15,000 or nothing. 

Overall, the movie is predictable right from the start. Regardless, I find it hilarious and really entertaining. I think its appeal is its relatability and comedic chemistry between Keaton and Watanabe. It's gold! If only they starred together in some more movies. John Turturro and George Wendt co-star as Assan employees, both conveying the typical norms and demands of American blue-collar employees struggling to support families and balance work and family life. 

Michael Keaton as Hunt Stevenson.

Gedde Watanabe is a character actor who truly deserves a lot of recognition. He's appeared in a large number of popular movies - "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," "Sixteen Candles," "UHF" and "Vamp" to drop a few titles. His beginnings in San Francisco as a street musician is worth looking up.

I think the fact that such a movie as "Gung Ho" probably wouldn't be made today just adds to its comedic charm. Trigger warnings and cultural (over) sensitivities are for the mindless. Who cares about stereotypes? A lot of them are hilarious! And the world won't be worse off because a lot of us think so. Complain if you have to about "problematic stereotypes." Nothing in this movie is ill-intended. 

The comedy relies on the clash of cultures. Why shouldn't it? 

The Japanese higher-ups are depicted as clean-cut, disciplined, and rigid with by-the-book work methods and ethics. Their mindset is set on dedication to the job above anything else, even their private lives and families. Meanwhile, the blue-collar American workers operate on a get-it-done-any-way-you-can method, to produce a quality product as fast as possible. But family and personal health come first. And more income will lead to a greater incentive to work and work harder.  

The one thing both sides have in common is that they're led by a foreman and a plant manager who are both struggling to redeem themselves. 

Michael Keaton is perfectly cast as he has a naturally likeable and persuasive personality. It's an underrated performance by Keaton. 

And Gedde Watanabe is almost a sympathetic character has he tries to 

They're both under pressure They both see themselves as failures while trying to appear as leaders. 

It all boils down to understanding. Communication. True leadership. Meeting expectations. If you're going to royally screw things up, at least have friends nearby. 

Gedde Watanabe as Takahara "Kaz" Kazihiro.

It's a story dedicated to hard work, the duties of our state, taking pride in that work and the accomplishments it leads to. Failure is not the end of the world. There's often a chance to make things right. Victory can still be achieved depending on how we deal with our own failures, no matter what size that failure is. 

The conflicts between cultures are hilarious as the audience is on the outside of it, looking in. It's not just one-sided. Watching the American workers wrap their head around Japanese work ethics is funny. It goes both ways. Watching Japanese executives scratching their heads around American production methods is also funny. And though this type of story isn't anything new, it's still a great comedy.

Still, story could explore more details about how Japanese businessmen taking over their town's car plant is impacting the community. I think that aspect could have elevated the movie a little more. 

The film did spawn a short-lived sitcom which ran for one season from 1986 to 1987. Patti Yatsutake, Gedde Watanabe, Rodney Kageyama, Sab Shimono, and Clint Howard reprise their roles from the movie for the sitcom. Scott Bakula plays Hunt Stevenson instead of Keaton. I only recall watching one episode of the series which has stuck with me all this time. 

Anyways, there were opportunities in the story for Stevenson and the other workers to really lay in to the Japanese company heads amidst what they deemed as unfair treatment, to show them just what they think of them without shrinking back. Thankfully the movie didn't really go that direction. What was important is coming to terms as far as work ethics, and that's the direction the story goes. There's no ill intention. I appreciate that. 

"Gung Ho" is a feel-good movie. It wants you to feel good about dedication to hard work and taking care of our responsibilities. It wants the audience to feel good about accomplishing goals and acquiring the fairness we deserve. Afterall, the hardships, failures, and successes are shared among everyone across all backgrounds.