Throwback Movie Review: Gung-Ho (1986)

Paramount 1986

Remember this one? This was the first movie I had seen about unions, strikes, corporations being bought, and what it means to be proud of your work. Gung Ho (1986) explored culture clash in the 80's as well as learning to be open things not understood. It starred Michael Keaton before he was Batman and Gedde Watanabe around his "Oh sexy girlfriend!" time of fame from Sixteen Candles. It was directed by Ron Howard and is worth watching now.

A lot of Generation X only knew about unions through Sally Field and her role Norma Rae, or because we knew someone that worked in one. Too young to know the drama that repeats itself, Gung Ho served as a comedic look at what was happening to corporate America at the time. Japanese cars were being made, better than most American cars and this film found a way to point that out.

The ending might not be as accepting now as it was back then with everyone working out their differences to meet a deadline because they're proud of what they do. But the sentiment is still nice and could probably remind people about having pride in their work. Maybe it's worth a re-watch if you were once proud of what you do but aren't right now. Gung Ho is PG-13 and maybe not a classic like other Keaton films, but he was on fire when it came out.