Gung Ho

This film begins in the town of Hadleyville, Pennsylvania nine months after its auto plant has closed and resulted in severe economic problems for most of the residents residing there. So in a long-shot bid to persuade another auto company to take its place a former foreman by the name of "Hunt Stevenson" (Michael Keaton) flies to Japan to make the best sales pitch that he can. At first, he doesn't think he was very successful with his presentation but after a week or so he learns that the Japanese car manufacturer has indeed listened and agrees to set up shop in Hadleyville after all. What nobody expects, however, is for the clash of cultures that begins almost immediately after operations begin. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an okay comedy helped to some degree by the performance of Michael Keaton and to a lesser extent by Gedde Watanabe (as the Japanese executive, "Oishi Kazihiro"). Admittedly, there were times when the stereotypes were a bit overplayed but all things considered I enjoyed this film for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.